Self Studiers -- What resources do you use?

[ezpar]

Hi all,

I think it would be helpful for people to see what others might use in their Chinese studies. I know I love to see what works for other people.

Personally, I have been studying for close to 6 months. I took one university course but found it to be not worth the time & money. I have now moved on to self-study with NPCR #2 with the CDs. I'm about to pick up the Schaum's Outline books (Grammar & Vocab) to supplement the NPCR. I also occasionally listen to Chinese Pod. And ometime in the future (maybe a couple of months?) I would love to get a conversation partner!

How about everyone else?

[Xiao Kui]

When I self-studied for a year before living in China my main textbook was Yip Po Ching's basic Chinese grammar. I found it to be an excellent book, and it certainly worked for me, but I wish Chinese Made Easier had been available at the time. I think that's one of the best comprehensive courses I've seen so far. In case you need more info there's a couple threads on this forum abt it.

[cwmccabe]

I've been studying for about two years, with waxing and waning intensity. I have lived in Beijing for about a year now and I'm somewhere in the "middle/upper intermediate" range of spoken Mandarin proficiency. I'm only recently starting to focus on learning characters though.

• Pimsleur I, II, and III
  
• ChinesePod
  
• ZDT (highly recommend it)
  
• nciku: http://www.nciku.com/ (search for unknown characters by handwriting)
  
• Xiaoma Cidian: http://hmarty.free.fr/hanzi/
  
• NPCR textbook series
  
• sending cellphone text messages to friends/colleagues (believe it or not, something this simple has been a big catalyst to my study of characters)
  
• language exchange partners (I have 12.8 million of them in Beijing)
  
• (I wish I had a PDA and Pleco... It sounds to me like a self-studier's best friend.)
  

I would also love to hear suggestions based on what tools/techniques others have used.

[renzhe]

I've been at it for years, but I've only started studying with commitment a year ago. I use:

- New Practical Chinese Reader

- Mnemosyne with the HSK database

- ChinesePod

- Different TV shows with Hanzi subtitles (currently 醉峡张三）

- Xiaoma Cidian

I also use some supplementary stuff:

- Concise C-E/E-C Dictionary (Oxford University Press)

- 速成汉语, a set of self-learning books, just for a change from NPCR from time to time

- Chinese Text Sampler at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dporter/sampler/sampler.html

- My girlfriend

I've used some simple comic books too, more fun to read, and you can figure out a lot from the context. I'm going to buy some easy comics when I'm in China, it's a great way to learn vocabulary (reading in general is).

[OneEye]

ChinesePod

Beginning Chinese and Beginning Chinese Reader by John DeFrancis

Pleco on Palm

I occasionally watch lessons from China Panorama or read Practical Chinese Reader (the old one) just for a change. I have two TV series (三国演义 and 七剑下天山) that I intend to watch, but I haven't really started either.

[dsrguru]

In the beginning, I used the Pronunciation and Romanization module of FSI (and also Sinosplice) to learn Pīnyīn along with proper Mandarin pronunciation.

I currently use Chinese Learn Online (CLO), by far the best podcast course I've ever seen for the beginner to the intermediate learner, as my main source of instruction. Unlike ChinesePod, CLO is a progressive course. It reuses the most common vocabulary words while adding about five new words per lesson. This method of reinforcement is very effective, similar in concept to Khatzumoto's suggestion of using an SRS as a memory aid. CLO also starts each lesson (after the early ones) with a dialogue at full speed before slowing it down and then teaching the new vocab. This helps one's comprehension immeasurably.

By the way, I second the recommendation of ZDT. It's a really handy dictionary and it even has stroke order animations for most simplified and traditional characters.

[Woodpecker]

Teach Yourself Cantonese and Cantonese: a comprehensive Grammar are my two main ones. The right word in Cantonese when I can't find the word I want.

[darcey]

ChinesePod

CSLPod

China Reel - a BBC podcast. It's a weekday-daily podcast, usually runs about 15min. I can't understand it entirely, but it helps to get the flow of the language down.

Radio Free Asia Mandarin - a RFA podcast in Mandarin; there are usually 2 a day, one around 50m and one a little over an hour (1:02:??). I can't totally understand it, but it has a huge variety of interviews, speakers and voices to learn accents and pronunciation.

I also have textbooks from college - the Practical Chinese Reader line - and a Zhongwen.com dictionary. My studies aren't very far, I'm afraid--still in "baby speech", but I've found that the news podcasts are a huge help to hear it and how things flow.

[wrbt]

I took a year in college and have since gone with a barrage of textbooks w/audio. In school used Interactions, then used podcasts and self-studied through:

David & Helen

NPCR 3, 4

Making Connections

Shifting Tides

Beyond the Basics

Across the Straits

Goal by end of this year is to complete China Scene, NPCR 5, and Short Chinese Plays. By then I'm hoping will be strong enough to continue using authentic materials.

[DrWatson]

I use the following textbooks in combination with PlecoDict.

1) Taiwan Today - this is a good intermediate text and it covers culture as well.

2) A New Text for a Modern China - I like this text, and the essays are really challenging. If it were not for help from people on this webforum I doubt I would be able to understand the text.

3) Reading and Writing Chinese - I use this to learn characters. I know people say that learning characters individually is useless, but I still do it because if I can at least know the pronunciation of each character, I can quickly look-up words in an online Chinese dictionary.

For audio practice, I've been using iMandarinPod. I started with ChinesePod, but honestly I can't stand it--too much talking and not enough Chinese! Actually, I just recently switched. I went to Taiwan in November and it was so hard to communicate with people. I suppose the best thing would be a conversation partner, but it is really hard to find one where I live. I suppose I should really try Skype + a webcam someday.....

[here2learn]

In the beginning, outside China:

- Pimsleur CD's

- children's books & a video of songs

- assorted dictionaries

- tried to watch a chinese news show but it was way too fast & difficult

- one-semester of a college course that used Practical Chinese Reader (text, 2wbks, audio)

- a variety of other books/systems/flashcards that I'd start but never stick to

Now, in China, elementary level:

- children's/middle school story books

- assorted dictionaries

- an e-dictionary in my purse at all times to look up hanzi on the spot on the bus, etc

- DVD's (movies, tv series)

- took a class for a few months that used Short Term Spoken Chinese (I'm on Volume 2 of 5)

- try to chat whenever possible with taxi drivers, store clerks, coworkers, etc

- TXT msg's! Yes, cwmccabe was right, it's very helpful and fun!

- an email language partner/friend (we alternately correct each other, a few sentences each time) We don't correct each other's 'chitchat', which we try to keep 50/50 both languages unless there's a major mistake... it's partially relaxed, partly serious

- I also learn a few words here & there from menus, signs, packaging on products I buy, map, street signs, etc

[Strawberries513]

The backbone of my study is my SRS. The one I use is Khatzumemo, and I'm pretty much following Khatzumoto's (alljapaneseallthetime.com) method. I also use:

- ChinesePod intermediate lessons

- Ive already went through Shaum's Outlines (Grammar and Vocabulary)

- XiaoMa CiDian (HIGHLY reccomended for learning characters!!!)

- Integrated Chinese textbooks

- Intermediate Chinese (not reccomended... I cant stand it enough to even finish it)

- my boyfriend ;)

- tons of movies, tv shows, comics, books. magazines, newspapers, websites, podcasts, short stories, etc. Immersion! Yay!