It’s hard to truly learn a language if you don’t set a specific goal.
I once had a student who booked a class and told me his goal was to “travel and make small talk.” As a teacher, I often receive this kind of request, and I always find it a bit vague. It’s difficult to know what the student really wants. Deep down, maybe he hopes to become more fluent in speaking or maybe he wants to truly understand Taiwanese culture. But when I ask follow-up questions, the answers tend to stay on the surface—something like: “I want to travel to Taiwan,” or “I want to live there for a while,” or “I think Taiwanese people are humble and Taipei is a nice place to live.”
All of these reasons are understandable—but they still don’t reveal the core motivation. What do they truly want to achieve? What activity or topic could really inspire and excite them to keep learning? That’s the key. People often say things like, “I want to do everything in Taiwan,” or “I want to pass the language test and get a high score.” But if you dig a little deeper, those goals often don’t mean much to them emotionally.
Without emotional meaning, it’s hard to stay motivated.
Sometimes, students even shift the conversation to other topics just to prove that their Mandarin is already good enough for travel or to show off how well they can speak within their comfort zone.
But when one of my students mentioned something he really cares about—bubble tea—it sparked something in me. He told me he drinks bubble tea every day, but he gets frustrated when his custom order gets messed up. He likes half-sugar, half-ice boba milk tea, but the clerk sometimes gives him a full-sugar drink. He admitted it wasn’t a big deal, but it bothered him that he couldn’t express his order clearly in Chinese.
That was my clue. That’s where I could start helping him.
I designed a lesson just for him. We practiced key vocabulary and useful phrases at home and in class. We role-played different ordering scenarios. And after just a few sessions, his speaking improved dramatically—at least when it came to ordering his favorite drink!
This experience reminded me how important it is to set clear and personal goals when learning a language. In every class, students may say they want to pass a course or survive in Taiwan—but how will they do that? Breaking down each challenge and identifying pain points is essential. That’s how you pivot toward success.
Just like my student. Sure, he wants to travel and talk to locals. But once he realized that ordering bubble tea was his “pain point,” he had a clear place to begin. Those small frustrations become reminders—clues about what to practice more until it becomes second nature. And once you overcome those small hurdles, you’re ready to take the next step.
If you want to practice having conversations with locals on different topics, you might find my podcast helpful. I also provide a study guide so you can follow along with the transcript, repeat key words and phrases to improve pronunciation and retention, and make sure you fully understand the content. After that, you can complete the practice questions and check your answers to deepen your learning. Finally, try answering the extended questions to practice expressing your own ideas using the new vocabulary.
Happy Chinese Learning!