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{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }

dragon May 18, 2010 at 6:53 pm

互动性不够，最好有一个论坛，就一些问题进行讨论，然后由专家来解疑。

landawei May 19, 2010 at 6:06 am

@dragon.
Thank you for the feedback. Yahoo Babel Fish translates your suggestion as:
“Interactive is insufficient, should better have a forum, some questions carry on the discussion, then comes the question and answer by the expert. ”

Are you suggesting follow-up questions in after the blog? I try to ask questions in the blog to get a response from the reader.
Again, thank you for your suggestion.

Jasmine June 9, 2010 at 4:36 pm

Landawei I love the English idiom ,and I want to find out the similar idiom in Chinese .Could you please correct my grammer when I reply. thank you!

landawei June 9, 2010 at 4:52 pm

@Jasmine.
No problem. Your grammar is fine, but “grammer” is spelled “grammar”. :-)
I’m always open to correction on my written Chinese.

Chen August 19, 2010 at 1:56 am

I love your blogs, but sometimes I forget to open your web page.
So I’m just wondering whether there are RSS feeds of your blogs? I didn’t find the uri.
Thank you very much for you work!

Chen August 19, 2010 at 1:57 am

Oh, sorry.
I got that uri. :D

landawei August 19, 2010 at 6:52 am

@Chen,
Sorry, I don’t have that feature installed. I make Facebook announcements, but not RSS. I probably should look into how to get that installed in Wordpress.

landawei August 19, 2010 at 8:32 am

@Chen.
I’m not certain what I need to communicate in the RSS feed. I installed an RSS feed widget, but when it displayed on the sidebar,
it gave me an error message, saying it couldn’t find the feed (I used http://mychinaconnection.com). Do you know if I am taking
the wrong approach?

Chen August 19, 2010 at 5:42 pm

Hi landawei,
My firefox found the uri which is http://mychinaconnection.com/feed/ for me automatically.
And I am so sorry that I don’t know about wordpress either. Maybe it already has it done for you.

enterblue September 6, 2010 at 10:01 pm

hello David,I have seen your BLOG recently, I really love it.It’s interesting. And I replied some of your articles, did you see it? IOI I have a question, DO your english idioms widley used in American’s daily life? or it’s just a idiom from the old?
for example “the dog days” means the weather before rain,hot, wet and very uncomfortable. but now, does someone say” what a dog day!”?when they feel uncomfortable to the sauna weather? I think most of them may like saying”what a fucking day!” more. of couse “what a fucking day!” can be used in many ways.
a same problem in Chinese, some of the idioms in your blog are not widely used today ,or even haven’t been used yet. they’re just a idiom or just a story belong to the old. absoluteyle they’ll always be a part of Chinese culture, for ever.
so what about your English idioms? I’d like to see sth more native, thx.

enterblue September 6, 2010 at 10:31 pm

some grammar mistakes IOI~ that should be “are your English idioms widley used in ….” =.=

peipeihuang October 1, 2010 at 8:39 am

hello! dave! i’m peipei! do u want to make friend with me! this my my e-mile jeny.zl.chen@126.com

landawei October 1, 2010 at 9:41 am

Hello, peipei!
很高兴认识你！I hope you keep reading these blogs. Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I try to get back to people!

thank you!

Jasminum October 15, 2010 at 6:21 am

Hello,Dave! I’m glad to read your blogs. Everyone in my class loves to read your blogs.Although we can’t understand you clearly sometimes.We wonder how the English speakers memorize new words.As you know,memorizeing new words is a difficult question for Chinese students.Could you help us solve this question? Thank you!

landawei October 15, 2010 at 1:36 pm

Hello, Jasminum,
Where is your class? Is the class high school or college aged? I am glad to hear they are reading these blogs!

How do you memorize new words? That’s a good question. When I have time to study Chinese, I repeat the word ten times. If I have a sentence with that word, I would repeat that sentence ten times too.

If I see an English word that I don’t know, I look it up and either write down the definition in the book (if it is my book) or I will write it in a notebook.

If you use iciba.com you have a dictionary with pronunciation. It accurate most of the time. You can also use the merriam-webster.com for pronunciation. That should have more accurate pronunciation because it is an American produced dictionary.

Does that help?

Jasminum October 16, 2010 at 4:33 am

Thank you! I’ll tell your answer to my classmates. I hope it will work well.
I am a student in a high school,and I come from Hebei province. Have you ever came to my hometown?

landawei October 16, 2010 at 11:40 am

@Jasminum,
In 2007 I visited Xi’An and Wudangshang, so I have been to Hubei, not Hebei. :-( Sorry!
What city in Hebei?

