Study Methods, thoughts please

[weilian]

Here's just a little bit of background on my studying situation. I studied Chinese in college during the fall of 2005, not returning to it until this January. I've studied since full time in a near one-on-one environment for a total of four months. I plan to start at Beijing Normal University in the Fall.

I flew through a book and a half of Boya and almost all of NPCR 1 through 3. My retention has been better than what I'd expect. I've just gotten into an SRS program and Pleco, which has made my life a bit easier.

The several questions I have are these:

When inputting to an SRS, or learning vocabulary in general, do most people memorize words with specific contexts?

Second, I've been a bit disatisfied with the new words introduced in NPRC particularly, however I feel that Boya's explanation of grammar is poor. I'll be in class part-time throughout July, and I'd like to study something else on the side.

Any suggestions for me?

[wrbt]

My favorite second year text was David & Helen.