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Beyond Survival Mandarin

jul 09 2026
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reading time: 7 minutes

I think it is easy to underestimate how much language affects the quality of our lives.

Being born and raised in America with English as my native language, navigating daily life was relatively simple. My education was in English. Most of the media I enjoyed was either in English or translated into English. The only language I needed for employment was English. And because most non-immigrant Americans are monolingual English speakers, communication was rarely an issue.

I think the point is clear.

That does not mean life was smooth sailing. Knowing English doesn't erase the complexities of life. But living in an environment where your native language is the default setting does make things simpler.

It also blinds you to how challenging life can be when you no longer have that fallback.

Moving to Taiwan made that obvious for me.

Logic vs Experience

I wasn't completely oblivious to the struggles of operating in a second languasge.

I've met several people throughout my life who spoke English as a second language. Some struggled with daily communication. Even those that were more fluent still sometimes had trouble understanding words or phrases that weren't an issue for me. I could feel sympathy for their struggles but I didn't fully understand it.

It's not because their challenges didn't make sense. Of course if you're around people saying things that sound foreign to you, it's going to be hard. But knowing something logically and experientially are totally different. For most of my life, I only spoke English in an environment that almost entirely operated in English. So, how could I really know?

How Do You Say That?

Being in Taiwan has shown me firsthand what it's like living in a second language.

At least in my experience, learning and using a foreign language always felt like more of a sidequest than a practical necessity. Knowing a few words in Spanish, for example, may have gotten people to say "that's cool" but it never gave me many more opportunities or affected my ability to operate in the world.

Now that's not the case. Knowing a new language is not just a neat party trick. It's something I need to be functional. I need it to understand signs, announcements, news, job posts, messages, and all the small daily things that English used to handle for me automatically.

My Current Ability

Fortunately, I had been learning Mandarin for a few years before I arrived. So, I wasn't starting from absolute zero. Still, it took me some time to get used to it being used in the wild.

Generally, I can get through routine and simple interactions without too much trouble. I can order food, ask simple questions, recognize familiar characters, and understand pieces of conversations. Those moments feel good because they remind me of how far I've come from the times when I couldn't even ask for a glass of water.

But then there are the other moments.

Someone speaks too fast. A text has too many characters I don't recognize. A simple question catches me off guard. I hear something I should probably know by now but my mind goes completely blank. Or I know what I want to say, but my mouth can't find the sentence fast enough.

That is when I remember that my Mandarin is still mostly survival Mandarin.

Survival Isn't Enough

My current Mandarin is useful. I don't want to dismiss it.

It gives me a level of independence that knowing none just doesn't give you. I can eat, shop, take transportation, ask for help, and solve simple problems without needing a translator following me 24/7 (except Google Translate).

But survival Mandarin also has limits.

It doesn't give me the full range of expression I want. It does not let me easily explain complicated thoughts, follow fast conversations, read longer texts, understand humor, or build deeper relationships without constantly feeling like I am one step behind.

If I want to build a life in Taiwan that's bigger than being the foreigner who speaks English, then I need to improve. English opens some doors, especially teaching jobs, but I don't want to be yet another foreigner who lives here for a decade just teaching English. No offense to any English teachers reading this. That's just not for me.

Obstacles

I think there are many things that can get in the way of me reaching my goal.

Without drawing out a long list, one of the biggest obstacles for me will probably be using English. I know I've been talking about the hardships of living in a foreign language which is all still valid. But despite needing Chinese to operate, it is still quite easy to get by with just English.

Many restaurants allow you to order through a kiosk or menu that you can mark your order on, often with English translations.

A lot of people in Taiwan also know enough English to help if I get stuck. My phone can translate menus, messages, signs, and websites. My browser can translate pages automatically. It doesn't help that my major is in English so all the classes and tutoring resources I can use are also in English.

I'm well aware that this seems strange to complain about. Many people would kill to fly to a totally different country on the opposite side of the planet, live in a place whose official language is different from their own, and still get by with their native tongue.

The privilege is not lost on me.

But it also makes it easy to avoid struggling in Mandarin.

English becomes a fallback every time things get even slightly difficult or uncomfortable. It has already happened to me multiple times. I start speaking Mandarin to someone, there is a snag in the conversation, and instead of wrestling with it and powering through, I switch to English.

In the moment, it feels practical.

In the long run, it keeps me stuck.

I don't think using English is always bad. Sometimes it's necessary and saves time. Especially in situations that are too important to risk misunderstanding just because I want language practice.

But if I keep using English every time Mandarin gets uncomfortable, then my Mandarin will only grow inside the small circle of things I already know how to say.

That's not enough.

Plan

I do not want this series to be about vague wishes like "I should study more Mandarin."

I want to make Mandarin a more active part of my life. That means practicing the skills that are easiest for me to avoid: listening to natural speech, speaking before I feel completely ready, reading longer Traditional Chinese texts, and writing more of my own thoughts instead of only recognizing words passively.

Some of that will be structured study. Some of it will be real-life practice. Most of it will probably be awkward. That's fine.

If I want Mandarin that works outside of a textbook, then I have to practice it outside of a textbook.

Resources

I don't expect any single resource to fix everything, but I want to use tools that target the weak spots directly.

These are subject to change but these are some resources I've found useful in the past:

Goal

I know I won't be reading ancient Confucian literature in 90 days.

I want to understand more of what is happening around me. I want to speak with less hesitation. I want to read without feeling defeated after one paragraph. I want to write simple thoughts without needing to translate every piece from English first.

Most of all, I want more options and a fuller connection to my surroundings. Right now, I still feel like there is a layer of glass between me and daily life here. Sometimes I feel like the clueless foreigner living in a different reality from the Taiwanese people around me, and I hate that feeling.

I don't want English to be the only skill people can see in me. I live in Taiwan, study in Taiwan, and may want to work here someday. If I want a deeper life here, then my Mandarin can't stay in survival mode forever.

Survival Mandarin helped me get started.

Now I want more than survival.