引言
Introduction
学习一门语言，最难的不是从零开始，而是在“够用”之后，仍然选择继续往前走。
The hardest part of learning a language isn't starting from zero. It's choosing to push forward after things feel "good enough."
很多在中国生活的外国人，都会在某个阶段进入一种“语言舒适区”——日常沟通没问题，点餐打车很顺畅，但似乎再也无法向前一步。这个阶段，有人选择接受，有人选择离开，也有人选择重新开始。
Many foreigners in China reach a language comfort zone—daily needs are met, taxis are hailed, meals are ordered. But progress stalls. Some accept it. Some leave. And some, quietly, begin again.
在上海一栋百年老洋房里，我们遇到了 Rohit。一位来自英国、在成都和上海生活了近十二年的教育者。他的中文水平在 HSK3 停留了很久，直到去年，他决定回到课堂。不是因为考试，不是因为工作。而是因为一个简单的想法：在这里生活了这么久，他欠自己一次真正的突破。
In a century-old garden house in Shanghai, we met Rohit. A British educator of Indian heritage who has lived in Chengdu and Shanghai for nearly twelve years. His Chinese hovered around HSK3 for a long time. Last year, he decided to return to the classroom—not for a test, not for a job, but for a simple reason: after all this time, he owed himself a real breakthrough.
为什么来到中国
Why China?
“我第一次来中国是2014年8月28号，所以很快就是我的12年 ‘Chinanniversary’ 了。”Rohit 笑着说。
"I first moved to China on 28th August 2014, so soon it will be my 12-year 'Chinanniversary,'" Rohit says with a smile.
他来自英国，有印度家庭背景。当年，他看到朋友们在世界各地教英语、在社交平台上分享精彩的生活，心里充满羡慕。
He is British, of Indian background. A decade after graduating, his career was going nowhere. Friends teaching English abroad seemed to be having a wonderful time. "I would see their posts on Facebook and feel jealous. I wanted to live the life that they were living."
“我当时想，我也要过那样的生活。” 于是他考了教师资格，向全世界投简历。最终，他在成都和墨西哥之间选择了前者。而且那时，我父母在武汉，我爸爸在这边当工程师。所以我想，住在一个有家人的国家是明智的，万一有什么紧急情况呢。
So he got qualified and applied for jobs all over the world. Two offers came: Chengdu and Mexico. "The job in Chengdu was paying much better. Also, at the time, my parents were in Wuhan, with my dad working as an engineer here. So I thought it made sense to live in the country where I have family in case of emergencies."
“本来只打算待一年，结果一年变成了十年。我在这里过得很好，我对中国给予我的一切充满感激。”
"What was supposed to be one year blossomed into a decade. I live a good life here, and I am very grateful for all that China has given me."
和很多在中国的外国人一样，Rohit 的中文学习经历过一次漫长的停滞。
Like many foreigners in China, Rohit's Chinese learning hit a long pause.
“2019到2022年，我曾在其他学校投入地学习过一段时间。但后来，我也‘平台化’了——基本需求都能搞定，动力就没了。水平停在了 HSK3。”
"I did a serious period of study from 2019 to 2022 at another school. I established a solid foundation. However, like many foreigners, I ended up 'plateauing.' I got to a stage where I could take care of all my basic needs and then lost motivation. So my level is currently HSK3."
去年，他重新找回了动力，来到 Mandarin Inn。“我希望这次我可以保持我的动力！”
Last year he rediscovered his motivation and started classes with Mandarin Inn. "I hope this time I can keep my motivation!！"
学中文有必要吗？
Is It Useful to Learn Chinese?
问起外国人学中文有没有用，Rohit 的回答毫不犹豫。
When asked if learning Mandarin is useful for foreigners, Rohit doesn't hesitate.
“当然有用。即使在像上海这样的国际化城市，出租车司机、便利店店员，很多人一句英语都不会。有基础的中文能力，生活会方便得多。”
"Yes, absolutely. Even in an international city like Shanghai, service providers such as taxi drivers and shopkeepers speak zero English. So at least having a foundation in Mandarin makes your life so much more convenient."
他讲了一件最近让自己特别有成就感的事。
He shares a recent moment of pride.
