In the News: Technology in the Humanities

It has been quite a while since I’ve put up a blog post, so I just wanted to update everyone on what is going on at Qooco. We have been working hard the past few months to build a clientless version of our program that is accessible on multiple platforms (Mac and Mobile).

-Tom

What is more important when learning a language, listening or speaking? Input or output?

The people over at Antimoon have a blog post (http://www.antimoon.com/other/myths-speaking.htm) that claims the importance of speaking when learning a foreign language is exaggerated.  They think increasing your input (listening and reading) is a better way to get a handle on new vocabulary and grammar.  We could not disagree more.

Listening and reading is a great way to learn new vocabulary and grammar structures, but it you need to make sure you balance your input with a heavy dose of speaking.  Imagine you just read a few sentences of Chinese. What would help you remember the vocabulary in those sentences better, rereading them 10 times over or using the sentences’ vocab in an actual conversation?  We think the latter option is better. 

To their credit, they people at Antimoon do point out some of the benefits of speaking (improved fluency, increased confidence and motivation), but they fail to recognize the importance of these benefits.  Speaking on a daily basis will not only help reinforce previously studied material, but help push you out of your language comfort zone so you can figure out where you need to improve.

If spoken communication is your goal when learning a foreign language, then the only way to get better is to actually speak!

In my last post, I explored some of the ways you can live on the cheap in Beijing, but life in China has its expensive side as well. As a foreigner in China, you may never encounter this if you’re willing to forgo some of your old routines, but otherwise be prepared to shell out big bucks.

Western food and drink can be exorbitantly priced in the capital. The price of a good pizza is generally comparable to prices in the U.S., but can still be cringe-inducing compared to how little you have to pay for good local food. Coffee is another luxury. Expect to pay $2.20 for a cup of coffee at a minimum, and the price will often creep up towards $3. If you need your cup of Joe every day, that’s enough of an increase to make you look for a plan B (mine is a coffee press). And contrary to what you might think, buying tea in restaurants is often no cheaper.

More expensive goods have a much more dramatic mark-up. Inside a Sogo department store, I saw some Thermos brand thermoses for tea/coffee and went to have a look. I made a quick U-turn when I saw that they were over $40. If you’re thinking about going to the Apple store in Beijing for a new iPhone, think again; the 16GB model priced at $199 on the Apple website costs over $850 in the store!

And it’s not just certain goods that will eat up your RMBs. There are a few activities that carry a hefty price tag. Flying can be pretty expensive; when planning a trip to Yunnan province in January, I was surprised how much the airfares were – particularly since buying round trip tickets doesn’t decrease the cost, as it often does in the West. Going to the cinema is also quite pricey here, with a standard ticket costing ten dollars or more.

So there you have it: make your own coffee, stifle the cravings for Western goods, watch DVDs instead of IMAX, take the train, and you’ll find that China can be a very affordable place to live.

---This post was written by Devin Corrigan, Qooco's fresh faced and stary-eyed intern.  He studied Chinese literature in college and is currently living happily in Beijing.

In a word, no. Without question, there are some serious bargains to be had here – particularly outside the sprawling metropolises in the east. But first-timers to Beijing or Shanghai might be surprised at the expense of certain products and services. Indeed, my trusty Lonely Planet warns travelers that “the days are long gone when China was fantastically cheap.” This will be a two-part post, and today’s will be about the inexpensive side of China life that still exists, even in a big city. Next time I’ll cover the many ways in which your wallet can take a beating if you’re not careful.

So what’s still cheap here in Beijing? Many people have heard about the bootleg DVDs and delicious local meals that can be had for a pittance, and that’s certainly true – you can find both for about a dollar or less. These do not, however, represent the greatest bargains in China; that honor goes to the endless array of cheap and readily available services.

In my mind, this is one of the huge benefits of living in a Chinese city. Whenever you need or desire some basic service – transportation, repairs, tailoring, etc. – China has got you covered, and man, is it cheap compared to the west. And since the China is not a tipping culture, these low prices are what you actually pay.

