Learn It 4 Free

I started connecting with native Mandarin speakers via Tandem. Tandem is great! My study buddies can correct my writing through the app, send voice messages, and video call. It creates an opportunity to use the skills I have been (slowly) acquiring. 

I picked up Head First Python from the library the other day. Chapter 1 the author opens with something to the effect of, “We expect you’ve already programmed at some point.” Ah, no. That’s why I got the book. 

So it was promptly returned to the library :(. 

A couple weeks ago I started CodeAcademy’s beginners python course. That was definitely more my speed. Even though I attended a Django Girls conference a few years ago, I don’t remember jack about python. Starting at the very beginning was a good reintroduction to coding concepts. 

I personally like Code Academy. The tutorial, plus the exercises in a real text editor makes learning python more natural. It’s also broken down into very reasonable chunks of information. I can do an exercise within 5 minutes or so before moving on to the next one in the lesson. Right now I am about 25% of the way through :). 

The only thing I will say is the lessons include formulaic, specific exercise. Coding is so much like a spoken language. Just as their are multiple ways to say something, there are multiple ways to code something. I’m hoping the exercises will eventually include meaningful tips about pitfalls and what the easiest way to “say” a code. Updates to come!

I am really interested in trying out my newly acquired Mandarin skills. I looked into a couple different apps that could connect me with native or fluent Mandarin speakers, with some mixed results. 

HelloTalk and HiNative are on the top of every Google search (remember it’s gotta be free for me). Sadly my phone is too crappy for HelloTalk so I downloaded HiNative to see what it’s all about. Short answer, not much. HiNative is a question and answer platform. It’s designed so that the learner can ask a question and receive feedback from anyone native or fluent in that language, not a conversation. On a positive note, I asked one simple question and received four answers within 10 minutes. That’s pretty impressive for a hive mind platform. I could see it being useful for learning technical jargon or deciphering nuanced sayings. Still without the ability to carry on a national conversation, HiNative feels like a niche app for well thought-out questions only.

Then I came across Tandem. Tandem never appeared in my google searches. That’s a huge let down because I am already really digging the layout. First, users apply to join the Tandem community. Upon acceptance it’s made clear users who attempt to romance on the platform, sell products and services to the other users, or those from the biggis assholis tribe are not welcome. Users can practice their convo skills by video chatting or texting another user. 

What’s really impressive is most of my matches were people in my target language learning my native language. That’s hugely beneficial because both users can take turns being teachers :). What a great idea! Also a user can list multiple target languages to find different chat buddies. That’s clever. I mean who wants to learn one language ;). Updates later!

I’ve been using Chinese Skill for a couple weeks now. It’s a fantastic app for learning Mandarin! At first I wasn’t sure about it because the lessons seemed really dull. Then I started exploring the apps “reviews” and “challenges” tabs. Wow! 

Flashcards, games for vocabulary and grammar. What really impressed me was the games on tone :). I am struggling with tones and usually rely on the accent marks to tell me what I am reading. Working on just identifying the tone from an audio file is huge. 

Truth be told, I’ve been trying to learn Mandarin for years. To cut a long story short, I started learning to get on the good side of a former Chinese colleague. That worked. We became good friends over 喝茶了 (”tea time” or “drink tea”) when he would teach me new phrases as we took a break. I struggled to repeat new words as we walked to the tea station together. After all these years I realize the strained, hushed tones of my voice probably sounded like a dying rabbit for everyone else. But this arrangement worked for us. 

When I decided to get serious and really learn, I bought the Rosetta Stone for myself. I used that program on and off for five years with some success. My biggest downfall is I relied completely in Rosetta Stone to make me fluent. It’s a great cornerstone to learning a language but not the entire bridge between beginner and fluent. Well now my Rosetta Stone is so outdated it can’t upgrade anymore. 

