In this podcast, another in a series from our language teaching archives, Chinese host and Mandarin teacher, Kappa Zhao, talks about making plans for the future in Chinese.

Vocabulary:

听说 Tīng shuō It is said that

打算 Dǎsuàn To plan

硕士 Shuòshì Master's

学位 Xuéwèi Degree

读 Dú To study, to read

念 Niàn To read aloud, to read

够 Gòu Enough

资格 Zīgé Qualifications

好处 Hǎochù Benefit

互动 Hùdòng Interactive

抽时间 Chōu shíjiān To take the time

想 Xiǎng To miss, think, would like to

Dialogue:

A: 我听说你明年不回来了。打算做什么呢？

Wǒ tīng shuō nǐ míngnián bù huíláile.

Dǎsuàn zuò shénme ne?

I heard that you won't be back next year.

What do you plan on doing?

B: 我在国外教书很久了。该是回国读一个硕士学位的时候了。

Wǒ zài guówài jiāoshū hěnjiǔle。

Gāi shì huíguó dú yīgè shuòshì xuéwèi de shíhòule。

I've been teaching abroad for so long now. It's time to go back

to my own country work on a master's degree.

A： 是个好主意。你打算念什么呢？

Shìgè hǎo zhǔyì. Nǐ dǎsuàn niàn shénme ne?

It's a good idea. What are you going to study?

B：我打算念一个教育学硕士 - 应该不难。等我念完后，不管在哪个学校任教，

都够资格拿更高的薪水了。

Wǒ dǎsuàn niàn yīgè jiàoyù xué shuòshì - yīnggāi bù nán。

Děng wǒ niàn wán hòu, bùguǎn zài nǎge xuéxiào rènjiào,

Dōu gòu zīgé ná gèng gāo de xīnshuǐle.

I plan to get a master's in education - shouldn't be hard.

Afterwards, no matter which school I teach in, I'll have the

qualifications for a higher salary.

B: 你就不能一边教书，一边在网上读一个学位吗？

Nǐ jiù bùnéng yībiān jiāoshū，

yībiān zài wǎngshàng dú yīgè xuéwèi ma?

Can't you just teach while working on your master's

degree online?

A：那样做肯定有它的好处，但是我不喜欢

一天到晚盯着电脑屏幕上课 - 不够互动。

而且，那样的话我会需要很多自我激励

来让我天天抽时间去学习。

Nàyàng zuò kěndìng yǒu tā de hǎochù，

dànshì wǒ bù xǐhuān

yītiān dào wǎn dīngzhe diànnǎo píngmù shàngkè

- bùgòu hùdòng. Érqiě, nàyàng dehuà

Wǒ huì xūyào hěnduō zìwǒ jīlì

lái ràng wǒ tiāntiān chōu shíjiān qù xuéxí.

Doing it that way definitely has its upsides,

but I don't like staring at a computer screen all day

to take a class - it's not interactive enough.

Also, I'd need a lot of self motivation to find the

time to study.

B：那祝你好运！明年就看不到你了。我会想你的。

Nà zhù nǐ hǎo yùn！ Míngnián jiù kàn bù dào nǐle.

Wǒ huì xiǎng nǐ de.

Well good luck! We won't be seeing you around next year.

I'll miss you.

A：谢谢！我会回来的，不过要等我拿到学位。

Xièxiè! Wǒ huì huílái de,

bùguò yào děng wǒ ná dào xuéwèi.

Thanks! But I'll be back after I get my degree.

Supplementary Vocab/Phrases:

说起来容易，做起来难。

Shuō qǐlái róngyì, zuò qǐlái nán.

Easier said than done.

你教哪一门科目?

Nǐ jiāo nǎ yī mén kēmù?

Which subject do you teach?

我教音乐。

Wǒ jiāo yīnyuè。

I teach music.

时间过得太快了。

Shíjiānguò dé tài kuàile.

Time Flies

该是。。。的时候了。。。

Gāi shì... De shíhòule...

Time to do something...

该。。。（动词）了。。。

Gāi...(Dòngcí) le...

Time...(verb)

学士学位 Xuéshì xuéwèi Bachelor's Degree

上大学，念大学，读大学

Shàng dàxué, niàn dàxué, dú dàxué

Go to university, go to college

担任 Dānrèn To take on

任教 Rènjiào To take on a teaching position

教职 jiào zhí Teaching position

担任教职

Dānrèn jiào zhí

To take on a teaching position

Catch My Drift:

A: 小李，好久不见！听说你去年出国了。

B：是呀。到英国读了一个硕士学位。

A：那接下来有什么打算？去大公司工作？

B：我更想去大学任教。

A：但是大公司薪水可能更高。

B：是的。但是我喜欢教书。