A series of notes and reflections after my first 100 Mandarin Chinese lessons.
I’ve just finished my 103rd lesson. The pace of my learning is different now. I’m taking only one class per week. There’s more time to practice, but I miss the pace that developed when I felt the need to prepare for two lessons every week.
Productivity writer and ‘guru’ Cal Newport is in the news, featured in this weekend’s FT magazine. I’ve only read bits and pieces of his work, but his ideas are convenient hooks for a next set of reflections: I’ll pick two points from the article and connect them to my experience learning Chinese over the last year or so. I’ll add another point about teachers.
Deep Work
Cal Newport is best known for his book Deep Work. Deep work is what you get when you are focused on the task at hand. You’re not thinking about your email, or some other thing you need to do. No notifications are tempting you to check your email or your networking service (distractive poison) of choice.
Work Accomplished = Time Spent x Intensity
We all know the feeling of being deep into our language study. A character, a phrase, a text has absorbed us. The task at hand is neither too difficult nor too easy, it’s in reach and takes us into full pursuit.
One of my favourite lessons over the last year was “U1-L3: Speaking Well” in the GoEast HSK4 Part 1 set of lessons (which is the set I’m currently working through). It was the first text in the GoEast material that wasn’t a dialogue but a monologue, a reflection, on what it means speak well. I had recently done some negotiation courses and become an accredited mediator. The material connected with me. I naturally focused on the lesson and absorbed it.
有的人认为,说话的关键,就是把别人放在心上。
There are people who say that the key to speaking well is to bring other people close to your heart.
GoEast HSK4.1, U1L3: Speaking Well.
The more connections we can find to what we’re learning the easier it is to become absorbed and to focus.
When focus doesn’t come, stop and ask if there’s another angle to the material, something to draw yourself in by… That reminds me of another phrase that I enjoyed recently.
她说,她能从平时的小事中发现生活的精彩。。。
He said that he can find life’s brilliance within the ordinary little things.
GoEast HSK4.1, U2L3: Life Story.
Study isn’t always ‘deep.’ There are other things going on. If you get distracted and you realise it, be glad of the fact that you’ve noticed the distraction. Once you’ve noticed it, you can begin again. Just try again and stay optimistic.
What is your calendar like?
It’s easy to like the idea of being able to speak a new language. Wouldn’t it be cool if I could be fluent in Mandarin? While it’s important to have a reason for doing something, you can’t bank on that reason to keep you going all the time. Cal Newport recommends a calendar-centric approach to work.
The calendar-centric approach to your life is looking at the time you have available . . . [asking yourself] does that seem sustainable?”
Cal Newport in the FT
If study doesn’t fit in your calendar then you’ve got a problem. The more regular you can make your schedule of learning commitments, the easier it becomes to keep the learning machine going. I remember how I gained energy and motivation from getting up at 4:45 AM for one lesson. I had asked for an earlier lesson so that I could fit it around a schedule of flat-hunting.
I did not want to miss out on lessons that week, I felt I had momentum that I didn’t want to lose. Dedicate yourself to a schedule.
Your teacher
How many people will you have 100 hours of direct contact with in the course of your life? 100? Perhaps 1000? The amount of time you will be spending with your teacher is significant.
I had a look to see whether Cal Newport has written anything about the role of teachers or not. He has. In a blog post he connects an analysis of what good teachers do with the idea of deliberate practice.
Freestyle deliberate practice is not a clearly-structured system that you can plug into your schedule and follow mechanically toward results. It’s demanding and personal — touching upon the deepest levels of your character. It requires you to get down in the sweaty trenches of effort and attack short-term projects with an almost animalistic passion.
Be deliberate about the time you have with a teacher. Your teacher is dedicating 50 mins of their life to support you to get better. They care about you improving.
Try to understand where your teacher is coming from, and what they’re trying to point you towards. Listen pro-actively, try your best. Don’t be afraid to fail. Prepare for your class, be deliberate.
Your class is an intense break from daily life. Enjoy it like a meaningful holiday. Use it to build self-awareness and deep interest towards another week of deep work.