The 2008 Aims and Objectives Progress Thread

[OneEye]

For exercise, I've been pretty good about lifting heavy 3 days per week, up until last week. I'm back on the program tomorrow, though. Eating right is about like always. I need to make time for cooking at home so I can bring leftovers to work instead of buying fast food.

My approach for Chinese has changed some, so I'm adjusting my goals. I'm learning individual characters separately from my other studies. So the goal is to finish McNaughton's book by August. As far as speaking/listening, I'm trying to get as much Chinese input as I can manage each day, whether it's podcasts, music, etc. The ChinesePod Intermediate lessons are turning out perfectly for this, since they're just slightly above my current level. I have a pretty good idea what's being said, but it still leaves room to improve.

Financially, the situation is about the same as last month. I did get a raise, though. A whopping $15 extra per paycheck. Thanks.

The promotion thing is still in the air. Some unforeseen things have happened that my bosses and I couldn't control, so it may be another month or two. Or three. Who knows.

For music, I'm finally making steps towards getting my computer fixed, so I can start composing again. Trombone practice is nonexistant.

[heifeng]

Progress reports:

So, we haven't had a new post here in a while, so I'll just add something...however I think this post is more along the lines of what Roddy wrote in the very beginning

So speak up, go on record, and then we can all laugh at ourselves in late February when our grand plans have amounted to naught.

....anyway, here it goes:

Healthy stuff:

Almost no working out. hmm.. I was actually quite good about using the stairs until this month when it got warmer out and my summery shoes aren't quite broken in yet for staircase climbing...plus I got lost in a staircase at the beginning of the month which could have been a setting of a horror film hehe...sure it's funny now...but it wasn't then. In fact the only positive in this section is that I bought a pretty blue water bottle the other day in order to somehow encourage/force myself to drink more water .

Studying:

Well, I didn't pass my goal of level 2 on the PCS this time, but I figure I should have 2 more chances this year. I put that on the back burner...well not really, it's a new rotation plan I have set up between pronunciation and interpreting studying (which also overlaps into my new professional/technical/shumian yu vocab acquisition plan ). The good thing is this rotation is working out quite nicely because I can practice one while doing the other. Anyway, I have been using this month to speak super slow and think before I speak....so very painful...but I think it is helping a bit. However, I must have suffered a serious head injury b/c I signed up for the May level 2 interpretors exam two months ago and realized the exam is now really soon, so I have been preparing quite a bit this month. However, to be completely honest, it's a lil' beyond my capabilities at this time. However since I got myself into this mess, I have to make the best of it...However Level 2 for both of these exams is still a goal for me for this year..so at least I'm still working on these, slowly but surely ...

Oh yeah, I am reading a novel (but have been a bit lazy about newspapers still). I might even be motivated enough to type up a vocab list for it. Some of the words from the board's random word list appear in it a bit. It's another easy read, but realistically, even an easy read has some new and useful vocab...

[Hero Doug]

Mixed results on the Chinese front for me. First couple of weeks I was being pretty good, doing a few hours every morning on writing / transcribing stuff, but towards the end of the month it just kind of all went wrong and I stopped. I'm not even sure why,

I did something similar myself. I was studying Chinese for roughly 3 hours a day and went strong for a month, and made excellent progress. But, after that I really needed a break. I was lazy for a couple weeks, and I'm only now starting to be more diligent about it. However this time I'm not going to go for that 3 hours a day each and every day. I think that kind of study overloads you. Kind of like eating the same food each and every day.

I've made sure I take it easy study wise every once in a while; seems to be working.

On the workout front, I'm doing well. I go regularly, and I'm working on cardio. I want to get back into Judo though, so that's next on my list. So far, it's not going too well.

[OneEye]

Exercise isn't happening more than once or twice per week lately. Work has been crazy so I've been finding more excuses.

Chinese is still going well. I've been doing several lessons per day of CPod, and reading the DeFrancis books here and there.

I got the promotion I've been going after. Today. Sweet. My schedule will be more regular and I'll have more down time at work. I'm the Store Manager now so it's more administrative work, making sure the assistant managers are on task and the store is running well. So I can squeeze in some extra study time in the office.

I also started a 401(k). I've only had it a couple weeks so not much to talk about there.

I'm making steps to go to grad school for musicology. So I'll be brushing up on my skills over the next year and some change. Trombone practice is still nil.

I've also started studying French. I've only been studying for about a week so there isn't much to report. I'm using Assimil's New French With Ease and the French In Action video series.