The examples are endless. Cross-town taxi ride? I recently had a long taxi ride from my apartment in northwest Beijing to the southwest corner of the downtown area, a distance of more than 12 miles. Even with a detour to pick up some friends, the price was about $11 for all of us. Apartment cleaning? That’ll cost you a $2-$3 an hour. Doctor? Saw one last week for allergies and was charged $1.75 for the visit.

Maybe you’re a fan of the finer things in life, like a custom-made suit; I know someone who had one made here for around $100.

But the subway system, which is subsidized by the government, is the greatest bargain of all. Riding an entire subway line in the Beijing system sets you back only 2 Renminbi (about 30 cents). Compare that to New York, Washington, Tokyo, and London, where you pay a minimum of about $1.50 for a regular ride and usually closer to $2-$4. Even over the course of one week, those prices make a big difference.

Furthermore, services in China are not just cheap; they’re fast and easy to find. In the fall of ’08, I was riding my brand new bike in Beijing when one of my pedals broke off. As I pedaled around with one foot, drawing stares and wondering how I was going to get home, I spotted some dusty tools on the ground in an alley next to a restaurant. Within minutes a friendly Chinese man appeared and was pounding the pedal back into place in no time. He would accept only half of one Renminbi, which is less than a penny, for his work.

There are plenty of ways that Beijing can burn a hole in your pocket, but seeking out simple services is definitely not one of them.

Agree? Disagree? What are your experiences with the day-to-day expenses of life in China?

---This post was written by Devin Corrigan, Qooco's fresh faced and stary-eyed intern.  He studied Chinese literature in college and is currently living happily in Beijing.

The bike lanes of Beijing are crowded, like a lot of places in Beijing. But in the bike lanes there exists a particular atmosphere of mayhem you have to see to believe.

Ask anyone to picture life in Beijing, and they will probably imagine the waves of bicycles jockeying for position on old city streets. Although Beijing has actually been overtaken by the automobile, this scene does have some basis in reality. A lot of people still take to the streets on their bikes, and Beijing has done a great job of creating wide and clearly marked bike lanes on many streets.

In fact, when I first started riding my bike in Beijing last year, I was really impressed with this progressive focus on two-wheeled commuters (I’m from America, where good bike lanes are still few and far between). My admiration only lasted for about five minutes though, because that’s all the time it takes to have several consecutive near-death experiences.

My first mistake was assuming that bike lanes were for bikes. It turns out that many bike lanes have a very tolerant policy towards the rest of the transportation community. Buses and taxis are often welcome, as are motorcycles and motorized tricycle carts, and each has its own unique brand of danger. The buses swing suddenly towards the bus stops on the side of the road; you sense the steel-and-glass tidal wave bearing down on you before you see it, as it blots out the sun and leaves you with precious seconds to make a frantic dash to safety. The taxis often make a sudden charge into the lane as well, but offer the added danger of the sudden stop that occurs when the driver spots a potential customer. Motorcycles drive cocky, because they’re narrow, and the trike carts are tricky for the exact opposite reason.

That’s to say nothing of the many passenger cars that park in the bike lanes, often legally. And on top of all this, even regular bikes pose a risk: in every lane I’ve ever been in, they flow both ways, so you’ve got to watch for oncoming traffic, which comes at you even faster on an electric bike (which I ride).

Then you have pedestrians. Many people just prefer to walk in the bike lane (in their defense, a lot of people tend to park their cars on the sidewalk). When a bus stops in or next to the bike lane, the stream of passengers that pours out represents another pedestrian hazard. For this one you’ve got options. You can go left, around the bus and into the road (not recommended) or you can try to time it so that you squirt through two pedestrians while leaning on your bell.

It sounds bad, but honestly there is a weird allure to all this sometimes. I think that one’s opinion of all this madness depends entirely on the current state of mind. For example, if you are out for a cruise on a sunny and clear day, you will marvel at the hectic pace of life, the muddle of humanity collected in the bike lanes as riders commute to school and work, transport goods, or simply socialize with their friends. You’ll look around and be grateful that you live in Beijing. Furthermore, the bike commute can add a little extra excitement in your day – even a run to the store for milk turns into a white-knuckle dash.

But then you’ll be out on an errand after a long day, chilled by the cold Beijing wind and wishing you were on your couch, and you’ll have to brake hard to avoid the taxi that braked to avoid the guy on the trike cart loaded with two dozen laser printers, and it won’t seem as charming. 

Even on those days, though, I try to appreciate the madness. The bike lanes in Beijing aren’t the safest places I’ve ever been, but they definitely are fun, and I can’t picture Beijing without them.

---This post was written by Devin Corrigan, Qooco's fresh faced and stary-eyed intern.  He studied Chinese literature in college and is currently living happily in Beijing.

One of the hardest things about studying Chinese, or anything subject that matter, is keeping yourself motivated.  Finding the time in your day to study and figuring out what to study takes a lot of energy.  It is hard to know what material you should review and what you should save for another day.

In an effort to solve this problem, we created a spaced repetition lesson calendar to keep you on track.  The calendar keeps track of your lesson scores and gives you timely reminders to go through previously studied lessons.  If you are scoring poorly on a lesson, it will pop up more often on you calendar.  If you have a lesson down cold, then it will appear less frequently. 

We think the calendar is a great way to help users organize their study time and reinforce previously studied material.  Let us know what you think!


 

Our posts so far have mostly focused on the Chinese language – but now it’s time to take on some issues from the culture department. No matter whether you are already here in China, about to come, or simply curious about the place, I think we can cover some stuff here for everyone. And I can’t think of a better place to start than navigating and understanding the Chinese crowd.

The middle of a Chinese crowd is a lonely place, particularly in a big city like Beijing. Whether you are trying to buy a ticket for something, get off a subway train or a bus, or simply buy groceries, often you will enter a “survival of the fittest” scenario that can be pretty intimidating. You will learn, and you will learn quickly, that you might have to fight for a ticket, exit, place in line, etc.

While I’d be lying if I said this doesn’t frustrate me from time to time, a professor I had in Beijing last year put this situation in a whole new light for me. He was an international business consultant from Guangdong province, and the class he taught was an elective on intercultural communication – and miscommunication.

One of his lessons that stuck with me was that it’s important to always remember the influence of Confucianism that still permeates Chinese culture. The Confucian emphasis on personal relationships and loyalty still plays a vital role in everyday life and business in China. The five Confucian relationships are: 1) ruler to ruled; 2) father to son; 3) husband to wife; 4) elder brother to younger brother; and 5) friend to friend. You’ll notice that “You and guy next to you on the bus” didn’t make the list.

That was my professor’s point. Generally, the Chinese are more focused on their close personal relationships, and as a stranger in the crowd, you might feel that Chinese people just aren’t very friendly. But if you look around, you’ll see that the opposite is true: it’s not uncommon, for example, to see two male friends walking down the street with their arms around each other’s shoulders, or two high school girls holding hands in the mall.

This may seem like an unsatisfying theory, especially when you find yourself being jostled in the rush. It might sound like your only option is to cultivate a friendship with every person between you and the door if you want to get off your bus. But really, the best (perhaps only) thing you can do is get used to the crush, and do as the Beijingers do. As Peter Hessler writes in his new book, Country Driving, “When I first came to the capital and walked around, I was impressed by the physicality of pedestrians—I was constantly getting bumped and pushed. In a city of thirteen million you learn to expect contact...”

---This post was written by Devin Corrigan, Qooco's fresh faced and stary-eyed intern.  He studied Chinese literature in college and is currently living happily in Beijing.

In my last post, I tried to explain what most of us mean when we say we’re learning “Chinese.” But that’s just one side of the discussion. How do the Chinese themselves refer to their language?

Hànyǔ  (汉语) “Han language.” “汉” is the Han ethnicity that comprises more than 90% of the Chinese population. The John DeFrancis ABC Chinese-English Dictionary defines this word as “Mandarin Chinese (for non-Han Chinese and foreigners). This may explain why foreigners are often asked “Nǐ huì shuō Hànyǔ ma (你会说汉语吗)?

Guóyǔ (国语) “National language.” The official term in Taiwan. 

Huáyǔ (华语) “Chinese language.” “华” can be an adjective meaning “magnificent,” but it’s also a word used to refer to China and the Chinese people (for example, huáqiáo (华侨), meaning “Chinese emigrant,” is the word for overseas Chinese.) This term is used in Singapore.

