Sep.04, 2020
Something I often hear from our students is "I have learnt a lot, but I found there was no opportunity for me to practice what I've learnt", or "I feel HSK5 is too formal for me to use in daily life."
We have heard this kind of complaint a lot from students over the years. But is it really true?
I'm afraid not.
First, there actually are not so many impractical words of HSK5. Instead, most of them are commonly used for speaking when people need to present their ideas in a formal way.
Second, for "lacking opportunity to practice", we were thinking, "sure, if you guys are a bit reluctant to step out of your comfort zone to enjoy the fun of talking in Chinese, then we can build a 'zone' for you to practice and apply all those words and expressions which you said were 'too formal' to use".
The "zone" we built this time, was a Chinese debate event!
On 22nd August, we talked about the common disagreement regarding hot water.
How is drinking hot water good for family harmony?
Is drinking hot water old wisdom or outdated superstition?
We also talked about if it's really true that your Chinese speaking can get better after drinking alcohol.
Is beer just a placebo or does it really function?
What boosts your speaking, is the beer or the relaxing atmosphere?
It was an inspiring, fun and lively morning ... but most importantly, we saw it was a terrific opportunity that can "force" many of our students to apply what they have learnt in a formal Chinese speaking occasion.
"Practice makes perfect." We welcome you to take part in our next debate event in November to enjoy more fun when exchanging ideas in Chinese!