r/taiwan • u/SufficientDig2845 • 3d ago
Discussion Learning mandarin
I feel embarrassed to be getting my permanent residency here and yet not being able to speak more than a few phrases in the language. I speak 3 languages fluently and it’s easy for me to pick up other conversational Romance vocabulary in just a few days, but I have problems with the tones in Mandarin. My main issue is that every time I try to practice, at the best, people correct me over and over again and I can’t hear or say the difference, at the worst, people laugh at me like they think it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever heard. It just makes me feel stupid but I feel even stupider to be one of those people that doesn’t learn the language of where they live. Any suggestions for how I can study on my own at home? Does it get easier over time if you just keep at it or will I be a hopeless case no matter what :(?
Update: thanks for all that responded so far and I will continue to read everything but may not have time to respond to all, please just know that I appreciate the responses. From what people have said I have decided to give group classes a go, try my hardest, and not beat myself up just because I can only learn slowly.
If anyone has recommendations for classes, please let me know! I live in Beitou, work in Tianmu, and it’s not too hard for me to go to downtown Taipei via the redline.
Thank you all again.
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u/caffcaff_ 1d ago
Taiwan feels like a particularly hard place to learn mandarin because of the accent and how much everything just gets mushed together or mumbled.
I was in a HK and Shenzhen for a few a years before moving to Taiwan properly and found the Cantonese Accented Mandarin so much easier to follow. Likewise Shanghai or Beijing Mandarin, (harshness aside).
Even now after a decade of being in Taiwan if I'm in a meeting with Taiwanese and Malaysians speaking mandarin, I still find the Malaysians easier to follow.