User Comments - AuntySue

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AuntySue

Posted on: Jaywalking
August 2, 2007 at 9:01 AM

So what exactly is jaywalking? What do you have to do to cross the street in China while avoiding the wrath?

Posted on: Introducing the Fix
June 21, 2007 at 9:28 AM

I can't improve on Fu Dawei: "Why not go back and use Aric's brilliant original CPOD jingle, that was unceremonious tossed aside because of one or two whiners?" It deserves to be used again occasionally.

Posted on: Baby Talk: Be good!
May 24, 2007 at 8:33 PM

Sorry Henning (I wish we could edit these posts) you said the same thing as me, that it's the answer that goes beyond this level, not the question. I wasn't meaning to argue against you, but against the other idea. Thanks Jazz for the pointer, I'll look for that lesson.

Posted on: Baby Talk: Be good!
May 24, 2007 at 8:28 PM

Thanks Henning and you're right (but not about my level), but I dispute that this is not a newbie question. First, newbies cannot evaluate whether a question is a newbie question or not. Any question a newbie has is by definition a newbie question. Many of them don't have good newbie level answers, and newbies simply need to have that pointed out in the response. A question might sound like a grammar question when you know the grammar, but that's not necessarily what was intended. For example, consider the situation "I asked what that word was in there for and all I got was a half hour grammar lesson! I still don't know why it's there." A newbie question needs a newbie answer, plus a comment that it's related to something much harder when that is the case. We've had that with "le" for example, been told that it's quite complex for later study and the word is used in many different ways, but for now in this particular sentence it's used to indicate... whatever. This question doesn't have a newbie level grammatical explanation, but it does have a newbie explanation for why learning materials avoid "and", which feels so unnatural, and I'm still trying to get my head around that one a year later. I'm not ready for the grammar yet, maybe I'll never want the full grammar lesson, I just want to know why, in general terms, and that is indeed a newbie question.

Posted on: Late Getting Back
May 19, 2007 at 4:26 AM

Ken said: "Did you chaps like my Otto Jespersen quote? He suggested that teachers should never tell a student anything he could figure out for himself." Aunty's Corollary: But if he doesn't figure it out for himself and it's important, you're both stuffed.

Posted on: Chinese Wedding Customs
May 17, 2007 at 8:21 AM

Sorry for saying everything three times, it's the tiny little comment box, out of box out of mind. :-)

Posted on: Chinese Wedding Customs
May 17, 2007 at 8:19 AM

John, when you speak all that English, explaining everything, and translating just about everything Jenny says or so it seems, there's a little bit of untranslated Jenny speak that I as a newbie don't understand, of course. What I'm wondering is, is that portion of untranslated Jenny-speak meant to be a part of the lesson? Is it words to learn as part of the lesson, or is it superfluous, just semi-intelligible immersion material like when I listen to the overall sound Chinese radio shows for kicks? It seems to me that the answer to that question is vital to students' approach to the intermediate lessons, and people's satisfaction with what is provided and with their own performance. It also makes a huge difference in the levels system, whether the scripted dialogue and English explanations are at the intended study level, or whether the free Jenny speak is at the intended study level. Is the hard untranslated conversation stuff interesting auditory wallpaper, extension material for people who are nearly Advanced already, or part of the Intermediate level lesson material? Do you include its content when calculating for yourselves whether it's an easy or hard Intermediate lesson? Whatever the answer is, I don't think we as a group are understanding your intentions properly, and that's really important.

Posted on: Chinese Wedding Customs
May 16, 2007 at 11:02 AM

This is fascinating, seeing intermediate level people upset when they don't understand most of the podcast on first hearing. How quickly you forget being a newbie, when you go for weeks or months on end barely understanding ten percent of everything you hear, not even getting the gist of the topic until after studying it, and meanwhile all of the higher students tell you you're lazy for wanting some material you can understand maybe than half of, for a change. Oh how quickly we forget, how foreign the "other" seems, whoever that may be to us from time to time. As for speed, I'm with Lantian. Have a listen to almost any audio course, they're way faster right from lesson one. Try Pimsleur or the FSI course which is free online, have a listen to the breakneck speed they kick off with from day one nihao. Perhaps, though, it really is too fast for typical chinesepod students. If you've worked your way up here, you've been spoiled by way too slow newbie and elementary lessons all the time with no sampling of a faster version, and I believe it's easier to get used to the speed as a newbie than to pick it up after the luxury is ingrained. It can cause your brain to develop only inefficient processing habits, then you'll certainly need to hear slower speech than we have here. After listening to a lot of, or only, slow Mandarin, normal speed sounds almost unfamiliar. It forces you to listen to a whole phrase at a time, instead of stopping to compute after each syllable. If you haven't picked up that skill by now, perhaps it's a good thing for you that you're being made to do it!

Posted on: Chinese Wedding Customs
May 15, 2007 at 11:56 AM

I don't get it. I know I'm still working at newbie level and I don't know what it's like for you guys, but it makes no sense to me at all. You have the dialogue to listen to. You have the transcript, including pinyin and English, so you can follow along, even I can follow along and know what it's about, find a few new words and constructions to use. John explains the cultural context, in English. John explains the grammar, in English. John goes slowly and methodically through the key vocabulary, in English, with Jenny pronouncing the words. John gives a translated summary of everything Jenny says that's related to the learning, plus enough to understand any jokes, again, in English. What makes me understand this whole thing as a complete and fully explained lesson that I can learn from, when you guys can't?

Posted on: Late Getting Back
May 15, 2007 at 9:45 AM

O... K... 你看！ 他嗎上來嗎上！ ;-)