And I'm reading books again. Right now it's The Iliad.

[simonlaing]

I have been avoiding reading this post on my subscribed links page.

I think it's because I feel like I should be working more on my Chinese.

I am doing tutor classes twice a week and perhaps will have a fellow classmate join online and this should help with motivation in preparing for the class and other issues.

(There is space for one or two more if you can do Monday and wednesday evenings at an upper intermediate level?)

Exercise is good and the good weather has let me play ultimate frisbee 3 times a week as well as my monday to friday lunch time work out. Gotta love chinese nap time. I even lost 2 kg . Though weight loss has plateau ed . There is a triathlon in Nanjing next month and I might do the cycling leg. Knees have issues so the running is out but it's cool to have a goal.

Anyone studying for a test, or what are your goals as Chinese learning is an endurance sport in my opinion.

have fun,

Simon:)

[roddy]

Hmmm, how have I been doing the last couple of months?

Not bad - not running at 100% efficiency but then I never have. Making time each day to read Chinese books and am attempting to pick up new vocab from them rather than just thinking 'oh if it's important I'll come across it again later'. Still doing my pronunciation classes and am starting to see improvements in actual conversation, but still need to keep a tight rein on myself or I fall back into old habits.

Running has been off and on - I'll be doing really well for two weeks and then just stop. Still, 70km total in March, 90 in April - not too bad. Still not doing any really long runs, maximum of 10km. I put myself on a half-marathon training schedule for a while, but it was 5 runs a week and . . . well, I didn't run 5 times a week . . .

[rob07]

I got interested in China quite a few years ago when I read an English translation of 红楼梦 (A Dream of Red Mansions). I've decided that this is the year I'm going to make the push to read it from beginning to end in Chinese. It is tough going because I work pretty long hours and read very slowly. I've taken two months to get a quarter of the way through (30 of 120 chapters).

I've really enjoyed the Grand First Episode Project (which is indeed grand) - watched a few of them and am now 7 episodes into my favourite. I don't understand the spoken language so I am having to push myself really hard to try to read the subtitles in real time. Hopefully making myself do that should substantially increase my reading speed and help me get through 红楼梦 a bit faster.

[renzhe]

1) Be able to read 3000+ hanzi, including all HSK chars (I'm at about 2100 now)

2) Build a vocab of 4000+ words, up to HSK level 3 (I'm at about 2000 now)

3) Finish NPCR book 6 (I'm at the start of 4 now)

4) Be able to lead conversations FLUENTLY on a range of topics. My upcoming one-month trip to China should help me there.

5) Take over the world

1) I'm at about 2450 right now. It's slower than expected, especially since more and more time is spent on keeping the old knowledge fresh. Currently, I'm going through all the characters I've learned, one by one, and picking out all the characters where I'm uncertain about the pronunciation (including tones) and meaning, completely out of context. About 100 from the top 1000 characters, basically all of them tone mistakes, so I'm not doing badly. Then I'll drill those daily until they sit again.

2) Getting there, more than 2500 from the HSK multi-character words alone, I'm not counting ones I know that aren't in there. This is coming along nicely, and I'm seeing many of the words I learn in the TV shows or podcasts, or comics I'm using, which is exactly the way I've planned it.

3) About 2/3 through book 4. I'll aim to finish book 5 at least until the end of the year, book 6 is not out yet.

4) It's getting better, according to my girlfriend. I feel much more relaxed and fluent talking to her, some phrases and sentences come out automatically, without having to translate, which is what I want. The wide range of topics thing is not quite there yet, but getting better.

5) Not yet.

One goal I didn't set, but ended up working on, is reading. I'm reading Ranma 1/2, and I'm 1/3 of the way through the whole series. I find it great for my level, I can understand most of it, but still have to think hard about some characters, or look up a new word or two. I'll finish that, and maybe Urusei Yatsura too, and then see if I'm brave enough to tackle the Wuxia novel I've bought. I've tried reading it, but only managed to battle my way through a page and a half, and I don't think I'm ready. After I get some more vocabulary and much more reading practice under my belt, I'll try again.

One thing I'm considering is what to do when I get around 3000-3500 characters under my belt. I'm considering simply using flashcards to keep them fresh and not learning any more, other than the ones I encounter while reading, go into retention and slow acquisition mode, basically. After 3500 characters, rote memorisation is not as attractive as in the beginning. I'll have to see once I get there, depending on how I feel. I might feel like going after the 5000 mark, as I'll have to learn 5000-7000 characters sooner or later if I want to be good at Chinese. But I'll see about that later, first the goals I've set for this year...