Rachel November 21, 2010 at 9:41 pm

Thank you for giving me this chance to know your blog.I love it and i can learn a lot from it.I’m a senior in a college and leaving for employment. My english is poor, so wants to learn it better! Do you have any advises about it?I very much look forward to seeing you reply.

landawei November 21, 2010 at 10:22 pm

@Rachel.
What is your college major?
As far as advice is concerned, I copied some advice that I gave to someone under the “English Questions?” section of the blog.
Please let me know what you think of the advice, I would like to know if it helped you.

My first advice is to never give up. Be persistent. Devote a certain amount of time every day to learning English and over time you will see improvement.

Try to read as much as possible. The internet is a wonderful source for you and I hope you make “My China Connection” part of your regular reading.

Also, try to write. I encourage people to leave comments to explain how you say an English idiom in Chinese or to try to use the English idiom in their own words. That gives you some practice.

For listening, I would recommend watching some English TV programs. That way you can see what people are doing, listen to what they say, and you would probably have Chinese subtitles. I do this with Chinese TV and pick up things that way.

Rachel November 22, 2010 at 6:44 am

Thanks dawei.My major is accounting.Maybe I will become a accountant.
I’d like to do follow your advices.Not sticking on my way is maybe the biggest problem.
I know I’ve got to get over it.
Another question,I have some problem with my grammar and I don’t know how to learn it.
I worry about that I will make mistakes when speaking English.What can I do about it?

landawei November 22, 2010 at 7:55 am

I wouldn’t be too nervous about mistakes. Learn from them. Most native English speakers are patient when a non-native speaker is making an honest effort to learn the language.

I know Chinese people are happy when I try to speak Chinese with them.

I am not an expert on English grammar, but then I don’t think about it too much since I speak the language without effort.
My suggestion is to follow the steps that I mentioned earlier.

Also, check out this web site: http://www.englishclass101.com/

You can get free downloads of their English lessons. I learn Chinese from their counterpart “Chinese class 101″. I think they will give you some help with grammar.

(But you have to promise to keep reading My China Connection!!! :-) )

Rachel November 22, 2010 at 8:10 pm

Thank you Dawei.
Yeah,I’m sure that I’ll keep reading your blog.As I mentioned in the idioms part of the blog,it’s so useful for us that I could learn a lot of it.And I feel very happy talking to you.
PS:Could you tell me the mistakes in my sentences if I made it.

landawei November 22, 2010 at 8:23 pm

@Rachel.
Sure, I’ll let you know if I need to correct something. I have some 600 articles and most of them are idioms. You’ll learn a lot if you read this on a daily basis.

coco.gao December 20, 2010 at 6:44 pm

Hey,Dawei,I have read your blogs for a long time,but this is my first comment here.I will keep an eye on your website as before and i also wanna remark more…
I love those slangs and idoms,they do help me somehow.I ‘ll try to find the Chinese to match it when i have time.Have a nice dream!

landawei December 20, 2010 at 8:12 pm

@coco.
Hey, the water’s warm! Glad you jumped in! I appreciate any Chinese equivalents because
1. I learn something
2. I will tag the phrase which will make it easier for Chinese search engines to find MCC!
thx!

joy December 29, 2010 at 8:28 am

Hi Dawei,

Have a successful 2011 !
Thank you for your hard work on this blog. I have learned a lot from it and I told all my friends about this blog. They are eager to learn more English. They try to come to your blog as much as they can.

landawei December 29, 2010 at 9:19 am

Thanks, Joy.
I’m glad that you have benefited from MCC. It is fun and I’ve met some very nice people along the way.

lily January 28, 2011 at 4:47 am

hello,david,my name is lily,i am 18,you are only person who pay attentiong to me in douban.to be honest ,i want to improve my poor english,i am very gald to have a friend like you ,

landawei January 28, 2011 at 7:57 am

@lily

Thank you for leaving your message. You say you are 18, are you what do you plan to do after high school?

One way you can improve your English is to read these blogs and learn the word which I highlight. Over time, your vocabulary will increase.

lily January 28, 2011 at 7:45 pm

yes,but as a garde 3 student,i have little time surf the internet,i stay at school during whole day ,but every day i do same reading ,now my english point has been improving,but my spoken english is poor,it’s trouble me a lot .
facing the entrance examination ,i must devoted myself to pass the exam and enter a good university,so this problem i have to set aside.
thank you for your replying.

landawei January 29, 2011 at 7:23 am

@lily.
Can you explain that grade system in China?