“我申请工行信用卡。理财顾问跟我说，最好带个中国人去银行帮你翻译。我决定自己搞定。结果，99% 的沟通我都用中文完成了。能独立完成信用卡申请这么复杂的事，那种感觉太棒了。”
"Recently I applied for an ICBC credit card. My financial advisor told me to take a Chinese person with me to the bank for translation help. I decided I was going to deal with it myself. I was able to communicate with the banking staff 99% of the time. It was such an amazing feeling—being able to do something as complicated as a credit card application fully in Chinese."
除此之外，他还补充了一句：“在别人的国家生活，尝试说人家的语言，是一种基本的礼貌。”
"Aside from this reason, I think it is also good manners to try and learn the language of the country where you are living."
学习技巧
Learning Hacks
关于学习方法，Rohit 有自己的坚持。
On learning methods, Rohit has his convictions.
“有些人说可以不学汉字，但我认为那会严重限制你的学习。一定要学汉字。还有，谁说声调不重要，那绝对是错的。声调发不准，中国人根本听不懂你在说什么。”
"While I know some people who have learned Mandarin without learning the characters, I think doing it this way really limits your learning. So definitely learn the characters. Also, anybody who tells you that tones don't matter is wrong. Definitely establish good pronunciation of the tones, or Chinese people will not understand you."
他的练习方式很朴素：陈老师每节课会把对话笔记发给他，他就一遍遍朗读，一直读到下次上课。
His practice is refreshingly simple: his teacher sends notes of their class dialogue, and he reads them aloud, over and over, until the next lesson.
他还分享了一个小窍门：“我会用微信跟几个中国朋友全中文聊天。微信的语音转文字特别好用——如果对方发了语音，有不认识的词，转成文字就能看懂了。”
"Another thing I do is try to communicate with a Chinese person on WeChat all in Chinese. I have a few Chinese friends with whom I do this. WeChat has excellent voice-to-text recognition, so if you don't understand some new words in a voice message, you can get it converted to text and understand what they are saying."
关于老师
About the Teacher
说到他在 Mandarin Inn 的陈老师，Rohit 的语气里多了一些生动。
Speaking of his Mandarin Inn teacher, Chen Laoshi, Rohit's tone becomes more animated.
“我很喜欢陈老师把自己的个性带进课堂。她也把幽默带进来了，这是我以前的老师从来没有的。学中文不一定要那么严肃。”
"I really like that Chen Laoshi brings her unique personality to the class. She also brings humor to the classes, which I never had with previous teachers. It shows that learning Chinese doesn't just have to be serious."
他特别提到了一点：“她是一个自由思想者，敢于表达一些跟大众不同的观点。这种人是我一直愿意待在他们身边的。”
"I also really like the fact that she is a free thinker who will express opinions that go against the crowd. Free thinkers are always people I want to be around."
在教学方法上，陈老师的做法让他深受触动。
Pedagogically, Chen Laoshi's approach has made a real difference.
“她会根据我来调整词汇量，让我们整节课都能用中文持续对话。以前的老师会给太多新词，最后我们不得不切回英语。她还鼓励我聊自己感兴趣的话题，然后帮我用中文把那些想法表达出来。这给了我巨大的鼓励。”
"Chen Laoshi tailors the vocabulary so that we can talk continuously in Chinese for the whole lesson. With previous teachers, they would overload me with so much new vocabulary that we would end up speaking in English. She also encourages me to talk about topics that are of interest to me and helps me to express those ideas in Chinese. This really gives me strong encouragement to learn Mandarin."
学习环境与挑战
Learning in China
Rohit 的出勤率很高。问他是怎么做到的，他的回答很诚实。
Rohit rarely misses a class. When asked why, his answer is candid.
“我不请假，因为我下定决心要把中文推到下一个水平。说实在的，来这里十年了，中文还只是中等水平，我自己都觉得有点不好意思。这件事本身就够激励我了。”
"I seldom ask for leave because I really am determined to push my Chinese to the next level. I kind of feel bad that after 10 years of being here my Chinese is at a middle level, so this motivates me a lot."
至于线上资源，他也老实交代：“我还没怎么用，因为陈老师给的对话笔记太丰富了，光是学那些新词汇就占了我大部分时间。”
"I will be honest that I haven't used the online resources because the notes from the conversation with my teacher are so in-depth that I spend a lot of time learning the new vocabulary."
在日常生活的语言实践中，Rohit 也有自己的“软肋”。
In daily life, Rohit still encounters his linguistic soft spots.
“也许可以开一个‘怎么跟快递员沟通’的工作坊。有时候他们说的话里，好多词我都不太熟。”
"Perhaps a workshop on dealing with delivery drivers would be good. Sometimes I find they say a lot of vocabulary that I am not familiar with."
