‘Enjoy the embarrassing moments’ – how to survive in China as a non-native speaker

Kiwi singer Laurence Larson lives in Bejing and has first-hand advice for people who’ve been learning Mandarin and are ready to throw themselves into life in China.

“Every city has its own dialect, so when I talk to people from another city I usually have little or no idea what they’re saying.  When this happens, don’t panic.  You’ve got to laugh at yourself and enjoy the embarrassing moments.  Because these are the ones you’ll remember the best.”

Laurence hopes NZ Chinese Language Week encourages other Kiwis to embrace learning foreign languages and also hopes his experiences will help to bring a bit of (合作 hé zuò ) or cooperation between New Zealand and China.