I actually was literally searching for chinese lessons suited for ABCs when I found your video! Thank you so, so much for making this -- I really didn't even know I felt out of place with my chinese speaking/(nonexistent) writing & reading abilities until you described your experience and I realized I felt the same way. I can't describe how encouraging it is to search for a resource and find someone who's like me and understands. Thank you!!!
I feel you on another level. I grew up Chinese-American and speaking and listening to Chinese and I was tutored by my mom too but I pretty much rejected it until now. I can barely read and can't write whatsover (except my name). My speaking accent isn't terrible, but my grammar is also not the best. Will keep learning Chinese and someday master it along with Korean and Japanese. Thank you for this video Michelle!
I'm so glad I found this video, I can relate so much as a fellow ABC. I didn't go to Chinese school so all the Chinese (Mandarin and Fuzhounese) I know is just passively listening from my parents. I'm currently in college right now, and try to squeeze in learning on my own with other things. This video gives me motivation and comfort to know I'm not the only one in this situation :)
Great video Michelle, thanks for giving me a term to describe my situation. Im an australian born chinese with the same issue as you, its cool to know we're not alone :)
Thank you for watching! It's incredible knowing that these things that I think and feel are actually pretty common - seriously these comments mean so much!
I’m a first gen and in my 60s. I understand Mandarin but speak now at an elementary school level and frankly very regretful. My parents speak to me in Chinese but return them in English since they both are fluent in English. I was fortunate that my mother taught me to pronounce Chinese well even with a slight Shanrung accent. Chinese would think I great at Chinese but after a minute conversing then they realize my sentence structure is messed up. That’s my bucket list to be more fluent for what’s left of my life. TH-cam vids and google translator helps and when I am stumped, I ask my friends more fluent than me to help out.
I hope you keep going, as someone who also learns Chinese very late, and now 4 years in. It's been really an eye opening experience. Not only I made new friends, there are so much history and culture I missed out, it really gives me a new perpective on the world.
Thank you for posting this! It's so hard because I don't even know where to start. I hate being corrected by my parents, so the best I have is talking to my grandpa once a month or talking to another ABC friend. I actually found your video by searching "Chinese for heritage speakers" on TH-cam in hopes of finding some sort of Chinese teacher who knows how to tailor learning the language for heritage speakers. I wish this sort of curriculum was out there!
hi! i'm a month late but since you mentioned you wanted to find chinese classes tailored for heritage speakers, i thought i'd share a website that might be helpful (if you haven't already found it yourself ajsldfk): ltl-school.com/chinese-descent-speakers/
Thanks, Michelle. You made me feel a bit better as an ABC. Like I can have a simple conversation with my parents, but I have close to no idea what people in modern Chinese TV shows are saying 😂
Lots of your story parallels mine with Spanish. Believe it or not, I also used to say that I spoke "like a three year old." Although, I was second generation. Like my pronunciation was always on point but I used to say things that made me cringe. Edit - and I gotta say, people who fall along the lines of heritage speaker have a HUGE advantage. Looking back, Spanish was easy for me to learn. I had a sense for it already. Now I'm learning Mandarin and it's like my head is spinning.
I'm teaching my native language (Sinhala) and more than 1/4 of my students are people who didn’t grow up in Sri Lanka, but their parents speak Sinhala. Sometimes I have no idea where to start and how to teach them. Because their level is a mess. But I see how much they want to learn it and how they feel. I wish I can find better methods to teach them the language. Btw, Sinhala is also an Asian language.
I actually was literally searching for chinese lessons suited for ABCs when I found your video! Thank you so, so much for making this -- I really didn't even know I felt out of place with my chinese speaking/(nonexistent) writing & reading abilities until you described your experience and I realized I felt the same way. I can't describe how encouraging it is to search for a resource and find someone who's like me and understands. Thank you!!!
I feel you on another level. I grew up Chinese-American and speaking and listening to Chinese and I was tutored by my mom too but I pretty much rejected it until now. I can barely read and can't write whatsover (except my name). My speaking accent isn't terrible, but my grammar is also not the best. Will keep learning Chinese and someday master it along with Korean and Japanese. Thank you for this video Michelle!
