A Leap of Language

By Barney Goatley

Prior to arriving in China in 2017， I had read various books relating to China， famous Chinese novels as well as non-fiction and the seeds of my fascination were sown.

Therefore， when I arrived I couldnt have been more excited to be living in this huge historically and culturally rich country， so vastly different to my native home of the UK. The food， the landmarks， the mega cities and everyday life—I was raring to explore.

Yet despite my enthusiasm， learning Chinese hadnt even entered my mind. This wasnt ignorance or laziness， but rather intimidation at the prospect of attempting to learn what is regarded as the most difficult language in the world. In my mind， the Chinese language was the prerogative of the highly intelligent. Besides this， once I moved to China， I was living in Shanghai which is an international city， with many people speaking English as a second language—I decided English would suffice.

However， after a year in China I began to observe that while many expats did not speak Chinese， there were plenty who did. Perhaps it was achievable after all？ In addition I felt uncomfortable with how many Chinese people could speak English （to some degree or another） and yet I couldnt even speak the most basic Chinese. With these factors in mind and a thirst for a new challenge I decided to begin my language journey and my only regret is that I didnt start earlier.

In the two years since starting to learn I have made significant progress.

The Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi （HSK） is the standardized test of Chinese language proficiency for non-native speakers. In July 2020， I passed my HSK3 exam with a score of 100 percent， I am now almost ready to start HSK5 and am able to converse in Chinese on numerous topics.

Learning to speak Chinese isnt as insurmountable as I once assumed. When I speak to native Chinese speakers in Chinese they almost always understand me， I have also not found it too difficult to remember characters （I know over 1，000） and I am now even able to write over 400 characters. I find studying the language relaxing and rewarding， particularly writing and practicing the intricate strokes of the characters. The thing I find most challenging is listening since native speakers talk at such a speed， I cant always understand whats been said， but my weekly online language exchanges help with this.

Despite my progress， it has still been the challenge I craved and has taken a lot of hard work and commitment. Furthermore， there is a long way to go before I reach my goal of fluency. The key to progress is to be patient and persistent， the satisfaction that comes from simple things like ordering food in Chinese， buying a train ticket or conversing with a taxi driver makes all the hard work worth it.

My biggest takeaway from learning Chinese is that its not only doable but can also be enjoyable. Learning Chinese not only helped me in day-to-day life， but deepened my cultural understanding of such a diverse and intriguing country. Considering where I am now compared to two years ago， as long as I keep working hard I can envisage a time where Ill be able to read famous Chinese novels not in English but in the original text. So， to all my non-Chinese friends I say this， dont be intimidated， embrace the challenge and take the leap of faith. BR