The 2017 Aims and Objectives Progress Topic

[Shelley]

I wanted to join in 2017's Aims and Objectives Progress Topic, and was prompted to start it, so here it is.

 

I feel I have gotten off track a bit since September 2016 when I decided to start learning traditional characters, after several false starts with various textbooks I decided I wanted to continue using New Practical Chinese Reader which has a traditional version. After a couple of offers to get the text books for me didn't happen (Update: have had a message just this minute, I maybe getting the books soonish) meant I was in a sort of hiatus waiting to start these new books. Now I realise that these books probably won't (edit:might) materialise, I have decided on a different course of action.

 

Part 1)

I will continue to use NPCR simplified which I have and really enjoy using and learn traditional alongside the simplified. I feel that the information in the traditional character is important to "round out" my knowledge. I don't think that if is worth my effort to memorise writing the traditional version but it is worth being able recognise it and to benefit from the ability to at least read traditional.

 

Part 2)

 

I aim to speak more yes that's right SPEAK MORE, to who I don't know but I will get back to my daily lesson with HelloChinese (which I have let lapse for no good reason) and concentrate on the speaking parts.

 

I also want to get back to writing my little stories once a week to practice all I have learnt from NPCR that week.

 

I will spend time every day with Pleco flashcards in simplified and traditional, but concentrating more on simplified.

 

I will also try and find something to listen to, I don't like Pimsleur. I want something to listen to at my level, and repeat listening a few times then hear the English then listen again till I understand it. The trouble is lots of listening things for my level are really boring and don't keep me listening.

 

And I will continue with my love of practising writing characters. This has always been the easiest part of study for me to be disciplined about.

 

Part 3)

 

I will return to this topic regularly to check I am doing what is on my list and to share my progress and/or problems.

 

As I mentioned I have had a message that I may still be getting the books, if this is the case I shall add them to my study routine, till then I will continue as described above.

[Wurstmann]

My goals are

- to get my 'new' Chinese Anki deck from 2625 sentences to at least 5000

- to get through Korean Grammar in Use Beginning

- to read at least 12 Chinese books

- to watch all those Korean and Chinese dramas that keep on accumulating on my hard drive; at least one episode per day

[imron]

@wurstmann, which 12?

I ask because from personal experience I've found the best way to do this is to have a pile of books ready to go so that when you finish one you can pick up the next one straight away without needing to spend any time worrying about which one to read next.

You don't need to think of all 12, but definitely always try to have 2-3 books ready to choose from when you finish your current one.

[BryanTaipei]

I quit studying Chinese a few years ago when I started grad school in the evenings after work because I simply had no time. Since I will finish up in a few months I would like to get back into this hobby I have missed so much in 2017. In the past I put way too much of my time on reading and writing, and after such a long hiatus I will take the opportunity to move my focus to listening.

 

I am looking at working through Glossika during periods workouts, walking, and my morning commute to work. The key is to make the best use of this "dead-time"

 

I am thinking about subscribing to KylinTV too . I am overseas and the Internet latency for streaming sites in China is just too much...I have tried in the past and it just makes me give up in the end. Goal will be to watch the news daily to get a grasp for what is going on, and follow that up with some related reading on Caijing.com.cn related to something I saw on the news broadcast. I found when learning other languages that this method really helps me build my vocabulary.

 

Next, I hope to find a set of tv series to work through during the year to get the more natural, dialog-style listening practice. And this time I promise to work through them slowly, learning as I go instead of getting too hooked on the story plot!

 

Finally, I am a software engineer by trade, so I would like to learn the lingo and vocabulary relevant to my trade. I will do this via web sites, blogs, etc. relating to my trade. It will take some time to find good sites, but hopefully there are some good ones out there!

[Wurstmann]

I have a lot of books on my tablet. When I finish a book I read a few pages of some new ones until I find one that's both interesting and not to hard. Also there's the Chinese book club sub-reddit to give me inspiration on what to read next. I also have some physical books waiting to be read. 

[Lu]

I'm planning to continue on my current path: read Chinese, find the next book to translate, talk Chinese with people etc.

