Sean and Angela met in Japan at a local Japanese language school and got to know each other as classmates speaking only Japanese with each other up until recording this podcast episode together.

Sean Hsieh was born and raised in Taiwan through age 13 when he moved to Singapore to attend an American-style international school. He took an extreme approach to this big life shift by deciding to cut off Chinese altogether and fully immerse himself in English for those 3 years, even if he couldn't speak it at all when he first got there. Thanks to that all-in mindset, he now speaks fluent American-style English. But looking back he regrets not prioritizing also improving his Mandarin, as he now feels subpar in that respect.

Since so many of us are American-born Mandarin speakers, it was interesting to hear Sean's description of his Mandarin level as "not very good" since compared to many of us ABCs/ABTs, his vocabulary range is much wider than what we grew up with, he knows all the Chinese characters, and grew up in the culture/society through his early formidable years. It just goes to show how relative and personal each person's language journey is!

In this episode, you'll learn vocab like 觀點 / 观点 / guān diǎn ("point of view" / "opinion"), 極端 / 极端 / jí duān ("extreme"), 打從心底 / 打从心底 / dǎ cóng xīn dǐ ("from the bottom of one's heart" / "genuinely" / "sincerely"), and more.

Go deeper with your learning from the podcast by joining our Podcast Transcript Membership, which includes full episode transcripts in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Pinyin, and English, with vocab highlighted. Download the first episode's full transcript for free to check out the format before joining: https://www.realyoumandarin.com/podcast

And if you like improving your Mandarin through this conversational style format, check out our course Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression taught through video-lessons of realistic dialogues teaching you real life vocabulary to navigate some of life's toughest challenges, including expressing your emotions, interpersonal relationships, fertility & parenting, caring for aging parents, and self-growth. Try a free lesson and learn more at https://www.realyoumandarin.com

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In celebration of my first Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month living outside of the U.S., I'm reflecting on my Taiwanese-American identity and how it's evolved since immigrating to Asia.

As someone who was constantly insecure about both my "American" and "Taiwanese" identities growing up in the U.S., living outside of that context has finally helped me accept both.

Here in Japan, I'm constantly reminded of how "American" my personality, my point of view, my humor... all of it really is. And with my Mandarin being stronger than my Japanese, I've found a sense of connection with other Mandarin speakers living here and finally feeling more confident about my Taiwanese identity for the first time in my life.

In this episode, you'll learn vocab like 亞太裔傳統月 / 亚太裔传统月 / yà tài yì chuán tǒng yuè ("AAPI Heritage Month"), 少數族群 / 少数族群 / shǎo shù zú qún ("minority ethnic group"), 兩極 / 两极 / liǎng jí ("polar opposite" / "very contrasting"), and more.

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, now through May 31st, if you join our Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression course, you'll get FREE lifetime access to the Podcast Transcript Membership ($100 value) to unlock full transcripts of all past and future episodes. Transcripts include Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Pinyin, and English with vocabulary highlighted. Simply forward your course purchase confirmation email to support@realyoumandarin.com to get complimentary access to the Transcript Membership.

Learn more about the Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression course and the Transcript Membership at https://www.realyoumandarin.com !

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Many of us often joke about attending weekend Chinese School back in the day and still only graduating at the same Mandarin level as third graders in the motherland. However, for many ABCs/ABTs who are now parents themselves, there is a sudden wave of anxiety around the idea of how to pass on their family's language and culture when they're not even confident in their own abilities to begin with.

For this episode, we are joined by two guests who bring unique perspectives around the topic of Chinese School. The first guest is Ada Tseng, an ABC and mother of two who attended Chinese School herself as a kid, and is now sending her own kids there in order to help them on their Mandarin journey. The second guest is Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression partner teacher Crystal Hsia who actually has a years-long relationship with Chinese School associations in California, and has worked with various schools in the capacity of creating teaching materials, training teachers, and being a teacher herself.

We discuss the biggest differences in how Chinese School is run now compared to back when we attended in the 90s-00s. Classes are now grouped based on skill level instead of age group, and even split more narrowly into Pinyin vs. Zhuyin classes, Traditional vs. Simplified character classes, and even ABC vs. Non-ABC classes. The overall spirit has also shifted to place less emphasis on strict, rote memorization and more emphasis on creating a fun learning experience for kids so that they'll actually want to learn the language and not simply give up.

In this episode, you'll learn vocab like 混齡 / 混龄 / hǔn líng ("mixed-age"), 社群中心 / shè qún zhōng xīn ("community hub/center"), 特徵 / 特征 / tè zhēng ("characteristic/feature"), and more.

If you are interested in strengthening your own Mandarin skills while building confidence with your kids around their Mandarin, you'll find a wealth of useful contextual vocabulary and phrases in our Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression course, including a full module dedicated to Fertility & Parenting. Learn how to talk through daily routines, help your kids work through big feelings, set boundaries with your own parents about your parenting style, and so much more. If you haven't already, try a free lesson from the course now at ⁠https://www.realyoumandarin.com to see if it's a good fit.

You can find Ada's book Breaking Into New Hollywood: A Career Guide to a Changing Industry on Amazon, listen to her podcast Saturday School Podcast on Spotify, and follow her on Instagram at @adatseng88.

If you're interested in working with Crystal as a private student, you can learn more on her website https://www.crystalmandarin.com

Follow us on Instagram at @realyoumandarin and on TikTok at @realyoumandarin