Pǔtōnɡhuà (普通话) “Common speech” or “standard language.” Corresponds best with Modern Standard Mandarin, and is the term of choice in the People’s Republic, including Hong Kong and Macau. 

Zhōnɡɡuóhuà (中国话) “(Spoken) Chinese language.” This one refers specifically to spoken Chinese, and can, as far as I understand, be used to refer to other dialects besides Standard Mandarin. Wouldn’t worry too much about this one as I don’t think it’s used very often.

Zhōngwén (中文) “Chinese (written) language.” “中” is another character that can refer to China (as in Zhōngguó (中国)), and would be used in a sentence like “Wǒ xué zhōng wén (我学中文)”, which means “I study Chinese.”
 

---This post was written by Devin Corrigan, Qooco's fresh faced and stary-eyed intern.  He studied Chinese literature in college and is currently living happily in Beijing.

We finally got around to putting up level specific tone recognition lessons today.  If you head to the Foundation Chinese Package, you will see that each module has a "tone lesson" added on to the end.

Each lesson contains a series of tone recognition exercises that run through each module's vocabulary. The end goal of these exercises is to not only help you practice your tones, but also help you remember the right tones for the right words.  Check out the exercises and let us know if you have any questions or comments. More tone exercises for the Novice and Elementary packages are on their way, so stay tuned!

Best,

Tom and the rest of the Qooco team

So you’re learning to speak “Chinese...”

When someone says they speak Chinese, what do they mean exactly? If I asked you that question, you might tell me it means that they speak Mandarin Chinese. And you’d probably be correct. After all, the Chinese that enjoys a prestigious spot as one of the U.N.’s six official languages is Mandarin Chinese. Mandarin is also the official language of Mainland China (including Hong Kong) and Taiwan, and its one of the four official languages of Singapore.

So what’s the problem with that answer? Well, there are two.

First, “Mandarin” isn’t just a dialect, it’s a whole group of them. That official Chinese we all know and love is actually a dialect of Mandarin (called Modern Standard Mandarin or Modern Standard Chinese) that is based on the speech used in Beijing -- though it is not the same.

Second, Mandarin is just one out of the seven dialectical groups of the Chinese language, which is known in linguistics as the Sinitic language group. The six other dialect groups are the Wu, Yue, Min, Kejia (Hakka), Gan, and Xiang. The Shanghai dialect belongs to the Wu group, and you’ve probably heard of a famous member of the Yue group: Cantonese, one of the official languages of Hong Kong. One important fact about these dialects is that they are not mutually intelligible; a New York Times article from several years ago points out that the differences between Mandarin and the Shanghai dialect rival those between English and French!

To make things more complicated, the definition of a dialect in China isn’t the one we’re used to. As the linguist Chris Wen-Chao Li explains: “While in the Western linguistic tradition ‘mutual intelligibility’ lies at the heart of the distinction between language and dialect, in Chinese scholarship intelligibility plays no role; instead political unity, genetic affiliation, and shared orthography decide whether two speech varieties are to be labeled dialects of the same language or not.”

“Wait a minute,” you’re thinking. “What’s the point of spending all my time learning Standard Mandarin if Chinese has all these different dialects??”

But fear not! Since Mandarin became the official language in the first half of the 20th century, it has spread far and wide, and you can get around pretty easily with Standard Mandarin skills under your belt. Plus, it’s important to note that while speech varies wildly in China, the writing system is the same.

And as fellow intern Ryan pointed out, it’s great for your self-esteem as a Chinese learner; the country is full of people who also picked up Mandarin as a second language!

So that’s the skinny on the “Chinese” we’re trying to help you learn here at Qooco. The next post will explore the identity of the Chinese language from the Chinese point of view: how do the Chinese themselves refer to the Chinese language, and why does it matter?

(wen-chao li quote is from: Li, Chris Wen-Chao (2004). Conflicting notions of language purity: the interplay of archaizing, ethnographic, reformist, elitist, and xenophobic purism in the perception of Standard Chinese. Language and Communication, 24)

---This post was written by Devin Corrigan, Qooco's fresh faced and stary-eyed intern.  He studied Chinese literature in college and is currently living happily in Beijing.