The chaos behind learning a foreign language

The State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs released not too long ago the results of a survey it conducted: Command of the Chinese language, it seems, remains a skill beyond the ability of most expats in China.

Seventy-three percent can understand only simple words in Chinese. Eighteen percent comprehend what's being said most of the time, but they cannot reliably make themselves understood. Only 8 percent can speak simple Chinese.

The main barrier, it seems, is that it is written in characters rather than an alphabet. It is said, for example, that to comfortably make one's way through a Chinese newspaper, one has to be familiar with about 1,500 characters. Beginner Chinese textbooks often set their goal at about 500 characters.