I am here now:
chitchatchinese.wordpress.com
and here - book is out:
www.chitchatchinese.com
Nǐhǎo,
Welcome to my blog. My name is Rachel and I am a Chinese teacher and Chinese textbook author (”Chit-Chat Chinese” to be published by Far East Publishers in 2009). I started learning Mandarin over 20 years ago and I can’t say reaching fluency was exactly a “walk in the park”. I want to help other learners with tips and short-cuts to make their learning a bit breezier than mine was. I also own language schools in New York City and San Francisco (ABC Language Exchange) and have seen hundreds of Mandarin students come through our school, some successful in acquiring conversational Mandarin and some, well, not so much. I also want to encourage teachers to simplify their teaching and avoid the linguistic mumbo-jumbo that can just add to the confusion. It’s a blog from the learner’s perspective, since 学中文一辈子还学不完, in other words: you can study Chinese for a lifetime and still not be finished. I would love to hear from both Mandarin students and teachers and open up the dialogue.