Tutty is a photographer from Germany. She just came to Shanghai with her familly for 4 months. Tutty chose to study Chinese with us three times a week and has made great progress since she started it, as she is not afraid of making mistake and tries any chance to talk in Chinese. Let’s see what tips she can share in picking up the language.
Tutty是来自德国的自由摄影师。她和老公孩子一起来上海四个月了，现在在Mandarin Inn每周上三次课，中文获得了巨大进步，其原因之一是她不怕犯错，能尝试任何机会讲中文。对于在上海学习中文，她有什么想和大家说的呢？
Q: Do you speak to Chinese friends?
你会和中国朋友交流吗？
A: I don’t have a lot of Chinese friends, but I have an āyí whom I have to speak mandarin with. Yīnwéi tā búhuì shuō yīngwén。
我没有太多中国朋友，但我和阿姨说中文，因为她不会说英文。
Q: When you have to speak to āyí, how do you make sentence in Chinese?
和阿姨交流的时候，怎么组织你的中文呢？
A: I think the sentence is not always correct in gramma but I just talk. And I am not shy talking and not afraid of making mistake. If you think too much then you will not talk. Just keep talking, you will improve by listening to her, or she corrects me. This is how I think I can make progress. I also don’t study within the book. I ask lǎoshī: "What is this?", "What is that?", which helps a lot.
我说的话可能语法都不全是对的，但我就是想办法说出来。不会不好意思，也不怕犯错误。如果你想太多到最后就说不出来了。交流的时候一直说，然后听阿姨说什么，她也会纠正我，我就是这么进步的。另外我也不只学习书上内容，我会问老师：这是什么？那是什么？这些都对学习有好处。
Q: Is there any problems that you have caused by language?
有没有碰到过因为语言造成的问题？
A: Yes, I ordered something on Hémǎ, and the shipper delivered the wrong item. Luckily my āyí was with me. In China it is very progressed in IT technology like Wechat pay, Alipay...everything paying with the mobile phone. At the beginning, it was very difficult as everything takes time. I used a lot of Baidu to translate for me. It is not quick. I don’t know which button to press.有，在盒马上买了东西，快递送错了。幸好阿姨在。中国的科技发展很超前，微信支付宝，什么都用手机操作。最初的时候，花很长时间解决一件事，我用百度翻译，但也很慢，不知道按哪个键。
Q: So, the problem is Chinese characters?
所以读汉字是主要问题？
A: Yes, so I started to pick up a little bit Chinese characters. Learning Chinese is difficult for me because of many characters, it’s getting confusing that the same pinyin has different characters. That is why I cannot read the menu so far. My aim is to read the menu in restaurant. 😊
是的，我已经开始学一点汉字了，这是一个难点。同一个拼音可以对应不同的汉字容易混淆。所以我现在还没法读菜单，我的目标是能去餐厅看懂菜单。
Q: Some think as many people know how to speak English in Shanghai so foreigners don’t have to learn Mandarin. Do you think it is useful to learn Mandarin?
有些人认为上海很多人会说英语，外国人不需要学中文。你觉得学中文有用吗？
A: It is a must to learn Mandarin! Otherwise, you cannot "survive". For example, if kuàidì comes, he does not speak English…so for the sake of daily things, it gets necessary to speak Chinese. And it is also show respect to the country where you are living in to learn the language.
学中文是必须的，否则没法“生存”。比如说，快递来了，他不会说英文...这些日常事务使得会说中文变得必要。另外学习语言也表达了你对居住国家的尊重。
Q: As a good student, how do you learn Mandarin? Tips for classmates?
作为我们的优秀学员，你是怎么学中文的？有没有对同学的建议？
A: You need to know whether you are a group learning person or what. Regarding to language, I prefer studying alone. I was thinking of joining a group class but I was not sure if it would fit into the speed when I learn alone. So, it is important to know what fits best to your learning style. Also, it is better to do homework on your own. I can ask anything, everything without worry that if it is interesting to other classmates.
你要知道自己是否属于小组学习型的人。就语言来说我更喜欢独自学习。我也想过加入班课，只是不确定进度能不能保持和私课一样的速度。了解最适合自己的学习风格是很重要的。还有，作业最好独立完成。私课上，我可以问老师任何问题，也不用担心这些内容其他学生是不是感兴趣。
Q: Till now, does mandarin Inn’s course meets your requirement of learning Chinese?
到现在为止，MI的课程能否满足你学习中文的需要？
A: I am already happy with Mandarin Inn. I like the E-learning. I used that quite often, the audio and workbook exercises. For me, also the structure of the book prepares me for the HSK test with the same structure.
我对Mandarin Inn很满意。我喜欢用E-learning学习，配合练习册和音频。对我来说教材也很系统，以便我能够准备HSK考试。
Q: How do you think of your teacher?
喜欢你的中文老师吗？
A: Jane is funny where we had a lot of fun. She is very open to all my questions. I think it is a good connection between Jane and I. Because of the teacher, rarely cancel my Chinese lessons. That is how I like the class with Jane. I cannot recommend her being afriad that she will not have more time for me...lol
老师很有意思，上课很开心，她有问必答。我们相处得不错。老师的原因，我都坚持上课，不怎么取消。我不想推荐我的老师Jane，要是她忙了就没时间给我上课了...😊
Q: We also hold culture workshop every month. If it meets your schedule, what kind of culture workshop do you expect?
我们每月一次都有文化工坊的活动，如果你有空参加，希望参加什么样的活动？
A: I would be interested to learn more about socializing in China. For me it is not easy to get in touch with others here if you don’t speak Chinese. Maybe they can not speak English. I think it might be interesting to know people who would be interested to talk to foreigner without talking English, to have a little connection to the Chinese people.
我想了解如何在中国社交。对我来说，如果不能讲中文，很难和当地人保持关系，也许因为别人也不说英文。如果能知道有哪些人想要和老外用中文交流，提高中文水平的同时也能拓展一下中国朋友社交圈，应该会很好。
Q: We would like to create a community for students to get more involved. Any advice?
MI想要创造一个社区让我们的学生能过更加融入，你有好的建议吗？
A: Maybe it is because I am learning alone, it would be good to know how many students are here, and which level other students are. For me there is not much transparency. I don’t know if you can show like "there are model students in your level, would you like to connect with these people?"(End)
也许因为我是私课的原因不了解其他学生，如果能知道这里有多少学生，他们的汉语水平之类的，可以让我更了解这个社区。现在似乎这方面的信息还不够透明。不知道是不是可以向同一汉语级别的学生展示模范学生，然后建立学生之间的联系呢？（完）