S02, Episode 02: You’re back! (Part 2)

Talent has nothing to do with it.

Talent isn’t a useful idea in language learning. When we see someone who successfully learned a second or third (or fourth, or fifth) language as an adult, if we say “they must have a talent for languages” we do everyone involved a disservice.

First, the idea of talent discounts the considerable time and effort the other person put into learning. Second, we do ourselves a disservice by reinforcing the belief that we can’t do the same thing they did.

We can.

We all learn languages the same way, no matter our age. To put it simply, we learn a language when we are immersed in an environment in which that language is the simplest way to express our needs and connect with other people.

What about children?

Children, of course, are all in that situation by default. Children have no other language to fall back on, so they must learn to speak their first language in order to survive.

It’s not easy, and it’s not always pretty. Children learn their first language because they must. Next time you see a child crying for no apparent reason, remember this: if you were enrolled in such a strict, 24-hour language bootcamp, you might cry too!

As adults learning Mandarin, our challenge is how to recreate a situation in which we can be immersed, and use Mandarin to communicate our needs and connect with others. If you can do this, you will learn to speak Mandarin fluently. Talent has nothing to do with it.

So, the next time you see someone who learned to speak a second or third language fluently as an adult, don’t say “they must have talent.” Instead, ask: “How did they immerse themselves? How did they create the conditions under which they succeeded?”

About this lesson

In this lesson, we will hear the translation of the dialogue from Episode 01.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction: Talent has nothing to do with it.  

2. Listen to the dialogue at normal speed.

3. Get the translation line-by-line, and try to infer the meaning of the parts you don't know yet.

4. Listen to the dialogue at normal speed again, and repeat during the pauses.   

Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only)

阿明：小李，你回來了！

小李：阿明，好久不見！

阿明：真的好久不見。美國還好嗎？

小李：美國很好啊，但我還是很開心回到台灣

阿明：我也很開心看到你

小李：謝謝你來接我

阿明：不客氣！小事情

小李：還是很謝謝你啊

阿明：你在飛機上有吃東西嗎？

小李：沒有欸，我都在睡覺

阿明：你餓了嗎？

小李：有一點餓

阿明：你看，我買什麼給你：你最喜歡的鍋貼！

小李：哇！真的假的！阿明，你好貼心！

阿明：還好啦，趕快吃！

Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation):

• 阿明：小李，你回來了！

  1. A-Ming: Xiao Li, you came back!

  2. Ā míng: Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ huíláile!

• 小李：阿明，好久不見！

  1. Xiao Li: A-Ming, long time no see!

  2. Xiǎo lǐ: Ā míng, hǎojiǔ bùjiàn!

• 阿明：真的好久不見。美國還好嗎？

  1. Really long time no see. Was the US alright? 

  2. Zhēn de hǎojiǔ bùjiàn. Měiguó hái hǎo ma?

• 小李：美國很好啊，但我還是很開心回到台灣

  1. The US was great, but I’m still really happy to be back in Taiwan. 

  2. Měiguó hěn hǎo a, dàn wǒ háishì hěn kāixīn huí dào táiwān

• 阿明：我也很開心看到你

  1. I’m also really happy to see you. 

  2. Wǒ yě hěn kāixīn kàn dào nǐ

• 小李：謝謝你來接我

  1. Thanks for coming to get me. 

  2. Xièxiè nǐ lái jiē wǒ

• 阿明：不客氣！小事情

  1. Don’t be so polite! It’s no biggie. 

  2. Bù kèqì! Xiǎo shìqíng 

• 小李：還是很謝謝你啊

  1. Still, really, thank you. 

  2. Háishì hěn xièxiè nǐ a

• 阿明：你在飛機上有吃東西嗎？

  1. Did you eat anything on the plane? 

  2. Nǐ zài fēijī shàng yǒu chī dōngxī ma?

• 小李：沒有欸，我都在睡覺

  1. I didn’t! I slept the whole time. 

  2. Méiyǒu ēi, wǒ dōu zài shuìjiào

• 阿明：你餓了嗎？

  1. Are you hungry?

  2. Nǐ èle ma?

• 小李：有一點餓

  1. I’m a litte hungry. 

  2. Yǒu yīdiǎn è

• 阿明：你看，我買什麼給你：你最喜歡的鍋貼！

  1. Look what I bought you. Your favorite potstickers! 

  2. Nǐ kàn, wǒ mǎi shénme gěi nǐ: nǐ zuì xǐhuān de guōtiē!

• 小李：哇！真的假的！阿明，你好貼心！

  1. Wow! For real? A-Ming, you’re so considerate! 

  2. Wa! Zhēn de jiǎ de! Ā míng, nǐ hǎo tiēxīn!

• 阿明：還好啦，趕快吃！

  1. Nah, come on, hurry up and eat!

  2. Hái hǎo la, gǎnkuài chī!

Thank you for listening!