Introduction and Request for Beginning Assistance

[Colossus]

Hello all ye Chinese-forumites,

I thought I should introduce myself, and since there doesn't seem to be an appropriate space for this to be put, I thought I'd just add it on top of my first request for help.

I am a university graduate, 22 years old, currently teaching English for post-graduate students in Chongqing. It is my first experience both being in China and teaching, so I'm a little shaky with it currently (I plan on making subsequent threads regarding this). Right now I am attempting to learn Chinese as well and as quickly as humanly possible. As I grow more familiar with the board and acquire more skills and experience, I hope to contribute as much as I can to the board in the future.

Now, to the nitty gritty. I am brand new to Chinese and so far have been in China for one month. I have been learning words and phrases slowly, but right now all of my conversations are in English and the vast majority of my words spoken (99.999%) are in English. While I can pick a very few words out if a Chinese person is talking to me, for the most part I stare at them blankly.

So, I want to pour all of my resources into learning a language as quickly and effectively as possible. I also think I have a few advantages that will help me in this and may alter the way you think I should structure my learning.

Time. Right now, I am required to teach only about 18 hours a week, so outside of other day to day activities, I am free. This gives me an enormous amount of time just to study and I am willing to put in upwards of two or three hours a day if need be.

I live in China. If nothing else, this is highly motivating to me to learn Chinese so I can communicate with other people. It also helps that I teach at a fairly diverse university, so I have access to people who speak putonghua quite well.

Pronunciation. For whatever reason, I seem to have a knack for pronunciation and tones in other languages. It means I end up speaking slowly, but in the end, I think it will turn out to be a benefit. This may be part of my perfectionistic attitude.

Chinese friends. I have several friends who are quite good at Chinese (putonghua) who are willing to teach me. If need be I can also hire a tutor through the school.

A vast array of Chinese related resources. This being Chinese, where piracy is rampant, friends have provided me with more resources than I could possible use. These include "Rosetta Stone", the Pimsleur Courses, several e-books regarding both Chinese related and general language learning, and more. I also have been given Beginner's Chinese by Yong Ho, The New Practical Chinese Reader Textbook, and Chinese Phrases for Dummies. My friends have a few more I could borrow.

My potential disadvantages include:

Memory. I have a horrible memory when it comes to things. I lose my wallet and cellphone on a regular basis and it takes me forever to remember directions, so I am almost certain to forget the meaning of "dianyingyuan" if I don't work hard and employ some memory techniques.

Inattention and distractability. I actually have ADHD, inattentive type, which I note not as an excuse, but simply as a point of interest. I am willing to work my ass off, but if you can take this into account and make suggestions on how to avoid this becoming a problem, it would be even more appreciated.

So, with all of that given, I though I'd give you where I am currently and my plan had I not found this excellent website.

Right now, I can do basic greetings. I also know a few dining words, but mainly when I eat at restaurants I just guess at what is on the menu and grunt at what I want. I can recognize a few characters (again mainly dining characters). But basically I speak just enough to have kind Chinese people at bars pat me on the back and lie to me about how good my Chinese is.

I am also doing the Pimsleur courses and have currently finished lesson 4, level 1.

My plan: I think I want to continue to the Pimsleur courses, as I've found them to be the best as far as my memory with the words goes. However, being that they are lacking in vocab, I think I will also try and supplement my vocabulary by trying to learn 5 new vocab words per day (put on flashcards are just repeated throughout the day--maybe integrating them into sentences taught to me through Pimsleur. I can use "Yellowbridge.com" for my pronunciation.

I think I'm going to put reading on the backburner, until I can get a decent handle on speaking, listening, and reading pinyin. This is not to say I'll ignore characters, just that I will not actively try to learn them. Also, I think I may try to force the Pimsleur so I can double the learning time. Pimsleur suggests only doing one per day for best effect, but I think if I do one in the morning and one in the evening it shouldn't hurt.

