Ella's Chinese Happy Hour

I can't read or write Thai, but I can speak and understand most of what people say to me for life needs. This happened from 2012 to 2017 while I was living in Bangkok, Thailand. Sounds too good to be true, eh? To make this post most pragmatic, in the following sections, I will share how I learned listening and speaking Thai, and in what circumstances we do need to learn reading and writing.  Section One: How I Learned Thai without Learning Reading or Writing  I started learning Thai by mimicking how my friends spoke. In the first week when I moved to this country, I had a chat with one of my neighbors. She is a wonderful person who showed me the local groceries and took me to the downtown area. During those trips, it was hard to ignore how she communicated with people, especially for very functional purposes (e.g., telling the taxi driver where to stop and asking about prices in night markets). I always have a habit to carry a small pad with me, so I started to jot down some s...

If you did click open this blog post, we can all agree that there's no need to address how important learning vocabulary is. Skipping the preamble on  "hello everyone, this is why we need to learn vocabulary, and then this is what we do", let's dive straight into my first hand experience of building vocabulary in second language learning.  Learning Vocabulary Meaningfully: Learn and Produce In this part, I'll demonstrate how I learned the word "congenial":   Do: Step 1. I wrote the word in a Microsoft.doc, including its pronunciation in IPA if unsure, highlighted in green . Step 2. I checked the dictionary to clarify the meaning, especially especially distinguishing it from synonyms. Step 3. I did a quick research on the stem, prefix and suffix of the word, and I set the font of words that are closely relate to the "core" meaning of  "congenial" in bold . Step 4. I noted down one example sentence given by the dictionary, and created o...

My French Journey: What I have Done in the First 5 Months This blog is for you, and me What are we REALLY looking for when we decide to read someone talking about their language experience? My answer would be "I want to know any tips/tricks that will make me a fluent speaker under 6 months."  Although this blog may not provide a direct answer to that , but hold your horse! While the "6 months fluent in XYZ language" may not be promised here, but you will witness a good range of language learning methods being truthfully praticed in this authentic experiment. You will see the direct uses and adaptions of these approaches in my French learning. And I would like to discuss with you about what worked well, what didn't, and why.  If that is not a strong enough reason for you to stay with me. In this blog, I will also share how knowing other languages (Chinese, English, Vietnamese, which has some subtle connection with French, and Thai) boosted my learning. If that is...