John Leinonen

Philosophy and Chinese
I am employed at Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
I studied Chinese because it was completely different from anything I had learned before. It was challenging, interesting, and incredibly useful. I look forward to continue to learn throughout my life.
Living in China has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I feel like I understand others more easily, and I am more patient with things I find strange at first. Chinese has made me a better person.
My UW classes involved lots of practice, which is the only way to really learn a language. I am grateful for the classroom practice and the opportunity to travel to China.
Living in a language house and studying abroad were essential to improving my Chinese to the level I am today. Not only that, but I learned a lot more cultural context that in turn informed my language learning.
I continue to talk to friends I have met in China and I try to read some Chinese every week. I would like to start more regular speaking practice again.
Be serious and passionate about whatever language you are learning. Find a topic that interests you and learn a ton of vocab about it to impress your teachers. Being a Chinese and Philosophy major, I started reading some Chinese philosophy to discuss with my classical teacher. If you cannot find passion in learning the language, you will never get as far as someone who can.