[gato]

After 3500 characters, rote memorisation is not as attractive as in the beginning. I'll have to see once I get there, depending on how I feel. I might feel like going after the 5000 mark, as I'll have to learn 5000-7000 characters sooner or later if I want to be good at Chinese. But I'll see about that later, first the goals I've set for this year...

Above the 3000 character mark, you are going to be dealing with characters rarely seen in daily readings, including most newspapers and magazines. At that point, it would make more sense to concentrate on reading and your speaking and listening skills. But if your interest is to read classical Chinese (文言文), then it would make sense to keep on memorizing, although in that case, you'd be wise to read actual classical Chinese text, instead of just flipping flashcards.

[renzhe]

Yeah, that's the way I'm leaning right now -- get new characters through reading and build on that slowly.

[roddy]

anyone remember this?

I've been out of China for the last three months, so virtually all China / Chinese related aims have fallen by the wayside. Done a little bit of podcast listening and read Spence's Search for Modern China, which I'd been meaning to do for ages, but . . .

Haven't been running for ages either.

[renzhe]

As a matter of fact, I was going to bump this one of these days! I'm making good progress.

1) Be able to read 3000+ hanzi, including all HSK chars (I'm at about 2100 now)

2) Build a vocab of 4000+ words, up to HSK level 3 (I'm at about 2000 now)

3) Finish NPCR book 6 (I'm at the start of 4 now)

4) Be able to lead conversations FLUENTLY on a range of topics. My upcoming one-month trip to China should help me there.

5) Take over the world

1) I hit the 3000 mark yesterday. I don't have perfect knowledge of all of them, but it's an important milestone for me!

2) I'm closing in on the 4000 mark, I'll definitely manage this before the end of the year.

3) I have 2 lessons left till the end of book 5, and as book 6 isn't coming out until some time next year, I'm basically finishing the series in a week.

4) Well, the range is rather limited, but it is getting better

5) Almost there!

How is everyone else getting along?

[Guest realmayo]

i) learn to write 50 hanzi a week for the next 30 weeks (though I should already know the first couple of hundred)

ii) don't stint on vocab either

iii) listen to chinesepod etc rather than music on my ipod on my commute.

Couldn't actually start any of this until April/May. But progress:

i) Can read and write about 900 hanzi.

ii) Can read and write about (multi-character) 550 words

iii) yep, sometimes.

Would be nice to get to 1500 in (i) and 1250 in (ii) by the end of the year.

[character]

- Stay caught up with Chinese class and homework. The past few weeks have been spent trying to get caught up.

- Struggle through a wuxia novel (probably Gu Long's Lu Xiao Feng Chuan Ji).

Mostly yes to the first. Listening has greatly improved, though there's a still a point at which spoken Chinese becomes too fast for me to process it, even if I know the words. Watching Mandarin films has really become a different experience with some knowledge of what's actually being said. I'm thinking I need to find a tutor to make progress with pronunciation/speaking.

Nowhere near the second; too many characters/words/phrases to learn. I really need an SRS to learn all these as normal flashcards don't seem to be enough.

[renzhe]

I found that having a translation handy helps when reading Wuxia novels (in my case, it's Jin Yong's Condor Heroes).

You can find the complete translation of the Lu Xiaofeng books online at this page. The translation is not perfect, but it's correct, and the guy basically did it free of charge.

I find that reading a few pages in Chinese, then reading the translation to see if I missed all the detail, keeps me moving.

[character]

You can find the complete translation of the Lu Xiaofeng books online at this page. The translation is not perfect, but it's correct, and the guy basically did it free of charge.

I find that reading a few pages in Chinese, then reading the translation to see if I missed all the detail, keeps me moving.

Thanks. I have read the translation. I just haven't found an effective way to learn all the words/phrases I would need to read the material, given my age and the time available.

[rob07]

My main goal for the year was to read 红楼梦/A Dream of Red Mansions (started in March). It is 120 chapters long. The first 80 chapters were written by 曹雪芹 and when he died with the book uncompleted, the last 40 chapters were written by 高鹗, supposedly based on 曹雪芹's notes.

It is tough going but I've now read the first 76 chapters, so I should finish the part written by 曹雪芹 in the next week or so, and have a reasonably good chance of finishing the whole thing before the end of the year.

