What makes a good language parent, and how do you find one? In this episode I share some tips based on my own language learning experience. In the dialogue, 小李 is finally home after a long absence, and 阿明 notices that he seems a little nervous.

Q: Who are the best language teachers in the world?
A: Parents.

Whether they do it consciously or not, parents (and parental figures) are the people who teach us how to speak our first language, from the time we're born, until we start going to school, and beyond. All parents have their failings (some more than others), but passing their language on to their children seems to be one thing that almost every parent succeeds at with flying colors.

We may not be able to revert to childhood in order to learn another language, but nor do we have to. The same quality of language learning experience is available to adults too, and with only a fraction of the tears. That's what finding your "language parent" is all about. In the introduction of this episode, I talk about what makes an effective language parent, and then give you a few tips about how to find one so that you can start your "Mandarin childhood."

Lesson Outline:

1. [00:20] What makes a good language parent?
2. [06:00] Finding your language parents
3. [08:03] Introduction to the dialogue
4. [08:55] Dialogue (normal speed)
5. [09:41] Slow version (and repeat)
6. [11:42] Useful vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue
7. [15:24] Dialogue again (normal speed) 
8. [16:26] Slow version again (and repeat)

Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (Chinese characters only):

1. 緊張 
   1.  我好緊張  
   2.  你為什麼緊張？
   3.  你在緊張什麼？ 
2.  擔心 
   1. 我很擔心  
   2. 我很愛擔心   
   3. 不要擔心 
3. 乾淨 
   1.  我的家很乾淨  
   2.  我很愛乾淨  
   3.  這是乾淨的嗎？
4. 應該 
   1.  應該是吧  
   2. 這應該是乾淨的  
   3.  你不應該這樣說 
5. 先  
   1.  我先走了！ 
   2.  你先吃吧！
   3. 那我先回家  
6. 拿 
   1.  我拿，好不好？
   2.  這個給你拿 
   3.  不要拿走  
7. 麻煩你了 
8. 怎麼了？  
9. 怎麼辦？

Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (w/ pinyin and translation):

1. 緊張 / jǐnzhāng / Nervous
   1.  我好緊張 / wǒ hǎo jǐnzhāng / I’m so nervous. 
   2.  你為什麼緊張？/ nǐ wèishéme jǐnzhāng? / Why are you nervous?
   3.  你在緊張什麼？/ nǐ zài jǐnzhāng shénme? / What are you nervous about? 
2.  擔心 / dānxīn / To worry, worried.
   1. 我很擔心 / wǒ hěn dānxīn / I’m really worried. 
   2. 我很愛擔心 / wǒ hěn ài dānxīn / I’m a person who loves to worry.  
   3. 不要擔心 / búyào dānxīn / Don’t worry. 
3. 乾淨 / gānjìng / Clean
   1.  我的家很乾淨 / wǒ de jiā hěn gānjìng / My home is really clean. 
   2.  我很愛乾淨 / wǒ hěn ài gānjìng / I love cleanliness, or I’m a neat freak. 
   3.  這是乾淨的嗎？/ zhè shì gānjìng de ma? / Is this clean? 
4. 應該 / yīnggāi / Should
   1.  應該是吧 / yīnggāi shì ba / That should be, that should be the case. 
   2. 這應該是乾淨的 / zhè yīnggāi shì gānjìng de / This should be clean. 
   3.  你不應該這樣說 / nǐ bù yìng gāi zhèyàng shuō / You shouldn’t say that. 
5. 先 / xiān / First, or often “right away” (“I’m gonna go do this thing right now…”) 
   1.  我先走了！/ wǒ xiān zǒule! / I’m leaving now. 
   2.  你先吃吧！/ nǐ xiān chī ba! / You start eating!
   3. 那我先回家 / nà wǒ xiān huí jiā / Then I’ll go home now. 
6. 拿 / ná / To hold, to pick up
   1.  我拿，好不好？/ wǒ ná, hǎobù hǎo? / I’ll hold it, OK?
   2.  這個給你拿 / zhège gěi nǐ ná / You hold this. 
   3.  不要拿走 / búyào ná zǒu / Don’t take this away. 
7. 麻煩你了 / Máfan nǐle / Sorry to trouble you
8. 怎麼了？ / zěnmele? / What’s wrong? 
9. 怎麼辦？/ Zěnme bàn? / What should we do? 

Thanks for listening! 

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