Thanks a lot Benny!
I’ve been learning Chinese on my own in Pakistan for several years. But the problem is that in Pakistan we don’t have 语言环境, a language environment for Mandarin. And when I started learning it, there wasn’t even a single institute that taught Mandarin and there was no Mandarin teacher to be found here.
So I found it difficult to improve my speaking and listening abilities, the best I could do here in Pakistan, was to read a lot (Chinese stuff). I thought maybe reading would help me learn Chinese a lot, as far as speaking and listening skills are concerned, I’ll improve them as soon as I get the opportunity to go and live in China.
I don’t only read articles but also watch Chinese TV dramas and movies and study the Chinese subtitles; this somewhat helps me improve my listening abilities.
I want you to have a look at the following news article:
http://news.anhuinews.com/system/2007/09/02/001837576.shtml
Here you’ll find me making a speech in Mandarin at the Chinese Embassy. Last year, I went to China for one week and also made another small speech in Mandarin at the Beijing International Hotel.
