Another blogger setting out to learn Chinese in 3 months

[imron]

55 minutes ago, werewitt said:

PS I'm surprised how he was able to "hold multi hour conversations" when registering to do only HSK4 at the time. It does not compute.

I imagine the conversations would have been much like this.  Maybe not exactly riveting and stimulating, and still containing plenty of errors, but conversation nonetheless.

 

Now imagine a long distance train journey lasting several hours where you are surrounded by Chinese people curious about the fact you can communicate with them, albeit in a limited capacity, and *boom* multi-hour conversation.  I can easily think of half a dozen other scenarios where multi-hour conversations could take place with someone at Scott's level at the time he'd just finished (see link I posted in the first paragraph for an idea of that level).

[陳德聰]

46 minutes ago, werewitt said:

PS I'm surprised how he was able to "hold multi hour conversations" when registering to do only HSK4 at the time. It does not compute.

 

I mean I guess I'm mostly surprised at how your logic works, because he says he registered to do the HSK4 on the assumption that it was equivalent to CEFR B2 (hint: it's totally not anywhere close), not that he somehow knew his level was only HSK4 and that's why he registered to do the HSK4... In my universe you take the test first and find out your level afterward.

[werewitt]

22 minutes ago, 陳德聰 said:

because he says he registered to do the HSK4 on the assumption that it was equivalent to CEFR B2

I'm sure he reads the same Internet as we do and isn't completely ignorant of the test's value. Plus, he's not some country bumpkin but apparently an authority on learning languages and productivity in general, so I wouldn't give him benefit of a doubt  He knew exactly what he was registering for. I wonder if he passed it.

 

My logic works in a very simple way - if someone says they are an authority in X, they need to actually know X and can be held responsible to what they say re X. No matter how fluffy the topic. So if he says he knows about learning languages, he must have read the wikipedia article on HSK and knows about its valuation by those Germans. Plus he tried some sample exams and decided he couldn't confidently do HSK5.

[imron]

6 minutes ago, werewitt said:

I wonder if he passed it.

He wrote a guest post on Hacking Chinese listing his score.

[werewitt]

So that is 3 months (or 3 years?) to essentially A2 ;)

[imron]

[Lu]

Werewitt, this may be the internet, but it's still good to read things before commenting. That post is from 2014, Scott Young clearly writes he had been studying for 3 months (not three years) and he took the HSK4.

 

Quote

In May, just a little shy of three months in China, I wrote the HSK 4 and passed with a 74% (Listening: 82%, Reading: 77% and Writing: 62%). For those unfamiliar with the HSK, it is the largest official exam for Chinese as a second language. It is divided into six levels with HSK 1 being the most basic elements of the language and HSK 6 as the highest level.

According to the organization that conducts the HSK, an HSK 4 is equivalent to the CEFR’s B2 designation. However, personally, I believe this is an inflation and it is probably more like a B1.

 

What exactly is your problem with this guy? That he tries to make money selling his learning method? You don't actually have to buy it.

[happy_hyaena]

Werewitt, it seems like you are in a quest to find the best Chinese language techniques and the best Chinese learner to emulate. I will save you the trouble and redirect you to this amazing post: https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/43939-independent-chinese-study-review/

 

We all have unique circumstances that affect our language learning in terms of motivation, background knowledge, how much time and effort we can dedicate, and ultimately the progress we end up making. Nothing happens in a vacuum... But if someone wants to know "Provided that you are immersed in China, money and time is not an issue, and you are already very experienced in learning languages (I.e. you know yourself and how to optimize the process), how far can you go within X months?" that post is as close as you can get to an objective answer. I look forward to one day reading a similar post by you.

[陳德聰]

9 hours ago, werewitt said:

My logic works in a very simple way - if someone says they are an authority in X, they need to actually know X and can be held responsible to what they say re X. No matter how fluffy the topic. So if he says he knows about learning languages, he must have read the wikipedia article on HSK and knows about its valuation by those Germans. Plus he tried some sample exams and decided he couldn't confidently do HSK5.

 

Good etiquette to indicate when you've edited huge paragraphs into your posts. What you just described is not "logic" but mkay now I know your opinion.

[Shelley]

12 hours ago, werewitt said:

12 hours ago, Lu said:

have you read the rest of the thread?

14 pages of relatively random thoughts? Nope, this is Internet

Hmmm commenting on a thread you haven't read

 

You also say " My logic works in a very simple way " wonder what Spock would have said about that

 

[Shelley]

@imron back in the early days of this thread I said I don't read blogs and I sort of included reviews in my general dislike of "amateur" writings.

 

Well you said I be missing out on something.. I was.

 

Now not only do I read them, I write them. Ha amazing what can happen in 3 years.

This was on page 4 of this thread.

So thanks for your unnoticed but effective push in the right direction.

[werewitt]

3 hours ago, 陳德聰 said:

Good etiquette to indicate when you've edited huge paragraphs into your posts.

Translate into English please? I don't understand what you mean. 

[werewitt]

13 hours ago, happy_hyaena said:

But if someone wants to know "Provided that you are immersed in China, money and time is not an issue, and you are already very experienced in learning languages (I.e. you know yourself and how to optimize the process), how far can you go within X months?" that post is as close as you can get to an objective answer. I look forward to one day reading a similar post by you.

I kinda hate moving, especially after spending 2015 and a bit of 2016 in SF - it totally beat any desire to leave Sydney out of me. I've lived in 5 countries to date - more than enough, I am afraid.

And of course I saw that post before and even briefly thought of moving to Taiwan for, say, a year. Probably not for work tho. Who knows, I still might, just for giggles - if I convince myself it will be fine and overcome my extreme laziness. Long-term, I rather like Australia.