I want to know where to start

[aperson85]

Hello, I am Chinese and currently go to a United States high school. I'm in a chinese-speaking family so I am semi-fluent in the language, but my reading and writing are atrocious. I also find it hard to express more complex phrases in Chinese that seem so easy in English. I went to chinese school when I was very young so I know some basic words but my vocab is really bad.

can you guys recommend a starting point for me? Which method of learning Chinese worked the best for you? good books, online resources, anything. Thanks in advance.

[terran261]

It is a little hard to judge what books would be suitable, because it is hard to know where your Chinese is. You say you speak it at home, so I will assume it is better than mine.

In your position I would get my hands on Chinese newspapers (generally cheap to free in bigger cities) and just dive in. If you would like something a little more 'textbook like' there are tons of options around the forums, but one I have been using is:

http://www.amazon.com/All-Things-Considered-Advanced-Chinese/dp/0691090483/ref=sr_1_1/105-4838013-2492453?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180722502&sr=1-1

(All Things Considered: Advanced Reader of Modern Chinese)

At least for me it starts out pretty easy, then gets difficult quite quickly. As with any textbook though it is pretty expensive: $50 on amazon.com, so newspapers would be a somewhat more economical choice for learning.

Another book that is frequently recommended is:

http://www.amazon.com/Shifting-Tides-Culture-Contemporary-Intermediate/dp/0887273726/ref=sr_1_1/105-4838013-2492453?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180722778&sr=1-1

(Shifting Tides)

Which may be too easy for you. Best of luck, and hope this helps.

[gato]

See this thread. You are a few steps ahead of those who are learning from scratch. The biggest challenges are motivation and discipline.

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/7389-learning-chinese-for-abcs&highlight=memorize

learning chinese for ABCs