Obsessive listening.

[kongli]

Hey all,

So I have been trying to watch more t.v. shows recently but the problem I have is that I feel like I have to literally KNOW every single word and if I don't I absolutely must look it up.

Problem is, depending on what I am watching, this can make it very slow going. So rather than sitting back and maybe just catching like 60 percent of the show, I compulsively look up every word I don't understand.

Wanted to know everyone else's t.v. watching strategies, and if what I am doing is a waste of time as opposed to just watching a show, learning some new vocab, and concentrating on getting my main vocabulary from textbooks and other readings etc.

Basically, am I being crazy OCD?

Thanks for the input!

孔力

[Don_Horhe]

You're not alone - I do the exact same thing when watching Chinese movies.

[knadolny]

I have resorted to watching movies over and over until I understand. The last time I watch I'll turn on the English subtitles and see how much I didn't understand.

I think being crazy OCD comes with the territory of learning Chinese.

[renzhe]

It's not just having to know every word, it's also being afraid that if you miss one important word, you'll get totally lost. At least with me, this leads to compulsive subtitle reading.

One thing that helps is if you watch two shows. One more challenging one that is interesting, and one rather unimportant one that's easier to understand. I find it easier to relax with such a show, as missing important stuff is not really that important to me. Switch between them. You'll get both the listening practice that forces you to just get on with it, and the more interesting and challenging show where you take your time and take notes.

Watching stuff again is also good.

Or perhaps reading the vocab list ahead of time a few times?

[SunDaYu]

I do the same thing, haha. I guess we just need to keep doing this until we don't have to anymore >.<

One thing I tried to do is only look up key words. So, if they repeat a word I don't know 2-3 times, then I should probably look it up. Also, if I understand everything in the sentence except one word, then I look it up. But if it's a complicated sentence and I basically understand what it means, then I don't bother. I am trying to enjoy what I'm watching as well as study, so if I just study then I can ruin the fun of it.

If it's a short show, lets say around 15 min, then I just watch it through the first time and watch it a second for the words.

[abcdefg]

I relax and enjoy the show. If some unfamiliar vocabulary is repeated over and over, I jot it down and look it up later to supplement what I've figured out from context.

[kal1189]

I also do the same, I am also very OC when it comes to looking up words while watching Chinese Drama, I finish one hour episodes normally in 2 hours.

Just a tip, if you have an iPhone or iTouch. Download iCED (i Chinese-English Dictionary) If im not mistaken its free over iTunes. aside from the usual dictionary functionality, it saves all your searches in a handy history tab. Often times when I see a word that seems to have already come up before, I just search the history and it saves me a lot of time and the word gets automatically stuck to my head because of repetition.

BTW, where do you watch these chinese movies? any resources for watching chinese cartoons like doraemon?

[kongli]

Wow, awesome to know I am not the only person who does this.

Thanks for the suggestion about having 2 shows Renzhe, that makes a lot of sense. I guess I have been doing that with books for a while anyways. Reading a nice fiction or graphic novel and also having one more complex non-fiction book. Never thought of doing the same thing with t.v. shows. This will be a nice way to ensure I don't burn out on Chinese t.v. altogether.

Kal1119- I actually just go to the 'first episodes project' here on Chinese-forums. There are a lot of different kinds of shows and most if not all of the links to view the t.v. shows are on the forum.

However, If you just go to baidu.com you can search for the shows under 视频 and should be able to find what your looking for.

I am not familiar with the show doraemon, but after a literally 1 minute search process I found the chinese name (哆啦A梦) and another 30 seconds on baidu and....Voila http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTg5OTAwMjky.html

At least i assume that is the show you are talking about.

[kongli]

oops, the one I just linked is in japanese.

Here is another http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTY1MTE3MTI=.html

Not the same thing. It is a much shorter clip but it is labeled as the first episode. I am not familiar with the series so I have no clue, but maybe this can give you a starting point. Also try Tudou or Youku.

[bande]

I'd be careful that you don't do this intensive style of listening to the exclusion of any other watching. Burnout can be a real danger and then you're not watching anything. If it seems like you're loosing enthusiasm I'd either set a limit like 20-30 minutes a day where after that you don't look up vocabulary with a dictionary unless you have to know what a word. Another idea would be to set up some sort of pareto relationship where only 10-20% of your TV watching would have this kind of intensity. For more information, Peter Lypkie at the blog Language Fixation has some good articles on intensive versus extensive studying.