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Learn Chinese Insights
Learn Chinese Insights episodes
- Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 030: Derek McCracken
In this episode I interview Derek McCracken, an American who has been living in Taiwan for 7 years.
Listen to find out:
– What brought Derek to Asia and specifically Taiwan
– How he started teaching English, while looking for other opportunities– How he started his first business in Taiwan– How he compares starting a business in Taiwan compared to Thailand– How he began learning Chinese on the side– What benefits he found from being able to speak Chinese at a functional level– What skill he thinks is necessary for expats to learn Chinese– What things he did in his learning to get to the next level– How he transitioned into his current job at an international fitness company.– What cultural differences he’s noticed comparing Taiwanese clients with American and Thai ones– Why he chooses to live in Taiwan than America– What advice he’d give to an expat wanting to change their career path23 min - Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 029: Adam Menon
In this episode, I actually interview… myself! Well not, really. I invited CLO user Joe Cooperman to interview me on my motivation for coming to Taiwan and starting this course teaching fellow expats how to speak Mandarin.
Listen to find out:
– Why Joe uses CLO
– What brought me to Taiwan– What problem I found with many methods teaching Chinese– How I transitioned from teaching English to teaching Chinese– What other Chinese resources I liked and was influenced by– Why the lesson material is limited to 7 levels– How the usage of the site has changed over the years– On the future of the site–18 min - Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 028: Steve Iglehart
In Part 2 of this episode, we continue our interview with American businessman Steve Iglehart.
Listen to find out:
– How he moved on to the skin care market
– What his biggest challenge was in this market– The intense process of training salespeople to use his product– How he learned to read people’s reactions over the years– What the advantage of being an expat was, when it came to sales– What businesses he has since transitioned to– Why he thinks it’s easier for an expat to do business in Taiwan today– Why he feels a local university degree is the best way to reach fluency in Chinese–15 min - Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 027: Steve Iglehart
Steve Iglehart is an American businessman from San Francisco who has been living in Taiwan for almost 30 years.
Listen to this episode to find out:
– What made Steve want to learn Chinese
– Why he chose to come to Taiwan– His first moments in Taiwan, looking for a Chinese school– Why he decided to stay on in Taiwan and do a university degree locally– Why he found the degree to be one of his most challenging life experiences– His experience job hunting after graduating– How he learned how business was conducted locally– What his first business was– What reaction locals had to doing business with him19 min - Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 026: Keiran
Keiran is a Canadian living in Taiwan, now working in the bicycle industry.
Listen to this episode to find out:
– What brought Keiran to Taiwan in the first place
– How he began learning Chinese initially– What he didn’t like about his first school– How he found people to practice his Chinese with– Where the most effective part of his learning came from– What he did to make himself more approachable for casual conversation with strangers– Why he ended up getting a university degree in Taiwan– What challenges he had getting the degree– Why he feels learning more than one language at the same time is an effective way to learn– Why getting a university degree locally in Taiwan is a great opportunity– How he started in the bicycle industry– His advice for expats wanting to do something different career wise– Why being able to speak Chinese was helpful to him– His advice for expats wanting to take their Chinese to the next level– How he recommends you make the most of your experience abroad26 min - Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 025: Ross
In this episode, I interview Ross Darrell Feingold, an American now working as a senior advisor at the DC International Advisory, a law firm in Taipei, Taiwan.
Listen to this episode to find out:
– What made Ross focus on learning Mandarin Chinese 20 years ago
– What a one year intensive Mandarin learning program in Singapore was like– Why he felt this program was still not enough for him– What it was like to take a Mandarin studies course in a small American university– What made him choose Taiwan over Singapore and China to further his Chinese learning– What his plan was, after learning Chinese– The most important thing to consider when applying for a job in Asia– How he compares Asia with the west– The differences in company culture– A misconception he’s noticed in company hours– Why he chooses to live in Asia– How he uses Chinese in his daily work16 min - Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 024: Jon
In this interview, I interview Jon Renzella, an American artist now living in Taichung, Taiwan.
Listen to this episode to find out:
– What brought Jon to Taiwan in the first place
– Why he wanted to live in a place that didn’t speak English– How he began learning Chinese without any formal classes– His current approach to learning how to read Chinese– How he uses technology to help with learning how to read– How he transitioned into being a full time artist in Taiwan– His experience joining the local art community– His advice for fellow expats looking to follow their interests and passions– How he overcame the language barrier to joining the local community– How he started a gallery for foreign artists to showcase their work with the local community– Some of the differences in local art culture from what he’s experienced in the west14 min - Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 023: Alex
In this episode I interview Alex Wagner, who now runs a pizza shop at a local Taiwanese night market.
Listen to find out:
– What brought Alex to Taiwan in the first place
– How he transitioned from teaching to selling pizza– His process starting the business– How the night market business works– How he markets himself as the foreign face of the business– Where he finds employees to work there– How his Chinese has improved as a result of interacting with customers– His plans for his business going forward– How he got over the uncertainty of starting a business– The crucial factor required to stand out at a night market– His advice for those wanting to transition away teaching English14 min - Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 022: Bear
In this episode, I interview “Bear” – originally from Scandinavia, now working in China.
Listen to find out:
– What brought him to China in the first place
– His initial hardships in China– Why he felt he wasn’t capable of learning Chinese in the beginning– Why he didn’t make progress learning initially, and what changed that– What motivated him to start learning characters– The drastic improvement being able to speak Chinese had on his daily life– How he’s able to make friends with local Chinese– What aspect made a great improvement in his qualify of life in China– Some of the big differences in company culture he found in China versus Europe– The big difference in job interviews between China and Europe– His experience with “face” and trust in Chinese companies– His recommendations for foreigners living in Chinese communities and in local relationships– How he learned to communicate using a Chinese version of English– How learning Chinese compares to learning other languages– His advice to foreigners who haven’t tried to learn Chinese yet, because they believe they aren’t capable– Why it’s ok to make mistakes while speaking26 min - Learn Chinese Insights Podcast Episode 021: I love Taiwan
In this episode, I continue the interview I did with Shaun Bettinson, where he discusses his “I love Taiwan” project.
Listen to find out:
– How this project got started.
– How he launched his initial promotional video– The Project Website
– How he was able to promote it– How he won a Guinness World Record– Why he thinks the project was so popular– What he gained from this experience– How he benefited from the friendships made– How his outlook on the future has changed17 min
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