Thoughts on starting up again?

[biyalan]

Thanks for the input everyone! Maybe I'll go in for the professional bundle when I get my next paycheck.

[zander1]

This thread has inspired me to start up again after a hiatus - today has been very painful but I'm sure with time it'll all come back.

[zander1]

An update from that previous post in January.

 

Since then I’ve had quite a bit of time to get back into Mandarin and I am happy to say that despite a painful start (as always!) I have got back into it very nicely.

 

My listening is definitely better than it was before and my speaking is probably about the same but maybe more rusty due to less opportunities (living in U.K. vs living in China I’ve gone from speaking 8 hours + a day to a few hours a week). I would also say my reading is better than it was while I was in China but it’s hard to say precisely as I am reading different things.

 

Dont be discouraged all!

[biyalan]

Hey everyone! Checking back in after a prolonged absence. I've been gone from the forums for longer than I've been gone from Chinese study, but I have done fallen off and gotten back on the bandwagon since January. Right now my study is pretty minimal, but at least it's consistent. I've been reading 活着 a little bit at a time since around the beginning of June, and though it's definitely slow going, I am making progress. I've been more consistent about my vocab study in preparation for reading than I have been for the actual reading part, which I'd like to change, but at least it's something! It's my first real Chinese novel, so that's pretty exciting just by itself. 

 

I feel like I've regained a good amount of my passive Chinese ability, but the production side is still lacking, simply because I haven't been practicing. Now that I've been able to sustain a  low level of commitment consistently for a month or so, I'm hoping to bump it up a notch so I'm doing at least an hour each day. I definitely want to move to doing a full half hour of reading each day, but I'm not sure what else to prioritize. Transcription seems like a popular activity to improve listening skills, and it's a bit more production-oriented than just listening to a podcast or something. I've also considered studying to take the HSK 5 at some point, but I'm not sure if that would distract me from my reading goals. My primary goal is to make my study a little more intense, while still keeping it at a level that I can maintain consistently.

 

Anyone else getting back on the bandwagon recently? What's inspired you to get back into it or revamp your studying? Or for those of you who have been studying consistently for years, what helps you keep going?