Skip to content

Keeping your CLE while working full time

Clarifier: CLE=Chinese Language Environment

What does that mean? Well, it’s making sure that everything—literally everything—around you is in Chinese, regardless of where you live, work, play, sleep…etc. Many people have already written a lot about this, so I will live the descriptions in their capable hands.

Suffice it to say, the point is making sure everything possible around you is in your target language, Chinese in this case for me. This entry will focus on at work, other entries in the future will cover living, playing, sleeping, eating, and all that fun stuff.

So, right now I work a full-time job at a Taiwanese company. While all of my coworkers are Taiwanese, and the “lingua franca” is Chinese,  I still write copy in English, news articles, advertisements, plans, emails,… you get the idea. English is still the name of the game, we all have work to do so interaction with coworkers is limited.

Here’s a look at my daily schedule:

6-9 Get up / shower / Commute to work
9-12 Work
12-1:30 Lunch Break
1:30-6:30 Work
6:30-8 Commute Home
8-9 Dinner
9-12 Shower/study (?) / sleep

 

As you can see, it’s a pretty tight schedule, so how could I possibly fit in any time to study? “If you want to, you will”, “If you build it, the[L2]y will come”; I fill every possible second with some activity with my L2.

Now take a look at my daily L2 schedule:

6-9

Watch the news; read a newspaper from the previous day. Read a book/newspaper/SRS reps via internet phone on the train. Listen to music/movie audio.

9-12

Run a few SRS reps between jobs; listen to online radio; music; ripped DVD audio

12-1:30

SRS, RTK reps, Add to SRS, read, watch my favorite drama on YouTube

1:30-6:30

Run a few SRS reps between jobs; listen to online radio; music; ripped DVD audio

6:30-8

Read a book/newspaper/SRS reps via internet phone on the train. Listen to music/movie audio.

8-9

Dinner; watch news, TV shows, etc.

9-12

Read, relax with a good manga/book, or watch TV.

I think it is really easy to get your L2 into your schedule, you just have to find the cracks (or make some by removing current English activities that are filling them).

1 thought on “Keeping your CLE while working full time”

  1. Pingback: Surusu: A Review « A Place in Your Life

Leave a Reply