I want to tell you about a film, recently released, called 'x + y', about a young boy who is a maths genius, although he has difficulty expressing his emotions and dealing with social situations.
He went to Taipei with the UK Maths team to train for the 'Maths Olympiad', and, in the film, teaches himself to speak Chinese by learning from a book, apparently without any opportunity to hear the spoken language or to practise it. When he speaks in Chinese, which he does with no hesitation or difficulty, he is understood by native Chinese speakers. Is this realistic ?

It seems even less likely to be possible in Chinese (than in European languages), given the importance of accurate pronunciation.

Of course, the film is as much about how to explain love, in all senses, as it is about anything else. You may have thought that this topic had been exhausted, but I think it did present it in a new and refreshing way. If you get the chance to see this film, I recommend it to you.