So that's where I am right now. I would love to hear suggestions on how I could improve my program, or tips to get more out of my current methods. Also, I'd like to integrate some games in. I know it sounds stupid, but for some reason, if something can be a competition with myself, I work my ass off to improve.

Thanks for your help in advance.

[trevelyan]

I'm biased, but imho the ChinesePod materials are better than Pimsleur's. The vocab is more practical, vocabulary is presented in context, and the pedagogical approach is more learner-centric. If you can commit to doing one lesson per day you'll make rapid progress, especially if you're in China.

How's the local accent treating you?

[kdavid]

A few tips that worked really well for me when I was a beginner.

Stick with the New Practical Reader series. It's fantastic.

Find a tutor and meet with them as often as possible. You should be able to find an English-speaking college student to tutor you for peanuts (15 - 20 RMB an hour). Just make sure they're TEACHING you Chinese and not practicing their English.

Put yourself in situations where you're forced to speak Chinese. That means staying away from colleagues and other foreigners. Walk around the city and talk to random strangers in your spare time.

Make a schedule and stick to it. Many foreigners come to China saying "Oh, yeah, I want to learn Chinese. Blah, blah blah." Few actually follow through.

I agree with trevelyan about Chinesepod vs. Pimsleur. Pimsleur was great when it was new, but now podcasts and the internet have created interactive communities that making learning easier and more fun. Plus the vocabulary is more practical. Try it out.

Good luck!

[Colossus]

I'm biased, but imho the ChinesePod materials are better than Pimsleur's. The vocab is more practical, vocabulary is presented in context, and the pedagogical approach is more learner-centric. If you can commit to doing one lesson per day you'll make rapid progress, especially if you're in China.

How's the local accent treating you?

Thanks, I haven't looked much into the ChinesePod materials. However, I like Pimsleur because of their method of reinforcing the previously learned vocabulary. Also I like how the structure it in the context of a sentence and frame it all in the context of a conversation. Also, the concepts behind it (core vocabulary, the principle of anticipation, and graduated interval recall) seem intuitive. However, I haven't read a large body of research supporting the claims.

Could you be more specific on the details you mentioned (learner centricity, more pedagogical, etc.)?

As far as learning the language, chongqinghua is fine. Most of the people I talk to speak putonghua easily. I hate how Chingqing people speak it though. The always like they are yelling at you (and each other) no matter what they say.

[Colossus]

I actually have several friends of mine who are happy to tutor me for free. I've never really understood the point though. It's so unstructured, it is frustrating. As I said before, I'm easily distracted, so a lack of structure just has me wasting an hour of my time that I could be forcing myself to study on my own.

When you were being tutored, what did you do?

[jeffofarabia]

Find a language exchange partner. Then meet at restaurants. You will get fed great food, learn the menu (and other important words and phrases) at the same time and start meeting real Chinese people right away. Stick with it. I wish I had learned more. Best of luck.

[muyongshi]

I thought I should introduce myself, and since there doesn't seem to be an appropriate space for this to be put, I thought I'd just add it on top of my first request for help.

Try here

[Colossus]

Oops.

[kdavid]

The idea of language exchange inside the host country itself is a bad idea.

In that situation, you're spending twice as much time studying, but only half the time learning. Hire a tutor and demand that they only speak to you in Chinese. Once you get to a level where you can do without English altogether, find a tutor who cannot speak English.

I met with my first tutor four times a week for 90 minutes a session. She structured the classes for me (that's part of what I paid her for). We reviewed the material in the NPCR books, worked on pronunciation and speaking. She also helped explain some of the more complicated grammar structures.

I did all of my character learning and writing on my own, as it's a bad idea to pay someone to watch you read / write. Spend your time with your tutor getting help on pronunciation. Having a standard accent is so important with this language.

Don't meet in public places as the distractions can be plentiful. It also might help if you hire a tutor / stranger because then you don't have a familiar relationship. Instead, your tutor is working and therefore has real objectives to accomplish: to teach you how to speak Mandarin!