 

In addition, my Big Project for 2017 is to read all the translated Chinese literature I already own. I have over the years collected over a meter of translations, in both English and Dutch, from short stories to full novels to ancient classics, and much of it I've never read. I want to read it all to get a better grip on Chinese literature in general, and reading translations is a lot faster than reading the orginal. (I also intend to continue to read Chinese in Chinese.) My plan is to read for half an hour to an hour after lunch, every workday, with exceptions when necessary. The first book is going to be Han Shaogong's Maqiao Dictionary (in Dutch), which is sitting at my table half-read and half-abandoned, and I'll start on January 2, as that will be the first workday.

 

I'm considering whether I should start a new thread for this project to really keep me honest, or just occasionally post in the 'What are you reading' thread.

[imron]

@Wurstmann, sounds like you're on track then :-)  I wrote a post about developing a reading habit here that you might find relevant.  It was written ~11 months in from my own 12 books in a year goal (I made it to 17).

[Wurstmann]

I have read that post in the past, but I think I'm good in that aspect. I'm always reading, I can't not read. ;)

I should probably develop a speaking habit, though. I mean, I live in China but I don't speak very often. -.-

[grawrt]

I'm always so awful at keeping up with these things. But here goes anyway

 

1) Read 1 book per month.

2) Speak more. Same as wurstmann.. living in china but don't really speak Chinese xD

3) Pass HSK6. Mock exam once a week but practice on writing skills throughout the week, Either using the passage I read as a template for summarizing and writing out the essay or my class text or the actual mock exams. 

 

That's it. If I can work on these three areas I should be happy. 

[Flickserve]

A) listening skills - review sentences in topics like glossika style. Analyse interviews going through them with a tutor. Do active listening by putting sentences into an mp3 player and then using the shuffle function.

B) speaking skills. Mimic sentences. Pick out key phrases and practice them at work with colleagues. Practice sentences that I have said poorly when having dialogue with tutors.

C) grammar - maybe try and get through NCPR vol 2!

D) reading - improve by reading a bit more. Not a big priority

E) writing - not a priority.

Objective - by the end of the year 2017, be able to hold a five to ten minute discussion with a person on a topic of their interest whether it be a complaint about airlines, food or whatever.

[艾墨本]

I really want to do some of everything this next year, but I need to trim down my goals into something manageable and achievable. 

 

Primary Goals:

1) Begin a year of Chinese study at a university (preferably on the CIS or CSC scholarship).

2) Finish at least 4 books or 1000 pages before starting my semester at a Chinese university (i.e. 活着，兄弟，三体，欢乐颂，雅舍小品). I need to find a book that progressively nicely in difficulty from 活着 but is about modern times so that I can learn more presently useful vocabulary. 

3) Continue Anki studies every day, but adjust quantity to match present circumstances.

 

Secondary Goals:

4) Correct pronunciation so that it no longer impedes communication

5) Introduce most all of HSK 4 grammar to active grammar and begin moving HSK 5 grammar into active use. This means practicing creating sentences with grammar.

6) Create a daily habit of reading news in Chinese and watching CCTV.

 

I did not include any speaking goals since I've found just living in China enough to develop my speaking ability. I will need to focus on speaking in the future in order to develop a more native, professional, and clear tone. For now, I am just happy to be understood.

 

I will give myself until January 31 to modify, add, or remove goals. On (or near) January 31st I will create a more quantitative plan for February.

[Lu]

I need to find a book that progressively nicely in difficulty from 活着 but is about modern times so that I can learn more presently useful vocabulary.

Consider the 圈子圈套 books (or just start with the first one). Not particularly difficult, nice story about current-day China. And something of a rite of passage for forum members :-)

[imron]

I was going to recommend the exact same book.

[Wurstmann]

 

圈子圈套

 

I stopped reading that half way through. Just too boring for my taste.

[Lu]

Then I'm afraid you'll never be more than half a forum member.

 

Kidding aside: Maybe check out that thread anyway, there are some recommendations for further reading that might work better for you.

[edelweis]

I'm going to be pretty busy in 2017

Edit: or maybe not.

 

26/01

I have no idea what I'll be doing two months from now.

Let's still make some tentative plans for February:

- Write 3 postcards in Chinese.

- Daily Chinese TV.

- Learn 1 technical word a day (multilingual).

- Review math, physics, electronics.

- No elevators.

 

These are older things on hold: shadowing, tingli (新闻联播 etc), writing, reading (anything goes)
SRS, classifiers, write a little game.
English, Spanish FSI or spanish podcast
Relearn and practice 八段锦.

 

[xit]

2016 was great, it let me see what I truly want in life.

 

1. My current major goal is getting into med school. Once I realized this is what i really want to do in life, I started with all the necessary preparations. But then it hit me. Med school is 6 years long here.
2. This is why my most important 2017 goal is to get at least a one-year scholarship to study in China.

I have a short window of time before I get super busy with uni stuff, so I really need to push myself hard.

• I'm aiming at at least a book a month. Reading these for at least an hour every day. This is a something I can do even on a super busy day, and I really feel like it's helped me improve my passive knowledge a lot.
• Finishing all the boya books. I'm currently studying the intermediate one.
• Read newspaper daily.
• Watch news daily.
• My active skills are my weakest points, so I really need to focus on those. People on this forum keep mentioning a site for practicing writing, I need to look into this. Otherwise, I'll try to keep a daily journal in Chinese.
• Other than going to a course, I have no other opportunities to speak Chinese. I need to think of something.
• Studying the subjects for the entrance exam in Chinese. It would be ridiculous getting into med school and not being able to discuss the basic cell structure in Chinese.
• Read "Three kingdoms" in English

@admins: It would be a good idea to have a thread with all the native material listed, with short explanations, uses and links and it would be great if it would be categorized. Right now the forum has a bit of everything, scattered across the various subforums, not really organized, so unless you really know what you're looking for, have the precise names and everything, it's really hard to find. It could be divided into reading, listening, etc or any other way you see fit. Then, under reading, you could have formal and informal section, or maybe newspaper, novels, short stories sections. Under newspaper you could have all the links, and as comments, whether it's simplified or traditional, highly specified with specific vocabulary, or if it's more like everyday language, a gossip magazine, etc. For books and novels, you could refer to the already existing threads, and also add where we can read them online or download them. For news and shows the main topic and focus should be noted, also if it's very informal fun show, or full on news, then place of origin and accents, and links to where we can watch it,...I realize, most of the threads are created after the material is used and approved by several members, and so many everyday resources could potentially be neglected. People are reading the newspaper they like when they feel like it, and so it makes little sense to create a separate thread just for that. But if we had a thread where everything native that could potentially be a study source is just listed, and categorized, I think it would be a huge help to everyone. For example, I really want to start reading newspaper and watching news, but I have no idea where to start. But if there is a "pile" of links as imron mentioned above, then I wouldn't need to worry about what to read or watch next. Another great advantage would be that it could be updated, so once someone finds something really useful, it could be added in the appropriate category, and a separate thread made for discussion.

 

So, basically, a thread for listing native material according to it's category, with links and short description, as well as links to the threads on the forum. No excess discussion, more like read-only, where the comments would be for adding new stuff...

[Flickserve]

@xit

Med school in China?

[imron]

@admins: It would be a good idea to have a thread with all the native material listed, with short explanations, uses and links and it would be great if it would be categorized

You mean like the pinned post in Resources for Studying Chinese, but for native only material?

 

I'm sure if you were to start a thread with some of the basics filled in, other people would chime in with suggestions and then you could edit them back in to the first post.  I'd be happy to make it sticky once it gets enough content.

[艾墨本]

I like the idea of a native-only study materials thread. 

 

Some things that would be great for that: a list of texts in growing difficulty (and noted if there are audio book versions or tv/movie adaptations), as well as the same for TV shows and Movies.  (edit: this post from imron would be a good start - http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/23586-the-2010-aims-and-objectives-progress-thread/page-8#comment-235360)

 

Regarding《圈子圈套》by 王强, i've found a text version and downloaded it. It now sits with my collection of text and will likely be my next read. I've still got a couple months (at least) to make it through 活着. I'm really focusing on vocabulary this time around hoping for a payout on this effort down the road.