So I need to find a new program. Again, the solution must be free and must be able to do it on my own time. DuoLingo checked those boxes for me. I started with DuoLingo about a month or so ago. Like Rosetta Stone, DuoLingo attempts language immersion to get a person up to speed. What’s different is DuoLingo gamified the process of learning a language with ‘streaks’ and ‘lingots.’ Streaks are, by far, the biggest motivator to keep up with learning a new language (or doing anything). No one easily gives up a 20 day streak. That keeps users going back to the site everyday. The user can buy different interactive tools with the site’s digital currency, lingots, such as a bet on maintaining a streak for a week or ‘streak freezes’ in the shop. As far as doing it, and staying with it, DuoLingo is perfect. 

The downfall with this platform is it is obviously built for Latin or Germanic based languages. Mandarin is a tonal language. Speaking Mandarin with the correct tone is the difference between saying “my mom is very cute” and “my horse is loved.” Pretty much the same sounds but with different tones. Mandarin also utilities dramatically different grammar rules and sentence structure from European languages. Like First off, the whole language is based on syllables, not distinct words. It woul d be like writ ing all sen ten ces as space d out syl la bles like this one. This is where DuoLingo starts to fall apart. To learn Mandarin I need very straight forward vocabulary because syllables can be reused to form different words (e.g. in English re/form and form/er are the same syllables that form completely different words). I am not going to understand a new word highlighted in a sentence when I only learned the syllable in the last exercise. The function of “the” is replaced with the count of an object (e.g. “the horse” becomes 匹马, “one horse”). I really struggled with that concept in DuoLingo. 

I googled additional resources and came across Chinese Skill. I’ve used Chinese Skill for a week now. Like DuoLingo, Chinese Skill has a game-like appearance with Chinese panda cartoons. What I like in contrast to DuoLingo is putting together radicals to form characters in every lesson. It is the first platform I’ve come across that allows that for free. I also like that there’s more straight forward vocabulary. It’s still not enough, but the additional match the picture and character to the syllable and tone exercises help drive the rest of the lesson home. 

With that being said I haven’t given up on DuoLingo because I can organize a group in my area to speak Chinese (爱 <3). If I’ve learned anything over the years, nothing beats speaking the language one is trying to learn to make it all sink in. I am really excited to try either HelloTalk or Hi Native as well. I’ll update once I try either one of those! 

~per astra ad aspera~

I started grad school believing I would walk away energized in my field and full of useful skills for my next role. I’m half way through my masters. I’m all excited for the next chapter in life but, alas, I am not learning any new skills. Grad school is a waste land of writing endlessly about whatever obscure topic the prof deemed important today. It’s four month chunks of boring assignments followed by lazy feedback. Posting half baked essays on molecular biology is the only skill I’ve seemed to acquire. Worse, halfway is not the point to quit a master’s program. In a two year program the tipping point between fiscally irresponsible to continue and financial suicide to quit is right after the second semester. I just finished my third semester. After number three, ya kinda have to suck it up and finish.

My visions of becoming a walking index of useful skills are still just as vivid as the day I applied. I can’t give that up because the initial plan failed. So now the question is what to do about it? Well I am blowing way too much goddamn money on grad school so the solution must be completely free. Disposable income is not synonymous with “graduate student” so everything will have to be on a zero pay scale. School also has a funny way of fucking up schedules so the solution must also be on my own time. I need to be able to complete whatever it is at 2pm or 2am. Lastly, all the skills must be undeniably useful or personally liberating. In other words, the skills must be essential to my career or give me an extreme sense of personal mastery. If I’m lucky, I’ll find skills that accomplish both. This blog will chronicle my efforts to meet those requirements. If for no other reason than to write about whatever the hell I feel like as a non-violent and equally non-effective protest against writing intensive courses.

Now I am going to set my sights high right out of the gate. I want to learn Mandarin and Python. Only Jesus knows how much I’m ready to feel accomplished in learning so aiming high seems… totally unreasonable and bound to fail. But what the hell, at least it will seems like I tried to redeem my time in university purgatory.

So why Mandarin and Python? Well, I want to learn Mandarin because it’s the number one spoken language in the world. The Orient opens up to those who speak, read, and write Mandarin. My goal is to start a career in biotechnology, a field dominated by Asian influence and innovation. And I’ll admit I have in an inordinate fondness for Chinese art and culture. It’s all a natural fit. I am also new to coding. Choosing a ubiquitous language seems like the smart way to start out.