Seeking strategies...

[Pengyou]

I studied Chinese for 2 years, from 03 to 05. When I finished, my oral English was assessed to be advanced intermediate. I spent very little time on reading and writing, though i regret that very much now. I went home for year and discovered when i returned that my oral Chinese had taken a dive. I am in a position now where I want to study reading and writing for the HSK as well as to improve my oral Chinese. I plan on taking the HSK in 2012, if the world has not fallen apart by then ;) Is there one set of books that is going to help me achieve these goals? should I work on them simultaneously? or divide and conquer?

[Mouseneb]

www.skritter.com

[anonymoose]

I studied Chinese for 2 years, from 03 to 05. When I finished, my oral English was assessed to be advanced intermediate.

Fortunately after having studied Chinese for several years, my English is still advanced.

Is there one set of books that is going to help me achieve these goals? should I work on them simultaneously? or divide and conquer?

Depending on what your grammar is like, you may need to get a book that focuses on HSK-specific grammar points. But I think the main thing that is important for the HSK is building up your vocabulary. For this you can use anything really, including genuine books, newspapers, magazines (读者 is quite good) and so on. Anyway, that's how I've learnt. Although I've been to classes, and used some text books, I haven't systematically worked through any series. Most of what I know has just come from real-life sources.

[PanShiBo]

I am a learner too. At some point I got desperate upon discovery I forgot previously learned words. So I came to a strategy that keeps me going: it is simple: review and expand. I have little program in Access that keeps track of my words and grammar, so every day it prepares a review set. After the review is complete, I expand my vocab. If I fail to remember some words, the program will include the forgotten word for tomorrow. So far I am happy with progress, and I am confident that nothing is left behind.