Reflecting on my DYOC Spoken Cantonese Experiemce

Embarking on this module, my knowledge of Cantonese was confined to fragments of my heritage, primarily shaped by conversations within my mother's side of the family and exposure to Hong Kong detective dramas. Phrases like "Nei hou," "Lei sek bao mei," "Lei sek mat ye," and "Sek bao" became familiar expressions at my mother's encouragement, intended for recitation to my po po.

As the modern era ushered in the gradual disappearance of dialects and Chinese culture, I felt an increasing interest in reconnecting with my roots through the exploration of Cantonese. Initial attempts at self-learning, such as listening to Cantonese 101 podcasts and seeking translations from my mom, proved valuable but lacked substantial development. The prospect of structured learning within an academic module presented itself as an enticing opportunity, that is why I am here!

The module's well-crafted deliverables facilitated meaningful engagement with the Cantonese music scene and encouraged interaction with fellow Cantonese speakers. Challenges arose during the preparation for assignments. Notably, the difficulty in learning dialects without a universal textbook. The attempt to use Bing Translate for an interview script proved futile, leading me to seek my mom's assistance with translations before filming.

While the instructional content demonstrated utility in class, its seamless integration into everyday conversations posed a notable challenge. Vocabulary was mainly introduced via YouTube videos (Olivia fromCantoneseClass101.com). They held inherent value, but its practical relevance was constrained by the examples provided. For instance, the phrase "ngo heoi fei zau jiu daa wong jit beng jik miu," while linguistically intriguing, felt somewhat detached from the dynamics of everyday discourse. When will we ever talk about getting a yellow fever vaccine in daily conversation? Instead, it was how  the lecturer adds value by introducing variations to the example sentences given in the videos that makes this module different from learning directly from the YouTube videos themselves. For example, in the above case, he would switch the yellow fever context to a more relevant one like COVID-19.

The inherent intimidation of learning a new language was heightened by the solitary nature of this pursuit. Reflecting on my experience, I recognise that finding companions to share the journey would have significantly enhanced the learning process. While potential friendships within my surroundings seemed elusive due to existing cliques around the lecture theatre, the growing confidence throughout the module underscored the value of collaborative learning in mastering a new language. If given the chance to redo this experience, I would actively seek out companions to navigate the challenges and celebrate the successes of learning Cantonese together.

Overall, the module has instilled confidence, allowing me to incorporate Cantonese into my daily life and engage with those who speak the language. It is okay not to know everything because, as the instructor wisely said, if you don't know something, just Google “xxx in Cantonese”.