Stepping out of "lurk" mode and needing site/book suggestions

[Demonic_Duck]

Blimey, sorry, it's my English. No, of course not!

What I meant to say was, I was making the same mistake for both sounds, ch as well as zh, so he made me hold the tongue differently than I used to do before. Same (now improved) position for both. Common problem, as in with Germans, it seems.

Went back to the sentence and tried to fix it. Seems I could use some English grammar lessons in addition to the Chinese ones!

 

Ah, I see. No, the way you wrote it wasn't incorrect, just ambiguous. I failed to notice the ambiguity and simply interpreted it in the way that made the least sense, haha.

[Lonie]

Hello skylee

 

 

What is the timeframe of achieving these goals?  They are very ambitious IMO.

 

Yes, my goals are very ambitious (and full of passion). However, not impossible.

Timeframe!? *runs away screaming her head off in fright* Oh my goodness! I associate the word "timeframe" with the word "deadline". I have enough of those at work on a daily basis. Don't scare me like that.

Honestly, I don't believe a timeframe can be given since these are my long-term goals and not my short-term goals. I am well aware that I will not be reaching my desired goals anytime soon. Even if I discover some latent talent in learning the language with ease, I know that it will still take me several years to get to where I would like to be.

That's why I only gave timeframes in the last three phases of my study plan. I may have learned the first lesson with a fair bit of ease, but I am well aware that later ( and much harder) lessons might just have me banging my head against the keyboard in frustration.

Nope, no timeframes for me. I'll just go at my own slow and steady pace and see where it takes me.

[Lonie]

Hello again Baron

 

Thanks for the interesting link. Let's just say that I won't be doing any Chinese calculus for some time .    Even so, I still bookmarked it for future re-reading.

 

 

You should probably read 三国演义／Romance of the 3 Kingdoms. You'll get some history, literature and shared cultural experience (most Chinese people have read it) all in one.

 

I know this!! Or, at least something similar to it. I just can't remember how I know this, but I do. I believe it was a movie and John Woo had his hands all over it. I just can't remember the name of it. I believe it had a different title. It'll come to me, eventually.

Anyway, thanks for the book rec. It is greatly appreciated. Since there are several volumes to this, I believe I'll hold off on reading these until after I have completed Level 1: Part 1 in "Integrated Chinese". I plan to give myself a sort of "Final Review" of that material before moving on and restarting my normal study plan. Reading these books can occupy the time I would normally use for my established study routine. Thanks again.

[Lonie]

Hello again Demonic_Duck

 

Thanks for the advice (and the link to your previous post for language exchange). Taking your advice into consideration, I believe it will be best for me to begin the language exchange after the 3rd lesson in IC. That way, I'll have at least three different topics to discuss with a conversational partner. We can then build on those topics with each additional lesson and at the same time review topics of previous lessons. I might be able to make a game out of it somehow. I'll have to contemplate on it for some time and see how it works out.
 

 

Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse here, but I'm genuinely curious. Do you have a citation for this usage? I googled it and the only thing I found was claiming that "affluent" is incorrect if applied to language learning (here).
 

 

Nope, you're not beating a dead horse. I am well aware of the "fluence / affluence / effluence" usage issue and you would be correct if I was using "affluent" in the context of "being fluent in the Chinese language." I was not.

A synonym for "affluent" is the word "rich".

With that in mind, I was using the word "affluent" in the context of "being affluent/rich in the knowledge of Chinese culture."  

I'm sorry if I was unclear and caused some confusion. Please continue to point out anything that comes across unclear in my post. If one person is confused, then it's a given that others will be as well. I do my best to make clear what I am attempting to say, but it doesn't always work out. I'll keep trying though.
 

[Ruben von Zwack]

Don't worry about later harder lessons. I think while the first lessons are simple in absolute terms, they still cause the most headache. That special Chinese type of verb, where to put the 了 and mysteries like that. I'm not saying Chinese is easy, and certainly later lessons can be demanding, but my feeling is that once you got over the initial surprise, it's a normal language and things fall into place and make sense. It's vocabulary heavy, but not like there will be 20 tenses or odd ways of negation lurking around the corner

[Lonie]

Hello laurenth

 

Thanks for the video rec and for responding to my post. Your rec is the reason why I was a day late in responding to any posts on the forums. I tend to read the topics, then type my responses in MS Word before posting to the forums. It's a habit I just can't seem to get rid of. Anyway, after reading your post, I found the series and spent all night searching for two versions of an episode (one with English subs and one without). I want to watch both versions and see what I can actually understand -- could be interesting what my imagination might conjure up.
 

If you know of other series of this nature, please share them as well so I can start bookmarking them. Thanks again!

[Lonie]

Hello everyone

 

Just wanted to let you all know that while I was travelling this week (and spending nights in airports thanks to the cold wintery blast we are having here stretching from the mid-west to the eastcoast) that my Integrated Chinese Level 1 Part 1 materials were delivered. In addition, I also grabbed the Integrated Chinese BuilderCards, The Way of the Chinese Characters book, and the Making Connections book. I decided to get the Chinese Breeze books once I finish Level 1 Part 1 of the IC series. Therefore, I'll be tweaking my study plan just a tad bit. I'm so excited.

 

I haven't received my New Practical Chinese Reader books and other materials that were recommended to me here on the forums as of yet. No surprise they are delayed due to the weather we're having here. Therefore, I will use this weekend to prepare my first round of daily lesson plans with the IC series, China History Podcasts (thanks to Kelby's wonderful rec), and 国宝档案 on youtube (thanks to laurenth's wonderful rec).

 

The month of February should be very interesting.

 

Thanks again for all of your help and I will definitely keep you all up-to-date on my progress. Now, if my NPCR materials will get here, things could really get to rolling.