How to overcome your fear of speaking Mandarin (even if you're feeling really rusty)
Become a member of RTM Pro and dramatically improve your spoken Chinese
Hello!
Reminder: I’ll be hosting two webinars today about RTM Pro.
RSVP here for Webinar 1 (12pm UK time), and here for Webinar 2 (8pm UK time).
Now… a bit more about RTM Pro…
The most important thing you need to know about RTM Pro is:
No calls are ever recorded.
RTM Pro meet-ups are a safe space to make you feel comfortable.
So you can practise your Mandarin within a small group of like-minded and supportive learners, guided by a native speaker.
No matter how nervous you feel, or how worried you are about getting it wrong, RTM Pro will help you overcome that fear.
Because…
We all feel exactly the same way!
I've been learning Mandarin for over 20 years, and I still regularly get a nervous feeling when I haven't spoken Mandarin for a while, just before I open my mouth to speak…
Because I know that whatever is about to come out of there, it's not going to sound as impressive as I want it to.
Tones all over the place…. dodgy pronunciation…. forgotten words…
It hurts.
But that's totally normal.
And… The only way we can overcome that fear is: confront it, speak Mandarin regularly, and don't get put off by how terrible our tones have become.
That's what RTM Pro is all about.
Gently forcing you to force yourself to speak Mandarin every week, and overcome your fears of getting it wrong, or sounding awful.
“When I first signed up, I doubted my ability to converse fluently in a group. However, through the kind and patient moderators, pleasant discussions, and thought-provoking questions, time flies by.”
Here’s an example…
Take the experience of one of our RTM Pro members, Olga.
She joined the pilot of RTM Pro in May and June.
Olga has been a paid subscriber of RTM+ on-and-off for over a year, and describes herself as an intermediate learner.
When I first announced the RTM Pro pilot in April, Olga wrote to me:
My Chinese level is not very high - I go for intermediate lessons, and though I’m not afraid to speak, I do so quite, well, primitively 😅 if it helps, I have just recently taken HSK 4 but will likely not have 90%+ grade.
Just wanted to ask, based on what you know now about the audience - do you think this is right for someone like me, or should I join at a later stage when my skills are better?
I suggested Olga should join to give it a go. And if it didn’t work out for her she could get a refund. (We offer 100% refund within the first month).
Olga joined the first session and loved it.
It was great to see her get stuck in. And I was especially impressed with her pronunciation, and she had excellent tones.
Most importantly, she was brave and took the opportunity to speak and make mistakes.
She even gave pronunciation tips to a more advanced participant, on the correct way to say the dreaded “lǜ” sound in 律师! (It’s all in the “ooo”, apparently).
After that first session, I wrote to Olga congratulating her.
Her response:
I enjoyed the session very much, even if I didn't understand much of what others were saying.
This only motivates me to try harder.
I once told someone that being the weakest student in the class is an ideal situation because I can only move forward, not backward, and I stand by it here! I have no idea when the time had passed.
The class was very engaging, the questions + breakout rooms approach makes it very dynamic.
Love it!!!
Looking forward to the next one :)
Olga joined another two sessions in the pilot, and remains a member of RTM Pro today.
Here is her final testimonial after completing the pilot:
We discuss topics that are hot in China TODAY (not the 1990s), the sessions are engaging and fun, and we learn additional vocab / use cases beyond what we read in the newsletter.
Everyone is super nice and happy to meet fellow learners, and RTM crew does a great job at moderation to keep the sessions dynamic.
Does Olga’s story resonate with you?
If so, RTM Pro could really help you!
All you need to do is take that first step, invest, and commit.
*Don't forget there's no risk for you. Just like Olga, you get a 30-day trial period to trail RTM Pro to help you decide if it's for you. If it isn’t, you'll get a full refund.
**Join before midnight on Friday 19 July and get $50 off.
See you on Saturday!
Andrew
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Ps - Don’t forget to join me for a free 30-minute webinar today! RSVP here for Webinar 1 (12pm UK time), and here for Webinar 2 (8pm UK time).