他还提了一个关于教材的小建议：“HSK 课本的对话部分有拼音，但练习题没有。遇到不认识的字，我只能拍照、用微信提取，再查读音和意思，很花时间。如果所有部分都能有拼音就好了。”
He also has a small suggestion about textbooks: "One issue I have is with the HSK book. The dialogues have pinyin included. However, the exercises do not. So if there is a character that I don't recognize, I have to take a photo of it, then extract it with WeChat to identify the pronunciation and meaning of the character. I feel this takes up a lot of time, so it would be good if pinyin could be included for all sections."
关于工作坊
Workshops
工作之外，Rohit 的生活丰富得有些出人意料。
Outside of work, Rohit's life is surprisingly rich.
他最大的爱好是志愿服务。他是扶轮社成员，过去三年一直在上海扶轮社。他建立了一个工作坊项目，教父母如何用温和的方式跟孩子说话。他还在上海两所学校建立了青年扶轮社，帮助年轻人参与志愿活动。他组织过在公园和动物园为外来务工家庭的孩子提供免费英语课。
His biggest hobby is volunteering. As a Rotary Club member, he established a workshop program teaching parents how to speak to their children in a kind way, and set up youth Rotary clubs in two Shanghai schools. He also organized free English classes for children from migrant families—in a park, and in a zoo. "I really like to make a positive difference to the world."
“我真的很想为这个世界带来一点积极的影响。”
"I really like to make a positive difference to the world."
他还热爱徒步。在印度 Pune，他曾独自一人登上了 Rajad 古堡的顶峰，海拔 1376 米。“我特别自豪，那是我一个人完成的！我的梦想是有一天去张家界徒步。它还在我的中国打卡清单上。”
He also loves hiking. His proudest achievement: a solo ascent of Rajad Fort in Pune, India—1376 meters above sea level. "My dream is to one day hike in Zhangjiajie. It is still on my bucket list of places to see in China."
他也很享受公众演讲。他做过很多关于“培养孩子和年轻人成长心态”的讲座。“我希望有一天能用中文做这个演讲。”此外，他有一个传统：每学期最后一节课，他都会用中文给学生们做一个告别演讲。有学生把它传到了抖音上。
He also enjoys public speaking and has given many talks on fostering a growth mindset in young people. "I hope to be able to give this talk in Chinese!" He also has a tradition: giving a Mandarin goodbye speech to his students on the last day of class. One student uploaded it on Douyin.
最喜欢的一句话
Favourite Chinese Sentence
采访的最后，我们问 Rohit 最喜欢的一句中文是什么。
At the end, we asked Rohit for his favorite Chinese phrase.
他说：“旧的不去，新的不来。”
He said: "Out with the old, in with the new."
“我对个人成长特别有热情。这句话正好说出了我的信念：如果我们想拥抱新的东西、成长为更好的人，就必须放下旧的思维、旧的习惯。”
"I am very passionate about personal growth, so this sentence really captures what I believe: we need to get rid of our old thinking and old ways if we want to embrace the new and grow as people."
这句话，或许正是他这十二年“Chinanniversary”最好的注脚。在一个人人都追求“新”的时代，他选择停下来，回头收拾那些“旧”的功课。不是为了任何人，只是为了自己。
This phrase, perhaps, is the best annotation of his twelve-year "Chinanniversary." In an era where everyone chases the new, he chose to pause and tend to old, unfinished business. Not for anyone else—just for himself.
结语
Closing
在 Mandarin Inn 这栋老洋房里，语言学习从来不只是关于词汇和语法。
Inside the old garden house of Mandarin Inn, language learning has never been just about vocabulary and grammar.
它关于一个人如何在异国他乡，一点点搭建起属于自己的生活。关于在“够用”之后，仍然选择向前。关于诚实面对自己的“平台期”，然后安静地跨过去。
It's about building a life, piece by piece, in a foreign country. About choosing to push forward long after things feel "good enough." About facing your own plateau honestly—and quietly crossing it.
Rohit 的故事没有轰轰烈烈的转折，也没有一夜之间的顿悟。它更像一条缓慢而坚定的河流，绕过石头，继续向前。而这，或许正是大多数学习者最真实的样子。(完）
Rohit's story has no dramatic turn, no overnight epiphany. It's more like a slow, steady river, finding its way around the rocks. And that, perhaps, is the truest portrait of most learners. (End)
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