So, five years ago, I've started to learn Mandarin Chinese. This was way before I decided to come to and live in China. I didn’t always enjoy learning foreign languages, but after high school was over and the pressures of language exams vanished, I realized I actually do love to learn foreign languages. Since then, I have continuously enjoyed learning foreign languages (that is more than 10 years now). First, for more than eight years, I studied German. Eventually, I felt I needed a more challenging language and, as many people in the West will agree with, there is nothing more challenging than learning Mandarin Chinese. Well, that is it then: I will start learning Mandarin Chinese!

One good way to measure your progress in language learning is to undertake official language exams. For Mandarin Chinese, that is the HSK (漢語水平考試) exam. Being able to hold an HSK3 level certificate is very gratifying, and preparing to take the HSK4 this year is a good goal, but focusing too much on exams can also be detrimental. This was the main reason for my distaste for foreign languages in high school. At the end, while exams are important, the pure freedom of learning a language solely for knowledge’s sake, with no expectations attached, is the most rewarding thing.

Because I haven’t used my German skills in a while, I have forgotten a lot of what I learned, and my Mandarin Chinese level is not a high as I wished it was, but I must always remind myself: it’s about the journey, not the end goal. Whether you don’t perform well in an exam, or native speakers can’t understand when you talk about the weather or you can’t yet understand when people discuss deep philosophical and economical subjects in the language you are learning, remember: progress takes time and, most importantly, step back and remember to enjoy the learning process.