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Six Tips For Introverts Learning Chinese

Sometimes conversational fluency feels like an extroverts-only club. Stories abound
of Westerners who move to small Chinese towns and learn simply by striking up
conversations with strangers and being comfortable with making fools of them.

As an introvert in China, I’ve struggled quite a bit. Even in my home country I’m
uncomfortable making small-talk. In an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar culture, I
frequently feel like running for the hills on a Friday night, not going out to meet
strangers.

When it comes to making Chinese friends and improving my 口语（kouyu, spoken
Chinese), my conviction is stronger than my shyness. You can come to Qingdao
Chinese mandarin school, learning the most pure Chinese here. The best way to
learn a language is to internalize it and contextualize the way it’s used, and there
are lots of ways to do that without being the life of the Chinese bar scene.

1. Don’t fall into the flash card trap
Language needs to be processed, not memorized. Early on when I was learning
Chinese, I went through huge piles of flashcards for names of food, types of furniture,
and genres of music. I barely remember those words now, because I never used
them when I talked to people. Meanwhile, I couldn’t say:

- “How do you get there from here?” (从这里到那里怎么走? cóng zhèlǐ dào nàlǐ
zěnme zǒu?)
- “Can I get a 20 RMB discount?” (可以便宜20元吗? kěyǐ piányí 20 yuán ma?)

Think about the things you need to say on a daily basis. Learn phrases first, and then
learn different vocabulary that can be used in the same phrase or grammar structure.
Three times using a word in conversation is better than thirty times of seeing it as a
flashcard.

2. Prepare vocab for new situations
Because I’m a bit shy, I like to mentally prepare for social situations before they
happen. If I’m going out to a restaurant with a friend, I imagine the way to get there,
what I might order, sometimes even a few conversation starters. When studying
Chinese, I combined this “prepping” routine with vocabulary.

Going out to eat, I might look up a few dishes that I liked ahead of time. I’d review
how to say “Pay the bill”(买单 mǎidān) or “We want two pots of green tea” (我们要
两壶绿茶wǒmen yào liǎng hú lǜchá). This lets you immediately use vocabulary and
associate it with a person or place, making it much easier to remember in context.
Sometimes I even explain, out loud, what I’m going to do in Chinese.

3. Find a language partner or one-on-one tutor
Approaching a stranger in a crowd? Terrifying. Meeting one-on-one in a coffee shop
or in a park? More do-able. Lots of Chinese people are keen to practice their English
and are excited to make a foreign friend. Check online for classified ads in magazines
like The Beijinger or City Weekend. Or put up a flier with your contact information at a
place you already frequent. Tutors are a great option if you’re willing to pay–you never
have to worry about being boring or fumbling, because their job is to help you!

4. Journal in Chinese
Writing a journal lets you continue to use and process Chinese, even if you’re not
talking to anyone. My entries are pretty darn simple. “Today my friend and I walked in
Shuangjing. I went to Carrefour. It was too crowded! I saw someone buy a big fish.”
Discover what parts of your day you can explain using only Chinese!

5. Find online chat buddies
Many people are more comfortable talking online than face-to-face. Make a WeChat
account and use “People Near By” to talk to random people. You can always block
them if it’s uncomfortable, and maybe you can make an online friend! Texting/typing
in Chinese is much easier than writing, since you only have to recognize a character,
not have it completely memorized. Make a Renren or Weibo account and find people
with similar interests. Online classes are no replacement for conversation, but they
can be a useful supplement.

6. Connect Chinese to something you love to do
If you’re passionate about learning languages, good for you! But maybe you came
to China because you love kung fu movies, or simply love the scenery. If that’s the
case, go out and do what you love, and the vocab will follow. Don’t make it just about
the conversation or the language itself–make it about something you do enjoy.

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