Rate my study plan! Live in China, don't speak it, need to...

[Shandongren]

Hello all! I hope you can comment on my study plan to learn Mandarin. A bit of a background: I am currently entering my 2nd year working in China. My progress in Chinese has been very disappointing, partly owing to difficulty in getting my self-study organized, and partly about not being sure whether I want to commit to this long and ardous journey. Well, let's say I figured out #2, now I need you help on #1.

GOALS: speaking at a good level; reading at a decent level; writing through software only (no handwriting)

TOOLS: - Integrated Chinese, level 1, part 1 (for grammar, phrases, etc.)

ANKI - flashcards (for memorization). I am trying to organize these in two sets:

1) characters on one side, pinyin/english on the other; these are only studied in one direction (character -> meaning, not meaning ->character)

2) character/pinyin on one side, english meaning on the other; these are studied in both directions/flashcards are reversible

CHINESEPOD - for listening comprehension/speaking, grammar, etc. - i plan to flashcard this info as well, though I will focus on pinyin initially to make faster progress

I am currently done with about 100 radicals, will attempt to learn all 183 simplified radicals, then delve into character learning (concurrently with learning the characters in Integrated Chinese; for CHINESEPOD characters, I will wait on those as it will be too much work)

FINALLY, I meet up with a colleague of mine 1-2 times per week to practice speaking, to help him answer some ?s, etc.

Any comments? Am I doing the right thing learning ALL of the radicals first? I read that some people advocate learning pinyin only first, then progressing onto characters (like Chinese kids learn to read), but I tried this and I get lost between the many meanings of shi or xi so that I eventually lost heart.

[Shandongren]

Sorry, for some reason the 'return' button is not working so the post doesn't have spacing.

[Ruben von Zwack]

Hello Shandongren,

I can't offer an expert opinion on how to best learn Chinese, cause my own way was so meandering and inefficient. But I think it is nice and useful that you learn the radicals. As to how much you should focus on pinyin or not, I think opinions differ and you can just do whatever you feel is best for you.

I do have two suggestions though, if I may:

You said you aren't hand-writing, but would you reconsider that, maybe just for the top 300 or 500 Hanzi? I know some people do not hand-write at all. But if you do it a few times, the hand will have a physical memory of the movement itself. Which may be helpful to memorise. To me, it is - others, apparently, don't need that sort of aid at all. It's just a question of finding what works best for you.

And - how about taking lessons at a school? I believe that is just much more efficient than learning from a colleague, cause teachers are professionals. Speaking to a colleague or friend is priceless, too, but personally I would use that time to test on him what I've learnt at school.

Good Luck and 加油

[tysond]

You gotta learn the characters at some point, if you are motivated then starting right away is fine.

Time spent per day is important. Consistently spending 1-2 hours a day with a fairly average technique is probably far more important than a great efficient technique with only 2 hours per week. Might want to set a goal on it and ensure you track it.

I would consider adding a lot more listening. You need to train your ear. Chinesepod is OK if you are listening to a lot of it. The beginners lessons have a lot of English and very little Chinese though. Since you are in China turn on the radio or TV every day and watch something interesting, or stream stuff on Youku.

And if you can afford it, get a teacher, for pronunciation at least. I don't know about your colleague, but my colleagues are rarely able to teach Chinese well, especially pronunciation. Practising speaking with your colleague will probably train your colleagues ear to understand your pronunciation quite quickly.

You'll want to refine/change your techniques as you go so the amount of time per day to me is the most important thing to keep up.

[abcdefg]

Welcome to the forum. I have three suggestions:

1. Prioritize your goals. If conversation is the most important skill for you, then you need to spend more time practicing it. Currently, that part of your program strikes me as weak.

2. Budget your time. Agree with those posters above regarding putting in some time every day instead of one marathon session on Sunday afternoon.

3. Find a real teacher. It's money well spent and will save you grief in the long run. Don't rely on an occasional chat with a colleague.

Somewhere in the forum there's a very good post, by Imron I think, that kind of spells out the basic ABC's of a project like yours. I'll try to find it, but maybe someone else will remember it too and provide you a link.

[abcdefg]

This might be it. Thanks @wushijiao!

http://www.chinese-f...-for-beginners/

And here's another good one from Roddy:

http://www.chinese-f...endent-student/

[Shandongren]

thanks guys. i will try to enroll in some class eventually, but my small town and busy schedule doesn't allow it at the moment. i should also have mentioned i sleep with chinese talk radio on - i have a theory that it helps to ingrain the sound of the language in my head. but i will try to speak more, like finding a language partner for pronounciation etc. i'm pretty much busy from 6 am to 10 pm each day, so i'm just trying to keep it all together; but learning this language is extremely important so i am doing my best. thanks again for your advice!

[abcdefg]

If you are busy from 6 am till 10 pm every day, you don't have much free time for formal Chinese learning. I would think there's a danger of just winding up feeling discouraged if your goals are too lofty or too comprehensive. You won't meet your goals and then you'll beat yourself up. Not productive.

Were I in your position, I'd probably just do something simple and easy to keep the project alive, like listening to a few podcasts during commutes, and forget about all the rest until your schedule permits a greater commitment of time. Then ramp it up at that juncture to something more multi-faceted.

Maybe find a Chinese friend or two with whom you could do something fun now and then, and use Chinese in the process. Best if they cannot speak English.

[tysond]

I don't think that anyone advised you to enroll in a class. That would not be my recommendation. In a typical class you will spend valuable time listening to other classmates make mistakes. Find a teacher who can correct you 1:1 (or at worst, 1:2 or 1:3).

Not sure what the situation is, but if you are truly busy with non-Chinese learning things from 6am to 10pm each day, I am not sure you have the time available to make much progress on learning Chinese. Are you sure your time usage is aligned with your priorities?

[imron]

Sorry, for some reason the 'return' button is not working so the post doesn't have spacing.

I've edited your post to fix some of the spacing.

[Ruben von Zwack]

I didn't mean to say you should enroll in class either. Sorry if I sounded so. What I meant was just, if you got one hour to spare, for that hour, hire a professional teacher.

tysond wrote:

you will spend valuable time listening to other classmates make mistakes

Exactly. All said.

[Shandongren]

thanks for clearing up the spacing, admin! very kind of ya. i am busy 6-10pm but that also includes learning chinese. i try to learn a little in the morning, some during the day, and review at night. it does get discouraging for sure. but i'm just doing my best and trying not to lose my resolve. once i lose it, i will find a way to get out of studying and will waste my time here. pretty soon months will go by and no progress. it's happened already, and i am trying to prevent this. motivation drain is a major danger in learning this difficult language!!!

[abcdefg]

#12 -- Agree with your point about motivation drain. The best way I've found to prevent it is to constantly look for positive reinforcement, to try to celebrate even small progress landmarks.

"Wow, last week I couldn't order my noodles without pointing, and this morning I could. That feels great."