About

About The Writer:

English Name: Karen Yoon-Kung
Chinese Name: 尹龔寶翠 (wan5 gung1 bou2 ceoi3 in Cantonese） / 尹龚宝翠 (yin3 gong1 bao3 cui4 in Mandarin）
Korean Name: 윤공캐런 or 윤공보취(Yoon-Gong Kaerun or Yoon-Gong BoChwi)
Japanese Name:　カレン　(Let's just leave it at "Ka-re-n")
Italian Name: Carina Yoon-Cungi

About CantotoMando:

Welcome to your supplement in learning Mandarin from an Cantonese-American point of view! At CantotoMando, I try to break down the Mandarin language in ways you may not experience in a typical one-hour classroom setting. I've taken various Chinese classes so far and I feel as through we are only taught what everyone feels is necessary to know, but we don't have time to cover the foundation of the material in detail. Chinese isn't that hard if we focus on one bit at a time so I don't want you to despair and give up. 

I am throwing a lot of information your way, but I want to give you a deeper understanding of what we learn and its background, especially for those who understand Cantonese, but have a hard time transitioning to Mandarin. The transition from Cantonese to Mandarin is the reason why I named this blog, CantotoMando. Perhaps, you can pick up some Cantonese on the side through this blog. Hopefully, you will have a better sense of understanding of Mandarin through my blog posts. 

To my fellow students with a Chinese background but who feel inferior, do not feel ashamed. You are not alone. I have been to classes where people of all ages are students from all different levels of comprehension. Learning Chinese can be fun, interesting and manageable in a positive environment. We are all not perfect, but we owe it to ourselves to do our best. Let us all learn together. Don’t forget to bookmark or subscribe to my blog!

I put in a lot of time and research into my CantotoMando blog so I hope you enjoy it while having fun at the same time. Please visit often as I am also editing old posts to keep it as updated as possible. I am a lifetime student myself so feel free to enlighten me with your experiences.

Contact:

Email: Cantotomando@gmail.com

Background Info:

Nationality: Chinese-American with Toisanese roots

Learning Focus: Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean

Blog Focus:
Learning Mandarin from a Cantonese-American perspective

Personal History

• Grew up with a Cantonese/Toisanese family in the suburbs away from a Chinese community in New York.
• Studied Cantonese at the New York Chinese School on Elizabeth St, Chinatown, NY for a few years.
• Transferred to the Chinese Transfiguration School at Mott St in order to continue Cantonese studies until I graduated Elementary school at 15 years old, ranking #1, top of my class.
• I used to collect and read Old Master Q comic books.
• I loved watching ATV, TVB dramas and listened to Cantopop.
• I interned at Sinovision TV station (2003) for the show, Chinese Popstar hosted by Jojo Zhou. I mostly tried to translate Chinese documents into English or composed words in English to represent the Chinese Popstar show. I helped sell light sticks at the final Chinese Popstar finale at the MGM Grand in Connecticut.
• I interned at HKVPRadio.com (2003) for Annie Lam, writing biographies about Hong Kong pop stars as well as adding songs to the radio collection.
• Took a 10-week Mandarin course at Nassau Community College.
• In 2010, I took a 10-week Taiwanese-Mandarin course at the Queens Woodhaven Public Library.
• I tried the Pimsleur CD course, but never finished it. I also tried other various listening courses, but never successfully completed them.
• Took beginning Mandarin classes at ABC Language Exchange for six lessons in New York (2011).
• Passed Mandarin I at ALESN, an Asian Language Exchange & Social Network group in New York (2011-2012 school year).
• Took an Intermediate Mandarin class at Rennert Language School over the summer of 2012. 
• Completed a "Global Leadership College's TESOL: Specialist" Course
  

Future:

• Will continue Mandarin II class at ALESN

Other Blogs:

If you find this blog interesting, feel free to check out my other blogs regarding my other interests. Thank you! 
Toisan Descendant - Learning Toisanese from a Cantonese-American Perspective
Wehaiyo!  - Korean and Chinese Entertainment Reviews
Target Treasure- Fun and Interesting Things Seen at the Target Store!
Japanese Because... - Learn beginning Japanese little by little...
If you enjoyed my blog, please consider supporting me by making a donation!
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A Korean Destiny - Learning Korean from a Cantonese-American Perspective