I'm so glad I found this video, I can relate so much as a fellow ABC. I didn't go to Chinese school so all the Chinese (Mandarin and Fuzhounese) I know is just passively listening from my parents. I'm currently in college right now, and try to squeeze in learning on my own with other things. This video gives me motivation and comfort to know I'm not the only one in this situation :)
Great video Michelle, thanks for giving me a term to describe my situation. Im an australian born chinese with the same issue as you, its cool to know we're not alone :)
Thank you for watching! It's incredible knowing that these things that I think and feel are actually pretty common - seriously these comments mean so much!
I’m a first gen and in my 60s. I understand Mandarin but speak now at an elementary school level and frankly very regretful. My parents speak to me in Chinese but return them in English since they both are fluent in English. I was fortunate that my mother taught me to pronounce Chinese well even with a slight Shanrung accent. Chinese would think I great at Chinese but after a minute conversing then they realize my sentence structure is messed up. That’s my bucket list to be more fluent for what’s left of my life. TH-cam vids and google translator helps and when I am stumped, I ask my friends more fluent than me to help out.
This is amazing!! struggle is real for heritage speakers😂😭
I can relate, as a ABC who is not super fluent in Chinese..It’s a difficult situation to be in...I want to be more fluent in Chinese too.
I hope you keep going, as someone who also learns Chinese very late, and now 4 years in. It's been really an eye opening experience. Not only I made new friends, there are so much history and culture I missed out, it really gives me a new perpective on the world.
I like this new term -heritage speaker，it's beautiful
Thank you for posting this! It's so hard because I don't even know where to start. I hate being corrected by my parents, so the best I have is talking to my grandpa once a month or talking to another ABC friend. I actually found your video by searching "Chinese for heritage speakers" on TH-cam in hopes of finding some sort of Chinese teacher who knows how to tailor learning the language for heritage speakers. I wish this sort of curriculum was out there!
hi! i'm a month late but since you mentioned you wanted to find chinese classes tailored for heritage speakers, i thought i'd share a website that might be helpful (if you haven't already found it yourself ajsldfk):
ltl-school.com/chinese-descent-speakers/
Thanks, Michelle. You made me feel a bit better as an ABC. Like I can have a simple conversation with my parents, but I have close to no idea what people in modern Chinese TV shows are saying 😂
thank you for this video, I agree how is there not more content like this!
This is dope!! Cool to hear about your language progression even w the hump (or the climb? as Miley Stewart would say) & your journey in learning
Lots of your story parallels mine with Spanish. Believe it or not, I also used to say that I spoke "like a three year old." Although, I was second generation. Like my pronunciation was always on point but I used to say things that made me cringe.
Edit - and I gotta say, people who fall along the lines of heritage speaker have a HUGE advantage. Looking back, Spanish was easy for me to learn. I had a sense for it already. Now I'm learning Mandarin and it's like my head is spinning.
I'm teaching my native language (Sinhala) and more than 1/4 of my students are people who didn’t grow up in Sri Lanka, but their parents speak Sinhala. Sometimes I have no idea where to start and how to teach them. Because their level is a mess. But I see how much they want to learn it and how they feel. I wish I can find better methods to teach them the language.
Btw, Sinhala is also an Asian language.
Oh my gosh! This is exactly how I am with Polish!
The Harry potters reference is so apt
This was a really cool video- thanks for sharing. What were the textbooks that you used to improve your Chinese?
I use the 1:43 textbooks.
After watching the whole video I just wanna hear you speak Chinese hahaha
in the opposite I would like to know how to speak english well as you in 4 weeks lol
I love itttt
Wow that’s the exact feeling when I try to use English to express my feelings about politics, personal beliefs and etc ☹️😭😭
Keep working at it! You can do it!
Download HelloChinese 那个app真的很棒啦～ ^_^
You're a second gen, not a first gen.
It’s so much easier being white learning Chinese because I can just ask for help without sounding stupid.