Chinese Learner Interview Series: Peter Hayes
Next up on our Chinese Learner Interview Series, we feature Peter Hayes! While working together in Shenzhen, their band, Black Panda, would play every week at one of the best bars in town! Check out his pretty cool & funky solos here as well as some videos of their band here. Besides the beats, Peter's got some great tips.
In his own words:
I'm Peter Hayes, originally from Los Angeles, California and now living in China. I started Chinese while in college at Brown, and, after a break, I am back in the classroom. I'm currently working as a math teacher at an international school in Shenzhen. Outside of Chinese and math teaching, I'm super into music – writing and performing – and occasionally even manage to convince people to pay me for it.
How long have you been studying Chinese? In what context? For what purpose?
I studied Chinese formally for two years and have been living and working in China for one year now. I started in America for a year and half, did an intensive-language program in Beijing for a semester abroad, and now teach in Shenzhen. Recently I've begun studying Chinese seriously again, in part thanks to FluentU!
I actually started learning Chinese on a lark – I wanted to learn a non-western language, and the Russian and Japanese classes were only at 9 AM! So I picked Chinese instead. It's grown on me since. I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for yet, but I'm committed to working in Asia for several years, where it definitely comes in handy.
Do you have a certain philosophy for how you approach learning Chinese? Do you have any grand 想法s about it all?
Get your oral skills down first! Talking to strangers is not only a tool to learn a language – it's also an interesting way to meet people (and pass the time on long train rides). You can slowly build up your vocabulary and character base, but without the real-world connection, it's going to be hard to really cement things.
What aspects of studying Chinese do you enjoy the most? (this can be specific study resources, methods, activities, social aspects etc)
In college I mostly just used pens and paper, but now that I'm studying again I'm really liking a lot of the tools on the internet. In no particular order: Skritter for character-writing, Anki for flashcards (I have a big set of HSK sentences), and FluentU for listening. They make studying much more varied and interesting than just hitting the books. Other than that, I enjoy engaging cab drivers, seatmates, and anyone else I can get a moment with in conversation.
What mistakes do you see other language learners make? What should people NOT do when studying Chinese?
Assuming that you'll "get your tones down later" is a big mistake! I'm really lucky that my first-year teacher emphasized pronunciation from day one, since breaking bad habits is so much harder than having good ones the first place. Think about how differently you perceive foreigners with good and bad accents, and then remember that tones are the biggest part of Chinese pronunciation! Give them a lot of attention, especially at first. However, don't make the opposite mistake and enunciate every single word like a bad actor – that's almost as silly sounding. Just try to imitate your Chinese friends' pronunciation and you'll go far.
Any favorite words or phrases? (there are loads which don't have equivalents in English)
I like all of the verb-complement structures – all the "___到"s and "____起来"s – how they're economical and give the language a sense of motion that you don't get in English. So you don't "find" something, you "search and arrive" it. Also, "难看" (difficult to look at) is a great way to say "ugly".
Any memorable milestones? Any, "Aha!", or eureka moments?
No real eureka moments; it's just a gradual walk up the hill. Just take pleasure in the moments you realize you wouldn't have understood something a month ago.
How do you keep yourself motivated while studying Chinese?
When I feel unmotivated, I like to work on a different aspect of Chinese. If you were really plowing through characters, switch to listening or reading for awhile. Other than that, try to find material that interests you, and if you really need a break, there's no shame in (a short) one!
Absolute, hands down, favorite Chinese dish?
Picking one is a crime. Beijing Jianbings on the go, Lanzhou Lamian for lunch, and Tieban Niurou for dinner & Basi banana for dessert!
Do you have one last tip for something that our readers can do TODAY to improve their Chinese?
Stop working on your accent directly, and just pretend that you're imitating a Chinese person. You'll sound much better!
Thanks Peter for those tips as well as delicious recommendations on what to eat for every meal!
If you're intrested to be featured on our Chinese Language Learner Interview Series, please contact me at christina@fluentu.com.
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Chinese Module 1 Lesson 12A: Adjectives
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