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 Can you tell us a bit more about yourself?Â
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My name is Sean Pebler and I live in West Linn, which is a suburb of Portland, Oregon. I work as an Administrative Assistant for an environmental company named SailBri Cooper Inc. One thing I love about my job is that I get the opportunity to practice my mandarin skills, as we have partners in Shijiazhuang, China. In the Fall, I will be attending classes to earn my Master's Degree in Technical and Professional Writing.
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 How long have you been learning Mandarin?Â
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I have been studying Mandarin intermittently for about 3 years now. When I first moved to Shenzhen, China in 2016, I began taking 1-1 oral Mandarin classes. This provided me with survival speaking skills, but I did not begin serious study until I came to Shanghai in 2018.
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 What made you decide to learn Mandarin?Â
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I knew that if I was going to be living in China, I wanted to learn the language. I did not want to be another foreigner who had no way of communicating with shop owners, taxi drivers, etc. Also, my parents were coming to visit me in Shenzhen, so I wanted to be able to show them around without looking completely clueless.
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 How does learning Chinese compare with learning other languages?Â
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I took Spanish for 10+ years while I was in school, eventually taking the AP Exam in High School. I loved Spanish because it had so many grammar rules that made it simple to follow. Plus, I was able to read the language in my free time to improve. However, Mandarin is not at all like Spanish in those respects. I would say that acquiring the basic Mandarin speaking skills was very straightforward, but truly improving reading and proper grammar takes time. At times I am very frustrated with learning Mandarin, but I have come to enjoy those moments of putting together the "puzzle" of the language.
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 What do you like about studying online at Mandarin House? Are there any challenges that come with online course?Â
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At first, I was not excited to take online courses from America, as I prefer classroom learning. But since I found a great teacher at Mandarin House, I am really enjoying it now. The learning platform is smooth, and there are rarely technical difficulties. Plus, this online learning allows me to maintain my full-time job while taking Mandarin classes after work.
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 You have a friend who is thinking about learning Chinese. What advice would you give them?Â
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Patience. Mandarin is not the type of language that you can acquire quickly. You need to find what studying methods you enjoy, and prepare to study at your own pace. I have many friends that studied vigorously to begin with, became frustrated that they weren't improving quickly enough, and eventually quit. Learning Mandarin is a marathon, not a sprint.
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 Your Favorite Chinese expression?Â
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æ´»å¦æ´»ç”¨ huó xué huó yòng: Learn and apply elastically.
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