The Grand First Episode Project has been really grand, thanks in large part to the efforts of Renzhe and a couple of others. I finished the 魔幻手机 series last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't have a lot of confidence in my ability to read fast enough to keep up with the subtitles, but if you give it a go it is surprisingly easy to at least get the gist.

I think I am now going to watch a few movies before starting another TV series. I found a good thread on this site citing a 2005 list of the best Chinese language movies of all time. I watched #1, 小城之春, this morning. It was great!

[wushijiao]

For right now, my goals as far as Mandarin are fairly modest: hold, maintain, and consolidate. I just finished a book on the State Council, and I want to keep reading other books like that, along with newspapers and podcasts.

As far as Cantonese, aim for, on average, about an hour of listening per day. Continue to learn new words and use new materials.

As far as running/working out, stick to my plan to build up a decent base for the fall and winter. Goals for next six months:

-Get close to 40 miles per week

-Break 45 in 10k, (hopefully closer to 40)

-Marathon around 3:30, half marathon around 1:40

[simonlaing]

1. Read 1-3 chinese news articles from Monday to Friday. I believe reading will be the best way for me to keep my vocabulary current and not lose more words from when I was studying.

2. Arrange a tutor class with a friend 1-2 times a week. Push my self to learn those chengyu's that I was so lax in University learning.Also work on interpreting books.

3. Do more Chinese writing. (Left vague because I am not sure if would be better as a diary or summaries of articles that I have read.)

Other non chinese goals-

1. Continuing to go to the Gym 4-5 times a week

2. Walk up stairs several times a week.

3. Play sports on the weekend when the snow goes away.

1。 Yes , it's become a routine to read an article everyday before work.

2. Yes online class arranged with someone through chinese-forums

3. Not so much, but thinking of translating short Nytimes articles.

NOn chinese goals

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Weekend and several evenings a week, Baseball and Ultimate frisbee are great sports.

have fun,

Simon:)

P.S. anyone else working on writing skills and have suggestions of exercises to improve it?

[heifeng]

Language:

1) Work on pronunciation big time...specifically tones. Need to find tutor first or track down my previous one, prepare for putonghua ceshi..actually pass it this year, and eventually beat my classmates score (on-going friendly competition)

Status: Same. Still need to find a tutor now...the good thing is i'm still reading out loud and trying to forget too much of what I learned.

2) Keep a blog or some type of long term Chinese writing project. Status: Totally not happening

3) Practice translation and interpreting in both directions on actual news worthy topics. If I actually stick to this it helps me in my general studying. Attend another CATTI exam at least in November again, maybe sit both a translation and interpreting exam depending how much money i want to give 'em.

Status: Ok, well, I failed level II interpretors exam in May. Not too miserably, but I kinda knew I wasn't prepared and was only going to pass if the stars were properly aligned, so no big deal. I haven't been able to work on as much translation in the last 2 months, but once things settle down more I think I'll be able to come up with a schedule for this. This is just going to become part of my goal 2. I think I just need to come to terms with the fact that I don't like to put my own thoughts on paper. I'm not that reflective. But I think I'll be better at just translating what other people write.

4) Read newspaper in full minimum 2-3 times a week and actually keep organized notes. Status: Sort of. I use newspapers and online articles to practice item 1. And do look up words pretty frequently still.

Random and Non language learning resolutions:

1) Less TV, except for news. More radio. Status: Done. I have no tv...except for watching online TVU and have set http://www.bjradio.com/ as my home page and listen to this a ton...

2) Practice doing stuff with left hand just for fun. Start with brushing my teeth and blow drying my hair, using chopsticks. Status: zero progress here...

3) Cook. Eat a balanced diet consisting of actual meals. Drink more water. Never eat frozen dumplings again ugh. Status: Sort of again, and I haven't had frozen dumplings for a long time! Also, I've discovered the ease of just eating kimchi, rice, and seaweed day after day...darn those korean students had a good thing going all along...yumm

4) Work out, boost endurance. No more elevators. Stand up/Sit up straight. Go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Status: I have to walk at least an hour a day now, so check check here.

5) Do a better job of keeping in touch with people. Status: at about 50% here...

6) Once I get back to Beijing after the new year, find a way to get out of Beijing hehe!

Status: Ok, I totally got outta Beijing, but need to find a way back to China. Oddly enough, I have managed a 5yr work visa to Brazil...it's funny how the visa gods work....One BRIC nation wants me, while another one......