Motivation

There are a myriad of reasons why you may find yourself on this page. Free time can be consumed by other activities, motivation may dwindle, and other languages might seem more intriguing. It’s easy to think to yourself, "What is the point?", "Why should I keep going?", and often, "Am I even going to use this language?"

All of these are real and valid thoughts to have when learning a language. The reason you feel this way is that language learning is, in general, a long journey - especially with languages like Mandarin. My goal with this page is to encourage you to take a step back. Consider how much you have achieved from scratch. What are your goals? Are they tangible or more abstract? What inspired you to learn Chinese?

For me, I wanted to learn Mandarin after hearing this album for the first time. It resonated with me and opened my ears to the amazing world of Taiwanese rock. However, it was a long time after that initial experience that I truly committed to learning Chinese, as I was primarily focused on Japanese at the time.

Through my Japanese studies, I learned the importance of setting tangible goals. I found that vague, abstract goals were not motivating for me. Goals like "I want to be fluent" never really worked, as the concept of fluency is quite subjective - each person has their own interpretation of what being fluent means.

I believe it is much easier to focus on smaller, attainable goals. For example, "I want to learn 1000 words," "I want to finish 'Girl’s Diary' (女生日记) by Yang Hongying (杨红樱)," or "I want to pass my TOCFL/HSK exam." These smaller goals provide a clear endpoint and serve as tangible markers of progress, helping to motivate you to move forward. I strongly encourage you to evaluate your goals if you are feeling discouraged. Ask yourself if they are truly something you want to pursue for yourself, or if they are merely for the sake of boasting.

Do you enjoy the materials you are using? I do not believe that a perfect resource exists, and that a lot of the time you will have to just put up with some quirks relating to your chosen materials. Generally the best advice is to try and stick to popular materials that have proven effective for many learners - however if you feel that these are causing friction regarding your studies, I suggest exploring alternatives.

It's important to remember that not everyone learns the same way, nor does everyone have the same goals for their language journey. If you’ve arrived at this website, chances are you are more interested in Taiwan than in China, and you may not care about aspects that apply strictly to Mandarin learners focusing solely on Simplified Chinese and other Mainland-oriented topics. I found many opinions from those focused purely on Mainland Mandarin to be rather dismissive when I was seeking resources tailored to my learning preferences, so don’t be discouraged. Everyone has different objectives for learning Mandarin, and only you know what you want.

TL:DR Just try to be consistent and have fun with it. Don’t forget what inspired you to learn, and keep your goals small and attainable. With all of this in mind, you should be able to stay motivated! :D