[quote]I have seen very very few even when there have been many people learning Chinese.
Am I right?
I don’t know.
If it is yes, why? [/quote]
Firstly, having a Chinese degree from overseas is about as useful as having an English degree here in Taiwan. People usually don’t have the opportunity to practice their foreign languages and they lose it eventually.
Furthermore, it is my opinion that, everything being equal, it is much harder to maintain the same level of fluency and mastery of the Chinese language than English. I have first-hand experience with this, I immigrated to Australia when I was ten, and now that I am 23, I have almost completely forgotten how to write in Chinese.
Lastly, foreigners for the most part do not have the same motivations to learn Chinese as, say, Taiwanese who learn English.
English to most Taiwanese is seen as something prestigeous, it is the ticket to better jobs, and a better life. In the past you would see Taiwanese, and people from other Asian countries leaving their countries in droves to English-speaking countries in search of a better life for themselves and/or their families.
In contrast, most foreigners would probably find Chinese to be an interesting, exotic language - something that’s nice to know, perhaps even useful… but hardly life changing. Most foreigners here are expats, perhaps staying here for a few years before they leave, comparatively very few foreigners actually settle down in Taiwan. A lot of foreigners here are also English teachers, so even their work environment doesn’t require them to speak much Chinese.
All in all, very few foreigners have the need and motivation to really master the Chinese language. For most people they only need to know enough Chinese to get by.
Reading: Just read alot, newspapers, flash cards, TV subtitles… whatever.
Writing: Practice writing the character over and over, and memorise every stroke. I can’t be bothered doing this, so I can’t write much.