The Third Ear: You Can Learn Any Language

193 Pages·2006·3.6 MB·English

by  Christopher Lonsdale

THE THIRD EAR
CHRIS LONSDALE has lived and worked in Asia for a quarter-century. After
studying psychology in New Zealand, where he spent the first 20 years of his
life, he travelled to Beijing just after China opened to the West. An initial
fascination with Chinese language and culture took him on an adventure that
included travels all over China, intensive study in the Chinese martial arts,
physical injury, and a subsequent reevaluation of life’s priorities.
From China Chris moved to Hong Kong, which has been his base for the past 20
years. He currently runs his own business as a senior leadership coach and
organisational advisor. This work takes him to many parts of the world, and
gives him a privileged position to observe and influence some of the more
complex problems faced by people in organisations. In the last 25 years Chris
has visited places as diverse as the southern forests of India, the North Pole, and
some of the world’s most important industrial and financial centres.
Chris is a fluent speaker of English, Mandarin and Cantonese, and has dabbled
in a number of other languages. He is married, with one daughter whom he says
was, in many ways, the inspiration behind The Third Ear.
THE THIRD EAR
Chris Lonsdale
Third Ear Books
THE THIRD EAR
ISBN-13: 978-988-19845-24
© 2006 Chris Lonsdale
Third Ear Publishing Ltd.
6/F Tung Hip Commercial Building,
244–248 Des Voeux Road, Hong Kong
http://www.the-third-ear.com
[email protected]
Cover design: Daniel Chui
Cartoons: Stephen Roberts
Graphics: Andrew Mok
Typeset in Minion by Alan Sargent
Second printing, 2007
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may
quote brief passages in a review. The right of Chris Lonsdale to be identified as
the Author of the Work has been asserted as have his moral rights with respect to
the Work.
Contents
Acknowledgements:
1: It’s as difficult as . . . breathing
Section 1
2: Ghost of an unknown language
3: Barrier busting — re-examining ‘common sense’
4: How do they do that?
5: Thinking like a language learner
6: Meet the audibol
Section 2
7: Perceive patterns, practise details
8: In the beginning was the word
9: Tongue ’n’ ear
10: Tricks of the sound trade
11: Cracking the code — scaffolding in the mind
Section 3
12: Actively using the adult advantage
13: Living in a bigger world
14: The third ear
15: Fitting in
16: Setting yourself up for success
This book is dedicated to all those people who really do want to learn a foreign
language, but who have been frustrated in the process. Some have continued to
battle on, sometimes successfully, but often with slow results. Others have simply
come to believe that it’s too difficult for them. This book has been written to
show that, no matter who you are, you can master any language. Not just that. It
can be easy and fun. It’s just a matter of knowing how.
Acknowledgements
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all the people who have
contributed to making this book a reality.
Firstly, I’d like to thank Kevin Jones, Allen Dorcas, Michelle Tanmizi, Diane
Wilcoxson, Jonathan Harger, Roger Bell, Robert Atter, Jeremy Kidner, Colin
Jesse and the many others who gave insights into the language learning process,
both from their own experience, and from observing the experience of others.
Equally important is the contribution of the core group of testers, who worked
with the ideas in the book. Many thanks go to Andrew Mok, Augustine Tan,
Marc Mostacci, Steve Udy, Janet Blount, Christian Masset, Panida Tang-
sriwong, Thirawit Leetavorn, Mark Michaud, Larry Gaffaney, Philip Jackson,
Tina Boe-Hansen, Dirk Rossey, Michael Boddington, Elizabeth Bridgeman,
Margaret Leung, Luan Xiuju, Naaz Kazi, James Rynne, Zoe Fitzgerald, Lyn
Brewster, Andrea Gutwirth, Carol Wong, Angela Spaxman, Uli Burke and
Sayed Gouda. Paul Coffey deserves special mention for putting into action all of
the ideas in the book, resulting in him learning to speak Mandarin in just a few
short months.
Many people helped in the book’s creation, reading various versions and
giving useful input that helped to shape the final version, or simply just giving
encouragement. Special thanks go to Mark Tier, Michael Guss, Tony Giles,
William Courtauld, Huaying Zhang, Chris Robinson, Leon Jakimic, Graham
Earnshaw, Simon Chau, Barry Brewster, David Brooks, Maureen Mueller, Gilles
Bassi, Mark Powell, Mark Michaud, Cathy Lee, Edith Scott, Daniel Spitzer,
Leanne Wang, Sylvain Gauthier, Richard Finn, Andy Boerger, Steve Alexander,
Andrew Matthews, Jeremy Blodgett and Manab Chakraborty. Several hundred
people contributed to the decision process for the title, weighing in on various
options. Thank you all for making your thoughts known. The final inspiration
that led to the title The Third Ear came from Tom Masterson and Sarah Monks.
Thanks guys.
Help came in many other forms as well.
Stephen Roberts did a great job taking some of the key ideas of the book, and
turning them into simple, fun cartoons.
Magnus Bartlett and Peter Gordon both provided helpful guidance for the
whole publishing process.
Alan Sargent took what I thought was a well-honed piece of work and honed
