I planned on pursuing a degree in International Relations and wanted to work for the US Foreign Service or maybe serve at a consulate in China, until something changed my path completely: I was personally called to serve God. I had what I could only describe as a personal revelation, where Christ came to me and asked me to serve him, causing me to immediately switch my major focus from International Relations to Theology.
Language is culture. Our mother tongue keeps our cultural heritage alive. The mother tongue helps us stay connected to our traditional, cultural values and our roots.
I can’t help thinking about how discouraged they must have been when they had to leave China so soon after working hard to learn the language and start a new ministry… But God wasn’t finished with either them or his people in China.
Guardian visas for parents of young children studying abroad have opened another education opportunity for Christian families in China.
Last month I had the opportunity to meet Shuguang Wang, the author of a new textbook called Chinese through Scripture. I looked at the book and my first thought was, “I sure could have used this in 1990!”
I’m not the tidiest or most organized person in the world, so the expression luan qi ba zao (乱七八糟) was one I learned and took to heart early. A direct translation is “chaos seven eight in a wretched state.”
Language learning must be useful to be effective. What phrases and vocabulary were essential in years gone by, aren’t making it into the language textbooks of today.
For many engaged in cross-cultural service (or preparing for it), language learning is often one of the most daunting tasks. Especially for those of us whose only experience is Spanish or French class in the American educational system, we are wholly unprepared, and most likely don’t even know where to begin.
This article addresses the joys, challenges, and frustrations of reaching students from ethnic minority groups in China.
The key question in language learning was answering a simple question: How do I maximize contact time with the language?
A life-long language learner shares insights from his journey towards mastering Chinese.
Mandarin students spend years learning the basics of daily language and only scratch the surface when it comes to spiritual and theological vocabulary. Here's a resource to help.