Re:Some Georgia Schools Make Mandarin Mandatory
by seanmcdirmid on Sunday September 09, 2012 @05:34AM
(#4495407)
Chinese is way easier than Japanese, none of that crazy grammar or honorifics going on, you just have to learn a few tonal sounds. I made my greatest leap in all but 6 moths studying in Beijing in 2002. But it's much better to learn a language in context (where they speak it) vs at high school.
Re:Some Georgia Schools Make Mandarin Mandatory
by w1ntermute on Sunday September 09, 2012 @12:11PM
(#4496108)
That might've been your personal experience. But the Defense Language Institute, which has trained thousands of people over the decades, gives both Chinese and Japanese (along with Arabic and Korean) a level "4" rating - the highest one, requiring (IIRC) 2200 hours of practice. A large part of it depends on the individual - if you find grammar easy to pick up, then Japanese will be easier. The opposite will be true if you find pronunciation easier.
Much like you, I studied another language before I found one that worked for me. I studied German, before I committed to Japanese. I had fun studying it, but I was never excited enough to the point where I wanted to move to Germany. Learning a language is a very difficult process (especially Chinese for English speakers) and having the freedom to choose to take a different language is what allowed me to find one that I was truly passionate about.
I believe that Chinese will continue to remain important, but forcing kids into it might dissuade them from finding a foreign language they truly enjoy. That's all I wanted to say.