gone Berlitz
I’m finally attending language school 🙂 Yeay! another tick in my to-do list for the year.
Technically, this will be my 4th language if we count Nihongo which I took up in college for a year. We got until the intermediate level then 4th year StraMa (thesis) came and I wasn’t able to continue. In fairness, Jap’s easier to learn than Mandarin. The pronunciation’s kinder for beginners. I still have my old books and my friends in Japan can always send me resources so I can study on my own.
Now comes the challenge- learning Mandarin using the Berlitz Method. Started by Maximilian Berlitz, this approach to foreign language study’s being used for more than a hundred now. How different is it? For starters, it’s a total nosebleed. Not entirely, but it gives that impression! haha. That’s a no-translation class and your Lao shi speaks to you only in the language you’re studying. Of course, there’s the study materials like book and cd but this set-up forces you to stop translating and eventually pattern your thought based on the target language. Isn’t this how we learn to speak in the first place? That’s their rationale. Lao shi points at things, colors, numbers for you to get what she’s saying at first. Half an hour later, we were mimicking her tone and pronunciation already as well as answering questions 🙂 how effective!
I’ve read reviews that Berlitz might not make you so fluent but this is the perfect jump point i think. Before you can do basic presentation in a business set-up, you should pass level 3 first. Each level’s 15 hrs. long. Instead of concentrating on writing (though pin yin is used), you learn the logic of sentence patterns on your own. Another plus is the small class size. We’re limited to 3 students in a class to maximize the experience. Hehe, we’re a happy bunch- Apple, Carry and Christina.
I’ll be getting my Chinese name tonight. hehe. I’ll let you in on that after.
Then Friday to Monday, I’ll be out of town with B and our Monde friends. Will be posting photos and entries for sure.
Cheerios!
Berlitz/Edu-Care: 5th Level of Shangri-La,
Filed under: School | 5 Comments
Tags: Berlitz, Berlitz Mandarin, Berlitz Method, berlitz shangri-la, foreign language, foreign language class, mandarin
Sunny Side Up! 
mare, i want to learn a new language:) nihongo or mandarin? i took spanish way back in college…so i’m thinking if i’m going to take spanish again or a new one, watcha think?:)
pasalubong!!!please tell bombi…haha:P
muahmuahmuah…03
heya! just got back from a weekend vacay. yeay! haha. pasalubong? uhm.. i don’t know if you like Pili nuts but there’s nothing much I can bring home. I suggest that you perfect Spanish first since you’ll pass as a native when you go out of the country. try to look more mulato pa. haha. but it’s a widely spoken language that can help you a lot if you become more fluent in.
Very cool. I notice this was blogged back in April 2008. How’s your progress? Please let me know as I’m also looking into learning another language through Berlizt. Thanks
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