I am interested in hearing from members who are native English speakers who have learned Vietnamese, Thai, or Mandarin to advanced proficiency or fluency.
I am currently planning a longer term move to Asia, trying to decide between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand. I have several goals/desires, but for the most part they could be accomplished in my comfort zone of Latin America (fitness, women, that sort of thing). So, I began to ask myself, what is new and different, what do I want to take away from these next few years of my life?
I realized that one of my primary goals is to get fluent in a completely different language from anything I have studied before.
I've always felt that living in a country without speaking the language is really setting yourself up for an experience that is not worthwhile.
I am not talking about tourist talk, or some BS Tim Ferriss fluent in 8 days !!1!1!!! thing.
So, for those of you who have learned one of these 2000hr+ languages, what was the journey like? What resources did you find most helpful? How did you stay motivated over the course of years?
I am currently planning a longer term move to Asia, trying to decide between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand. I have several goals/desires, but for the most part they could be accomplished in my comfort zone of Latin America (fitness, women, that sort of thing). So, I began to ask myself, what is new and different, what do I want to take away from these next few years of my life?
I realized that one of my primary goals is to get fluent in a completely different language from anything I have studied before.
I've always felt that living in a country without speaking the language is really setting yourself up for an experience that is not worthwhile.
I am not talking about tourist talk, or some BS Tim Ferriss fluent in 8 days !!1!1!!! thing.
So, for those of you who have learned one of these 2000hr+ languages, what was the journey like? What resources did you find most helpful? How did you stay motivated over the course of years?
"Me llaman el desaparecido
Que cuando llega ya se ha ido
Volando vengo, volando voy
Deprisa deprisa a rumbo perdido"