Success after school?
zsheffler
April 08, 2010, 11:09 PM posted in General DiscussionI'm curious - are there any CPod users that have gained a significant level of proficiency (say, arbitrarily, ability to keep up with Upper Intermediate without too much strain) after beginning to learn Chinese after University - say 25 years old or so?
bodawei
April 09, 2010, 07:21 AMHi zsheller - I don't think that age is terribly important except that as you get older your hearing deteriorates, whether you like it or not. This means that an older person (not naming names) has difficulty differentiating sounds when there is background noise (eg. in a restaurant, cafe). Forget bars or anywhere playing music. My only consolation is that my English listening is now on a par with my Chinese listening. ;-)
That said, it seems fairly obvious that younger people 'pick up' languages quicker than older people - I imagine that there are a whole range of reasons for this. When older, the memory is generally not as good. Don't let this dissuade you - there are compensations for older people. Experience provides some advantages as well. Strangely enough I feel that I have more time now to learn than I did when I was young. Young people seem to me to be in such a rush to learn.
changye
April 09, 2010, 09:46 AMDon't worry. It depends more on your aptitude than on your age.
Jess_Andersen
April 11, 2010, 12:45 AMI started learning at 45 years of age. I can now keep up in the UI and Advanced lessons (with some study breaks ) and carry on a limited conversation.
bodawei
Misterjess, I take it this is an old photo (the old politician trick) - you look under 25 to me. :-)
Jess_Andersen
I was 46 when this picture was taken. It was taken at the dojo where I train. I had just gotten my blue sash. This photo was taken by a brown sash 15 years my junior. After picture time we put on the sparring gear and I bounced him like a little basketball.
bababardwan
那，他反弹一样Vann Damme吗？
bodawei
April 11, 2010, 03:00 AMMisterjess, I take it this is an old photo (the old politician trick) - you look under 25 to me. :-)
mark
April 11, 2010, 03:21 AMI too would exceed the age the criteria of your question. I remember when Nixon first went to China, and didn't start studying Chinese until relatively recently. Proficiency is a bit harder to measure, but I don't consider the UI lessons difficult.
Jess_Andersen
April 12, 2010, 04:31 PMI was 46 when this picture was taken. It was taken at the dojo where I train. I had just gotten my blue sash. This photo was taken by a brown sash 15 years my junior. After picture time we put on the sparring gear and I bounced him like a little basketball.
chanelle77
April 09, 2010, 07:06 AMHi zsheffler, I'm a little over 25 :-), but I can keep up with Upper Intermediate and get around in daily life very well, after 1.5 - 2 yrs years of studying Chinese, but living in China (had a break of 6 months, during this period). I had no formal training, but listened to Cpod daily and had a private tutor once or twice a week. If you like the language and put some effort (frequency is more important than quantity) in it, you will succeed! Cpod was / is fantastic for listening skills and daily language, however I need some more formal training now to improve writing and reading skills and learn more formal / academic language.