Chinese Class - Steve Kaufmann - How good is he? -

> Learning Chinese > Speaking and Listening
Steve Kaufmann - How good is he?
Home New Posts

Login: Pass: Log in or register for standard view and full access.





Page 1 of 8 1 23 > »






wannabeafreak -

As I have no mandarin skills, I'm wondering if someone can comment on Steve Kaufmann's Mandarin
speaking ability:

1) Accent
2) Fluency
3) Level

http://www.thelinguist.com/media/av/...006/11/tec.mp3
http://www.thelinguist.com/media/av/.../10/chiphi.mp3

Does he sound like an obvious 鬼佬? I really don't know as I have no exposure to this language.

To my ears he sounds 100% Chinese, no difference to a native.



Pleco Software Learn Chinese with our Dictionaries for Palm and Pocket PC.
Learn Chinese in China Learn to speak Chinese 1MonthChinese.com -Mandarin School in China.
Chinese Textbooks Wide range, cheap, varied languages. Also Chinese cartoons, toys, gifts.
Study Chinese in Beijing Affordable Mandarin language courses at BLCU with ChinaUnipath.com.
HNHSoft Dictionary Learn Chinese on Smartphone and PDA with real person's voice.
XueXueXue IQChinese Get beyond the plateau.Take your Mandarin to a new level.
Chinese in Lijiang Short term Chinese study in a beautiful town with a focus on daily life.
MandarinTube Chinese Access to current everyday Chinese language and culture, 24/7.
Learn Chinese Homestay Chinese course, cultural activities & volunteer events in China.
Learn Chinese Online 1-on-1 instant tutoring, diverse courses, native teachers. FREE trial now!
Nihao Chinese Progam Free one-on-one Chinese lesson. Win 5-years of free lessons now!


About Ads (and how to hide them) -- Your message here









anonymoose -

To me, as a non-native speaker of chinese, I think his mandarin is not bad, but he doesn't sound
like a native. I'll leave others to comment on his accent and level, but I'd say his fluency is
not very good. He takes long pauses while he's trying to think of what to say next.










bomaci -

Having spoken to Mr Kaufmann myself I would say that his accent is good but he makes some tone
mistakes. I have also let my native speaking wife listen to him and she says that while his accent
is very obviously foreign she has no trouble understanding him.
I think his level is quite high, especially his listening comprehension.










Yuchi -

He sounds a bit off, I don't know what it is, he overemphasizes the h in his "shi" 是, that's the
one thing that's a bit obvious, but he pumps out the words like a native speaker.










WoAiJolinTsai -

It sounds like he has an Eastern Europen accent or something. Definitely not native, but
definitely still very good.










wannabeafreak -



Quote:

I'd say his fluency is not very good. He takes long pauses while he's trying to think of what to
say next.

I don't think that's fair.

I recorded myself speaking English and I took long pauses while trying to think of what to say
next too.

I would be quite cut if someone told me my English fluency was not very good.










Jive Turkey -

I think he is an excellent user of Chinese, but there are little things-things that to my ear
aren't really even annoying-that give him away as a non-native. He has lots of native-like traits
in his speech, but they don't all fit together in a native-like balance. He also misses a few
tones. If you were to delete the English words he throws in and his missed tones, he would still
sound non-native to the native or near-native ear because even though there would be no "errors"
in his speech, he would still not sound consistently like any one "native" accent; like a lot of
high-proficiency learners, he seems to have some accent mixing going on there. I think most CSL
students would be quite happy to speak as well as he does, though.










Strawberries513 -

yes I dont agree with annonymoose (sp?) either. I am a native English speaker and I pause all the
time in English.

But I do think his mandarin is good, but not native sounding.










gato -

The person Kaufman is interviewing sounds native, with a Taiwan accent (since he lived in Taiwan).
http://thelinguist.blogs.com/how_to_...uist_me_3.html
The Linguist meets his match Chinese










SteveK -

I noticed this thread as a referrer to my blog so I thought I would comment here.
In my view a useful and realistic goal of language learning is fluency, not perfection. One of the
most important principles that will get you to fluency is the willingness to deal with uncertainty
and mistakes in the new language; conversations you do not understand, thoughts you cannot
express, words you mispronounce, wrong tones, wrong gender, whatever. Traditional language
teaching, with its emphasis on correct production of the language, has done great harm to language
learning. Learn to like the language, and learn to like yourself speaking the language. Emphasize
input in your learning activities, and enjoy output activities as a game, and not a performance to
be judged.

It is unrealistic for most people to aspire to sound like a native speaker. It is, however,
possible to continue to improve. I learned Mandarin in 1968 in Hong Kong. I did not speak it much
for 30 years thereafter. I occasionally listened and read. Starting five years ago I have had
occasion to visit China three times. I stepped up my listening to 相声CDs by 侯宝林,
三国演义 told by 袁阔成 etc. in preparation for my trips. I listen again if I am invited to
join a political panel discussion on local (Vancouver) Mandarin televistion. My Chinese today is
better than when I studied it 35 years ago, although I have lost the skill of writing the
characters by hand.

Recently most of my listening and reading activity is directed towards Russian and Korean. I find
I am able to learn langauges faster today at 61 than when I was young. The reason is that I ignore
all explanations of the details of the language, all the drills, quizzes, irrelevant examples and
other teacher centred "activities". I just focus on content, listening and reading over and over
again. I then review and repeat the new words and phrases. I am able to achieve an ability to
speak comfortably much more quickly than was the case when I tried to remember rules and words
endings.

Steve Kaufmann
www.thelinguist.blogs.com












All times are GMT +8. The time now is 04:25 PM.














Learn Chinese, Chinese language, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet