This is my fourth year taking Chinese at Jericho High School. My knowledge and understanding of this very unique language has greatly expanded. I have been fortunate enough to have native Chinese speakers, as well as a native Chinese teacher, in the classroom, but being able to use my Chinese outside of the school environment was a very unique experience for me.
I did an internship this summer in the city, so I was able to use the Chinese that I have learned in the past four years and really test my knowledge. I spoke to real people and had spontaneous conversations. Sometimes a lost tourist would come up to me and speak very little English and asked for help. When this happened I would ask the following question. “你说中文吗?” which means “Do you speak Chinese?” If the person did speak Chinese, he/she had a sense of relief on his/her face knowing that I could help and that he/she would understand. I would not have complex conversations with these people, but I would be able to show them where to get food or give them directions to somewhere and help them. I never realized how much Chinese I actually knew until I was outside of the classroom using it. It’s so amazing to know this language because so many people speak it, especially where we live.
你好！I really like this article! I hope to have similar experiences in the future with speaking Chinese! This clearly shows the value of being able to speak Chinese! 很好！
I can relate to this! I can’t believe you had such a positive experience with Chinese, and I hope it can all happen to us in the future.
Your article was very good! It was very well written. That’s so cool that you got the chance to talk to people in the “real world.” I hope I get the chance to do that one day. I learned that even though I am not a native Chinese speaker, I can still have conversations with other people who speak Chinese.
I love how you realized how important speaking Chinese is outside of the classroom. Chinese is the world’s most spoken language, so being able to speak and understand it is amazing. I also really liked how you applied your Chinese speaking skills to helping people who only spoke Chinese. They must’ve felt a lot better about being in a new place. This was a great article, good job!
This is a really nice story and reflection on your years of Chinese class!!! I didin’t think about what it would be like to not know a language in a forgien country, and your willingless to help is commendable. It’s impressive how much knowing another language can help out, and that’s shown here. I also didn’t know that Chinese internships were available. That seems incredible to me.
I also happened to practice Chinese at my part time job over the summer! It was really satisfying when you are able to speak to someone in a language other than English. It really allows you show how far you have come with the Chinese language and I think it is an amazing thing. It’s really surprising to see how many people you can communicate in a language other than English outside of the classroom. Great article!~