In the US we have these names. Both apply to high school and university:
first year: freshman
second year: sophomore
third year: junior
fourth year: senior

How important is spoken English at this point in your education?
Is there a set list of words which you must learn?

lily January 31, 2011 at 2:52 am

David,i am sorry that because Spring Festival is coming,these day i’m so busy that i can’t reply you in time.
as we all know China is a big country ,so we have a great number of students,the best way to pick out the person with ability is grade examination(gaokao),i can’t explain it exactly,is an uniform exam.according to the examinatorial ,you can choose different university,good or bad.
but ,spoken English isn’t very important in my education,the test includes listening and writing.Considering enter society,i think spoken English is more important than others.
I must learn Chinese,Math,English,Bioligy,Physics and Chemistry.i am sorry i can not explain very well,it’s complex.
Spring Festival is coming,best is waiting for you.

landawei January 31, 2011 at 5:58 am

@lily.
I understand. In December the Christmas season kept many people busy. Same with Chinese Spring Festival.
新年快乐！

Actually you did a very good job explaining things! I’ve written a few blogs on 高考。
http://mychinaconnection.com/news-from-china/college-entrace-exams-in-china-and-the-us/

I look forward to hearing from you again!
Dave

lily January 31, 2011 at 6:49 pm

^~^,your Chinese is better than my English.
Just than i have read the article you written,to my surprise ,you have good understanding in ‘gaokao’.yes,merely e few students can go to a good university,as for other students,most of them will enter

lily January 31, 2011 at 7:00 pm

techno-school or turn into society for a job,which job is hard and boring ,the salary isn’t goodish.
A few students choose retake the exam till they are satisfied.

I can’t reject,but only accept.

landawei January 31, 2011 at 7:15 pm

@lily.

You are so kind! My Chinese is not that good, but I do wish to improve it. I know pinyin and so I can type what I little I know.
When a 老外 is able to type Chinese, it does get some attention.

Glad you read and enjoyed my article on 高考。 :-)

landawei January 31, 2011 at 7:16 pm

@lily

At any rate, I wish you the best of success in your endeavors!

lily February 1, 2011 at 8:02 pm

Thank you very much ,I will try my best to pass the exam.
thanks to you know a little Chinese,you can understand what i said .You know ,many students will make mistakes which write ‘Chinese English’.
My english teacher said Chinese is most difficult language to learn ,so I think you must have made great efforts on studying Chinese.
As the Chinese ancient puts it :’no pains ,no gains’,We are agree with him.

landawei February 1, 2011 at 8:39 pm

We say “no pain, no gain” too!

Is your English teacher an American? In some regards, I don’t consider Chinese all that difficult to speak. The grammatical structure is not
that complicated. What makes Chinese a challenge for English speakers are the tones and the writing. With computers, it is not difficult to
write in Chinese.

I’m impressed with the motivation of Chinese students. I think they are in general more driven than most American students to perform
well academically.
加油！

lily February 4, 2011 at 1:49 am

Dave,How about you these days?
The day before yesterday,I just finished a message to you when the power cut,then my family drived car to my grandmother ,it’s about 1hour far away from my home,there is not internet,but the scenery is perfect,especially,the white clubs full of tree.
we have an royal dinner,which call ‘tuan yuan fan’.

landawei February 4, 2011 at 10:16 am

Hello, Lily.

I hope that the time with your family was enjoyable. Glad you could enjoy the scenery and the time with your grandmother.

Yidan February 5, 2011 at 9:19 am

This website is really impressive!
My teacher told us about this website, and I really love it.
Thank you sooooooooo much for doing this!!!!!
I am just going to e-mail all my friends to tell them about this website.

lily February 5, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Thank you.
Yesterday we held an traditional activity that celebrate the Spring Festival ,it is really jollification and i can’t move because huge crowd of people .Local common people tailor lantern ,and the shape in fish,rabbit(you know,2011 also call rabbit year)and so on.It attracts many travelers,including American.I hope that one day you could come to my hometown and enjoy the time .

landawei February 6, 2011 at 8:20 am

@Lily.
I hope I can visit China again someday! I am longing to travel to the “Middle Kingdom” 中国！
Yesterday, Chinese shooting firecrackers in my neighborhood (I live in California) actually frightened my dog! :-)

landawei February 6, 2011 at 8:26 am

@Yidan
新年好！万事如意！

Who is your teacher? I know several teachers in China who kindly tell their students about “My China Connection”.

lily February 6, 2011 at 7:19 pm

“Middle Kingdom”^!^I have never heard before!
Are your neighborhood coming from Chinese?We all shoot firecracker,same with western Chrismas tree.Are you enjoy the beautiful protechny ?Sureiy I love the Chrismas tree.

landawei February 6, 2011 at 8:17 pm

“Middle Kingdom” is something that an English speaker who is familiar with China might call China because that’s the literal meaning of China.
Not every American would get that name though.

