Madelynne Posted July 27, 2013 at 07:31 PM Author Report Posted July 27, 2013 at 07:31 PM Geez Please don't say that you're too old, because I am trailing not so far behind ya and I'm not old !!!!! Many of my co workers (same age) play Candy Crush or read trash mags to kill down time at work - I learn Chinese. It keeps my brain active and young and has far more benefit than Candy Crush. you are so right! I have a job now where I have to stay at the PC but have a lot of down time, perfect for learning Chinese! Quote
Madelynne Posted July 27, 2013 at 07:33 PM Author Report Posted July 27, 2013 at 07:33 PM Posted Today, 09:07 AM It's a bit like growing your own vegetables. If you look at it entirely in monetary terms, and value your time at anything over minimum wage, it makes no sense. You spend hours and hours and get a handful of things that you could have bought from the shop for a few dollars. Or the weather turns nasty and you don't get anything. Or you get inferior stuff that no one in their right mind would eat. But, lots of people do it, because the process is its own reward. And the veg taste so much nicer when you grow them yourself. So, if you're studying Chinese for money alone, or if you're short on time and need money, think twice, but if you have the choice and you enjoy the ride, go for it. What a wonderful analogy! I am not looking to make money with it, it would be a nice benefit but no big deal. I was just curious about that part. Got my New Chinese Reader today-so psyched! Thanks you guys this is a great forum Quote
anonymoose Posted July 28, 2013 at 03:57 AM Report Posted July 28, 2013 at 03:57 AM New Chinese Reader is good for practise, but I suggest you also get a good grammar book to systematically learn the building blocks. A very good one is Basic Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook by Yip and Rimmington, although there are also others on the market. Quote
Madelynne Posted July 28, 2013 at 04:50 AM Author Report Posted July 28, 2013 at 04:50 AM New Chinese Reader is good for practise, but I suggest you also get a good grammar book to systematically learn the building blocks. A very good one is Basic Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook by Yip and Rimmington, although there are also others on the market. Thank you very much! I will look for it Quote
Johnny20270 Posted August 9, 2013 at 02:18 PM Report Posted August 9, 2013 at 02:18 PM Yeah I agree with all the above. I am turning 40 and recently started learning Chinese. My level is pretty cr#p to be honest but I still enjoy it. I am about to go to China for a year to study properly. Financially though, its the exact opposite as I have to quit my job, live there for a year and could spend a year unemployed when I come back. However, it’s also about a life experience, not just about the language. One thing I would note is that you should ask yourself why you are learning the language. I enrolled in a language school in London and loads quit because they had no interest in China, the language, the people, the food, movies culture etc. Personally I got the impression that lots of my fellow younger students liked the idea of being able to speak an exotic type language. If this is the case I think learning the language is not the most ideal way to spend your free time. It takes a lot of work and can be frustrating to even get to a basic level. It’s not the type of hobby you can just belt through doing 3 hours every Saturday morning. Frequency and repetitiveness is the key in my view. This is made a lot easier with the use of a smart phone. I would say on the positive side that it does become interesting very quickly and once you source the right materials you start to make progress. Also, in my language class the older lot (40s upwards) picked it up quicker because we studying harder, or more boring lives haha Quote
amvtop10 Posted August 9, 2013 at 08:54 PM Report Posted August 9, 2013 at 08:54 PM One of my classmate learning Chinese was in his 60s or 70s. He learned faster than me! I think if you do plan to learn Chinese, I would recommend you learn the characters at the same time because in my opinion your age is old. No time going back. Quote
Madelynne Posted August 10, 2013 at 06:41 PM Author Report Posted August 10, 2013 at 06:41 PM One thing I would note is that you should ask yourself why you are learning the language. I enrolled in a language school in London and loads quit because they had no interest in China, the language, the people, the food, movies culture etc. This is exactly WHY I want to learn, I am completely interested in all of those factors. Thanks for the reply. Quote
Madelynne Posted August 10, 2013 at 06:42 PM Author Report Posted August 10, 2013 at 06:42 PM I would recommend you learn the characters at the same time because in my opinion your age is old. LOL thanks a lot! But ty for the tip. Quote
Shelley Posted August 10, 2013 at 09:16 PM Report Posted August 10, 2013 at 09:16 PM Old or young I would always recommend learning characters at the same time as pinyin and tones, I think it helps tie it all together and can help with remembering meanings as quite a few of the characters can have a pictorial or phonetic value. IMHO if you learn pinyin and then later start learning characters its a bit like starting again. Glad you got the New Chinese reader, hope you are enjoying it.. Quote
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