Areckx的Progress?

[Areckx]

Hello! I haven't really posted much in this section of the forum! For those of you who don't know me, I am Alex Loranger. I've been studying Chinese since June of 2011, inspired by my Japanese study, which has been sluggishly improving since I started in 2005.

We all know that it takes a lot of practice, personal drive, and seeking help from other students and native speakers in order to truly become proficient in any language. This is even more pronounced with Chinese, as the language has seen many changes toward standardization, and has many of its roots tied to the Chinese culture; high discipline, humility, and knowing when to have fun.

So I come here asking a few simple things. How am I doing? What should I work on? What do you recommend me to read?

I will be posting snapshots of my notebook in order to help you to help me. I will continue to post in this specific topic with more snapshots and a continual stream of my thoughts on reading and writing.

Thank you.

[kari]

Hi!

I know where you're coming from; I also studied Japanese for a few years, but my study was slow and... well let's just say it's NOT my language. But I've found that Mandarin Chinese is!

I can't really recommend anything for you to read, because I am self-taught. What I can recommend is that you listen to Chinese music, and or watch Chinese tv. This has helped me tremendously, though, take care if you listen to Taiwanese or Mainland tv/music. There is a difference with accent.

You're doing well with your writing. If you haven't learned stroke order, that would be helpful. Also, knowing how to look-up characters by radicals is beneficial (you'll be able to translate ANYTHING if you know this).

So what are you most focused on? Speaking? Reading and writing? I myself have moved away from speaking to reading and writing it mainly because I live in the sticks and I have NO one to practice Chinese with. I'm not very confident with speaking because I haven't had many chances to practice my tones with someone.

Well, keep going and happy learning Chinese! 加油！