I assume that my neighbors are either Chinese or Vietnamese. Regardless of who shoots the fireworks, it scares my dog. :-)

lily February 8, 2011 at 4:46 am

Surely whoever shoots the fireworks,your dog would be scared!
It’s time to say good-bye,tomorrow I will leave home to school ,It takes about 7 hours by train.So I will not chat with you until 4 months later.During the 4 months I must devote myself into studying.
Again,I think it’s really funny that chatting with you!
See you!

landawei February 8, 2011 at 5:23 am

Well, Lily.
I wish you the best with your studies and look forward to hearing from you when you have free time!
加油！

Jim June 7, 2011 at 4:03 pm

Hi landawai,
Today I found out your website, that is a very nice contribution to everyone is willing to learn English and Chinese. I am Spanish and I see this website a perfect tool to improve my Chinese, and my English too, at the same time. I hope you can keep up your good job.
If I have some error, can you correct them?

landawei June 7, 2011 at 4:14 pm

@Jim.

Thank you for your kind comments. Certainly if you leave a comment with one of the idioms, I would be happy to correct any errors.

Best regards
Lan Dawei

Jim June 7, 2011 at 4:24 pm

Where is the right place to place any question? I always mess things up with blogs.

landawei June 7, 2011 at 4:38 pm

There is a section “English questions” where you can ask your questions. I’m not a professional English teacher, but I will do my best to answer your
questions. If I can’t answer it adequately, I will try to point you in the right direction.

Also, I encourage people to try writing a sentence with the idioms so they can improve take their English up a notch. Those comments would be where
the idiom blog entry is.

Lily February 27, 2012 at 2:54 am

hello landawai,
How about you?Are you still remember me ?Guess where am I?now I am in college.Thanks for your best wish,through a hard work,i had a pretty college entrance examination scores,and the university what i enter is good.How about you ?Life and work?

Lily February 27, 2012 at 3:03 am

Hello Landawei,
Are you still remember me?Guess where i am ? Yes! i am in college !How about you ?

landawei February 27, 2012 at 8:47 am

@Lily
Yes, I do remember you. We spoke about a year ago. You were in high school at the time and wanting to improve your English.
Originally I believe you contacted me from Nanning, Guangxi, but from now I think you are in the Beijing area. (I can tell from
your IP Address). Which university are you attending??

landawei February 27, 2012 at 8:49 am

@Lily.

I hope you are enjoying your university experience. I hope the information at “My China Connection” has helped you with your English.
I write about things you’ll probably not see in most textbooks.

Lily February 29, 2012 at 9:37 pm

@Landawei.
I am sorry I am not reply you in time.
Now i live in Xi’an,a beautiful city.Have you ever been there?
I departured my hometown and my families.I konw i am a grown-up,so i have to understand more responsibility.
How about you ?Are you a teacher?Maybe teach Chinese?HAHA,i am joking.

landawei February 29, 2012 at 9:50 pm

@Lily
Actually, yes I have been to Xi’an. I visited there in 2007 with my Tai Chi teacher and classmates.
It was a very wonderful experience!

Lily March 1, 2012 at 6:42 am

@Landawei
As far as i know ,Xi’an is a historical city,every year,people come to visit it for traveling.
now you still study Tai Chi ?Now I am learning Waltz,It is not easy but very interesting.

landawei March 1, 2012 at 6:47 am

Unfortunately, I am not studying or practicing tai chi at this time. I really enjoyed it!

Lily March 1, 2012 at 9:48 pm

@Landawei
What a pity!But I think take esercise still very important.Since i enter university ,free time is more than before,but it takes less time to do esercise.so this winter i am having a bad cold.i hope your body can in good health.

landawei March 1, 2012 at 9:54 pm

@Lily.
I agree. Exercise is important. I just got over a mild cold yesterday.
I should try to at least review my tai chi form.

Patty March 16, 2012 at 4:53 pm

I have a question for the website owner. Is that picture of the mountain with smoke your copyrite? If so, would you permit me to use it? I am a sign language interpreter for the Deaf and sign language started off with indians and old communication ways. I want to put the picture on a tshirt. Please let me know asap so I dont use it illegally.
thank you so much
Patty

landawei March 16, 2012 at 5:55 pm

Are you referring to the Chinese art which is the background to this blog?

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