Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 002: Elias Ek

In this episode, I interview Elias Ek.

Elias is from Sweden, but has lived in Taiwan for the past 25 years, where he runs his own company, Enspyre.

Listen to find out about:

  • Elias’ first encounter in Chinese in Taiwan
  • His first job in Taiwan
  • Experience of working as a foreigner in a Taiwanese company
  • His breakthrough in learning Chinese
  • His experience on learning speaking without characters
  • His use of Chinese while running his own company in Taiwan
  • How he prepares for giving speeches in Chinese
  • His approach interviewing new employees
  • Why classroom language learning is broken
  • Difference in western versus Chinese business culture
  • How he elicits ideas from his staff
  • What he would change about his strategy learning Chinese
  • How Chinese compares in difficulty to other languages

Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 001: Joe Westerhof

In this first episode of the new Learn Chinese Insights Podcast, I interview Joe Westerhof.

Joe came to Taiwan 17+ years ago from Michigan, US. He initially began teaching English but now works in a trading company in Taichung, doing import / exports.

In this episode, you will find out:

  • What brought Joe to Taiwan in the first place.
  • His background learning Chinese – what worked and what didn’t.
  • His initial impressions of Taiwan.
  • The benefits of living in a small town.
  • How he transitioned from teaching to working in trade.
  • Issues that westerners have, when working in Taiwanese companies
  • Why Taiwanese companies don’t hire western employees
  • What to focus on, when trying to get a job with a Taiwanese company
  • What it’s like to be married with kids to a Taiwanese
  • On dealing with the Taiwanese language versus Mandarin
  • Joe’s theories on westerners who are fluent in Chinese
  • Joe’s advice on learning Chinese (or any language)