天津，我中文梦起飞的地方
张炫晶, 波士顿学院，第3届新英格兰地区大学生“汉语桥”比赛参赛选手，指导老师吕芳
读完小学后我去了加拿大，在那儿完了初中和高中。高中毕业后，我被波士顿学院（Boston College) 录取了。上了大学二年级后，我去中国留学了，学了两个学期汉语。目前我是波士顿学院三年级的学生，专业是教育心理。我的第二外语是英文，第三外语是中文。
2011年到天津科技大学的第一天，当老师向我们解释学校规则的时候，我连一句话也听不懂，只好坐着等他说完，然后再去问别的学生。听他说话的时候，我觉得自己根本没办法学会这种语言。在初级班开始学汉语时，我发现老师给我们的作业对提高我的水平不够。于是，几乎每天下课以后，我都回宿舍，自己在网上听课。 为了提高听说能力，我还在网上看了各种各样的节目和动画片。
从那以后，我把自己的全部精力都放在学汉语上。我的所有活动几乎都跟汉语有关，比如，有空儿的时候，我就听中国流行歌曲，睡不着时，就玩在手机上选汉字的游戏，甚至等地铁时我也在练习，自言自语地说“我等地铁等了半个小时了”。
仅仅两个星期以后，老师就让我上快班了，因为老师认为我的汉语提高得很快。起初，我觉得所有的课都很难。但我并没有失去信心，或被压力吓倒。我也相信，如果自己在天津更努力地学习，以后能得到更丰富的经验。
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然而，让我不断努力而愉快地学习的，不仅是那种目标，更是中国朋友对我的帮助和鼓励。至今我还记得，那段时间，我常常跟我最好的中国朋友Kono见面，在路上到处走走，边喝奶茶边聊天儿。他是我学汉语过程中给了我极大动力的人。由于他，学汉语已成了我生活中的一种乐趣。
在天津学习的经验为我的中文打下了厚实的基础。回波士顿后，我决定继续选修中文，至今仍在努力地学着，并发现越学越有意思。 我感觉学语言并不像爬山，爬到山顶就算成功了，而是像走在一条无尽的道路上，一路都有无尽的乐趣。走在这条路上，最重要的是要有信仰，相信自己会越学越好。我常常激动地想像，自己有一天能跟中国朋友自然而然地聊天儿，快乐而流畅地给他们唱一首中文歌，体验那种没有隔阂的亲切感。我相信这样学下去，有一天会让我实现这一梦想的。 |
Tianjin — The Place Where I Developed My Dreams
By Hyunjung Chang, Boston College, Chinese teacher: Lu Fang
(Miss Chang is a contestant for the 3rd Annual “Chinese Bridge” Speech Contest for University Students in New England held on March 23 at UMass Boston)
In the year 2011, on my first day at Tianjin Science and Technology University, the teacher informed us about the school rules. Because I could not understand every sentence he said, I sat there and waited until he finished speaking and went to ask another student. Listening to him speaking, I felt that there was no way I could learn that language.
I started to learn Chinese in the elementary level class. I realized the work the teacher gave us was not enough to improve my Chinese. So, almost every day after class, I went straight back to my dorm and took classes online. In order to improve my listening and speaking skills, I also watched various TV programs and cartoons on internet.
Since then, I put my whole energy into learning Chinese. All of my activities were related to learning Chinese. For instance, I listened to popular Chinese songs during my free time, played game that involved choosing correct Chinese characters on my cell phone, and I even practiced Chinese when I was waiting for the subway by talking to myself: “I have been waiting for the subway for half an hour.”
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Just after two weeks, I moved up to intermediate level class, because the teacher thought my Chinese was improving very fast. At first, I felt all of the courses were challenging, yet I neither lost confidence, nor was intimidated by the stress. I also believed that the harder I worked the more abundant experiences I would have in Beijing later.
However, what made keep going was not only the goal I had, but more importantly the help and encouragement I received from my Chinese friend. I still remember, during that time, often meeting up with my best Chinese friend, Kono, and walking on the streets together, drinking milk tea and chatting. Throughout the course of learning Chinese, he was the person who motivated me deeply. Because of him, studying Chinese had become a sort of enjoyment in my life. |
My experience studying in Tianjin laid the firm foundation. After I came to Boston College, I decided to continue taking Chinese, and until now, I am still diligently studying Chinese. The more I learn the more I am excited. I think that to learn a language is not to climb a mountain, in which getting to the mountain top means to succeed. Instead, it is analogous to walking on an endless road – a road with an endless joy. Walking down that road, the most critical thing is to believe that the more I study the more I get better. I often become excited to imagine myself spontaneously chatting with my Chinese friends, and flawlessly sing a Chinese song to them. Only then can I feel a sense of closeness sapped of misunderstanding. I believe that studying Chinese onwards would one day lead to achieving this dream.