it even further. His disciplined editing has, I hope, made a definitive impact on
the final work.
Importantly, I’d like to thank my daughter Michelle for giving me the chance
to watch her as she grappled with her first language. In many ways The Third
Ear could not have been written without those insights from a first-time
beginner. It was almost as if her arrival was necessary for key pieces to fall into
place. Thanks Michelle.
And finally, my deepest thanks go to my wife, Fengdi, for standing quietly by
me for the many years that it took from initial concept to finally completing the
book.
Chris Lonsdale
October, 2005
1 It’s as difficult as . . . breathing
‘Learning Chinese is really difficult,’ she said to me. ‘I worked solid for two
years, and even then only had the basics. And, there’s no way a person can learn
Chinese faster than that.’
I was at a seminar in Hong Kong, and the young woman really meant it. She
had learnt to speak Mandarin Chinese and, quite clearly, it had been a difficult
process for her. But it didn’t have to be that way. It certainly didn’t match my
own experience, or that of the many other people who have learned a new
language easily and effectively.
I told her that I thought Chinese can be mastered very quickly by a Westerner
— in just a few months, actually. She replied that this was not possible, and
looked at me like I was slightly mad.
Rather than get into an argument with her, I decided to write this book.
This book is about you, and the things that you can do to learn a new language
faster and more easily than you ever thought possible. It’s also about me,
because it follows the journey that I have taken to learn what many consider, in
the West, quite difficult languages — Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese. The
lessons about how to learn a language apply equally to languages that could be
considered easier.
In the pages that follow I will share the personal strategies and techniques that
have worked for me, and other successful language learners that I have talked to.
I’m writing this book for one simple reason — I want you to discover how to
better use your natural language talent more effectively. After all, you’re a
language genius anyway — you have to be if you mastered your mother tongue!
Remember, you came into the world with no words and no grammar. You had
nothing to hook on to and, somehow, you still became fluent.
If you are reading this book you probably want to learn a new language.
Maybe you are about to go to a new country to live or work. Possibly you are
already there. Maybe you have decided that, for work or some other reason, you
need to master another language even if you are staying at home. Or maybe you
are just interested in learning a new language. Whatever your reason, I’m sure
you want to know how to do it with the greatest ease and the most fun.
But it’s soooooo hard! — NOT
I spend most of my time living in Hong Kong, but often travel to other countries
in Asia, especially China. Everywhere Westerners are struggling to learn
Chinese or Vietnamese or some other Asian language. Many have just given up
trying to learn these languages. And I see Asians who want to learn English, or
some other foreign language. They too seem to be struggling!
True, there are many people who have learned at least one foreign language.
Some people do it very well, and many who find it difficult decide that these
successful people are naturally gifted at languages. This conclusion is often used
as an excuse for not trying. It’s sad because, for every one who has been
successful, it seems there are dozens who are finding it either very difficult or
impossible. This is especially the case when the languages are as different from
each other as English and Chinese, for instance.
Just the other day I was on a Hong Kong ferry on my way home. It was late
and I was hungry, so I went to the canteen to order some instant egg noodles
(fast food, Chinese style). As I finished ordering, a young Englishman asked me
how to say ‘egg noodles’ in Cantonese. Most Westerners in Hong Kong don’t
even bother to make the effort. They have given up even before they started. So,
this was a little novel, but very much welcomed.
So, I told the young man how to say egg and noodles: daan meen. He repeated
it after me, with the sounds and intonation almost perfect. I nodded and smiled,
and said, ‘Yeah! That’s right’. Then I said it for him one more time. He again
repeated it accurately.
Inhaling deeply, he turned to the man behind the counter to order his noodles,
suddenly allowed his posture to slump, said nervously, ‘I’ll leave it till next
time’ and proceeded to order in English.
What a let down! This young man had started on the path to successfully learn
a new language, and he threw away the first win! He had it, and he let it go! If
you only think in terms of quantity, one simple phrase doesn’t seem much. But
speaking even a few words and getting a result is critical. When you get over
that first hurdle of embarrassment, and start communicating in a new language,
you’ve got it made. One word. Two. A few gestures. And you’re away.
I’ve not spoken to him since, but I would guess he’s going around thinking