Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 007: Malachi McGee

In this episode, I interview Malachi McGee. Malachi originally came to Taiwan 7 years ago as a Mormon Missionary. Listen on to find out:

  • Why Malachi decided to stay on in Taiwan even after his missionary term was up
  • About the Missionary Training Center program’s intensive Mandarin course
  • Why he decided to stay on in Taiwan to continue learning Chinese
  • His process for learning Chinese on his own
  • How he practiced reading characters
  • Why he chose to also learn zhuyin (bo po mo fo)
  • The process that LDS missionaries go through to come to Taiwan
  • The benefits of travel and living in foreign countries

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:09 — 8.8MB) | Embed

Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 006: Todd Blackhurst

In this episode, I interview Todd Blackhurst. Todd moved to Taiwan from Texas with his wife and 3 teenagers in 2013. Listen to find out:

  • What promoted Todd to move his whole family to Taiwan
  • How he prepared for the big move
  • The adjustments for the kids, now living in Taiwan
  • The comparisons between the local education (American school) and American education
  • What he would have done differently if he had come with younger kids
  • How living in Taiwan is different from coming as a visitor
  • The challenges an American family has living in Taiwan
  • The differences in how direct you communicate with other people in Taiwan versus America
  • What worked for Todd when it came to learning Chinese
  • Their long term plans and language investment in Taiwan
  • Why he recommends others travel as a family
  • An aspect he loves about living in Taiwan
  • The closeness of family in Taiwan

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:49 — 8.7MB) | Embed

Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 005: Brad Saap

In this episode, I interview Brad Sapp. Brad spent 13 years in China working in trade companies in Beijing and Qingdao. He currently lives in Toronto, where he continues to actively engage with Chinese clients.

Listen to this podcast to learn:

– How Brad landed up in China
– His approach to learning Chinese
– His take on learning characters and writing
– What it was like to work for a Chinese company
– The advantage to being able to speak Chinese
– The business culture differences with Chinese companies
– How he dealt with Chinese staff who didn’t speak English
– How he uses Chinese outside of China
– The perspective of Chinese immigrants in Canada
– How learning Chinese compares to other languages

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:58 — 9.7MB) | Embed

Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 004: Edward Greve

In this episode, I interview Edward Greve. Edward is an American who has lived in Taiwan for the past 8 years. He initially started as an English teacher and is now doing a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics.

Listen to find out:

  • What brought Edward to Taiwan in the first place
  • What process he took to learn Chinese on the side
  • His standard process to learn a new language
  • His stance on learning characters from the very beginning
  • The difference between learning simplified versus traditional characters
  • Who he practiced speaking with
  • His take on learning Taiwanese and other local dialects
  • What he’s doing now with computational linguistics
  • How learning Chinese compares to learning other languages like Italian, Dutch, French, German, Thai and Indonesian
  • About the scripts used in different Chinese dialects like Taiwanese and Cantonese
  • The importance of being able to express yourself through written Chinese
  • The advantages of being able to speak Mandarin while living in a Chinese community

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:37 — 10.0MB) | Embed

Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 003: Aaron Posehn

In this episode, I interview Aaron Posehn. He’s a Canadian, with a degree in Asian studies, who moved to Taiwan to work as an editor.

Listen to find out:

  • How Aaron got interested in Chinese culture
  • What it was like to be the only non Asian in a Chinese class of 300
  • About his first trip to China and Mongolia
  • Why learning Chinese alone isn’t enough to work in a Chinese company
  • About Aaron’s Chinease book and website.
  • What it’s like to be living in Taipei and interacting with others in Chinese
  • What he would do differently, if he was to learn Chinese again

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:55 — 8.2MB) | Embed