I have somewhat of a problem. When I first started on Chinesepod, I didn't know any written Chinese. This made the process of finding Chinese words I didn't know quite easy. Now, when going through the newbie lessons, I find that either I can read almost everything, or at least understand the words in a sentence.

     Because of this 'problem', it is taking me quite a while to find new vocabulary words to learn. I wish the speaking part was going as well. What I have done is moved to the elementary level for new words, where I can find abundant words that I don't know. This solution is working for now, but I suspect that I will begin to find the same problem with the elementary words as well. I guess what I would like to know is if there are any vocabulary lists someplace where I can just add words without having to comb through all these lessons.

Hello everyone,

  I had a relatively good learning week! My technology problems seem to be solved right now, and I am back into a good grove. I have flashcards made for about 520 words and word combinations. Out of this, I have proficiency on about 339. I have acquisition on an additional 90 terms. The verbal part is going slower than the written part, but I am doing better on both areas. The past week, I had done the taxi conversation series and a couple of other lessons. I like the idea of an audio phrasebook, and I also like when the lessons are grouped together like that.

  As I have stated in an earlier post, I have found a way to print flashcards. This has the benefits of being faster than writing, and being more accurate. For example, it took between 50 minutes and an hour and 15 minutes to do 15 flashcards using the handwriting method. Last night, I printed off 100 flashcards in about 3 and a half hours. What I do is I use ms paint, do print screen and set up a paper with 5 terms as if I were going to print them on a sheet of 8.5 X 11 paper. What I actually do is use packing tape and tape my flashcards to the paper, and feed the paper through the printer. It uses very little ink, and it never jams up. I use the same flashcards that I was using for the handwriting method, so there is no conflict there.

  My greatest gains are in reading. I am at a point where I can read much of the newbie expansions. I would say that half the time (50%), I get the essential meaning of the sentence right. another 25%, I might understand all the terms, but my lack of knowledge of how the terms are actually used prevents me from understanding correctly what is being said. For the remaining 25%, I generally will not understand a word or two in the sentence, or flat out get the sentence wrong. Elementary level expansions are more difficult for me. I would say that 15% of the time, I am able to get the essential meaning of the sentence right. another 15% or so, I might understand all the terms, but my lack of knowledge of how the terms are actually used prevents me from understanding correctly what is being said. For the remaining 70%, I generally will not understand a word or two in the sentence, or flat out get the sentence wrong.

  Much of my study time is spent going through the lessons trying to find terms and words that I don't know. I don't bother going through the newbie lessons doing this anymore because I might only find one or two unknown words. I currently do well doing elementary lessons, but I figure it is just a matter of time before I feel like I am panning for gold in my bathtub. I notice that in the community page, people build vocabulary lists. I also notice that I can set to share my vocabulary lists. Is there a way to find lists that others are sharing so that I can get words from them? I am guessing that there is such a way, but I havent figured it out yet.

  Guess that is it for right now, below (hopefully) you will find two photos that will show my progress that I have had since joining Chinapod. In the first photo, I have a small stack. It was taken about a week or so after I started the chinese lessons. The Bottom photo was taken on the 3rd of this month. I guess I will be doing these updates on Thursday/Friday instead of Sunday as I am scheduled to work on the weekends for the time being.

Hello everyone,

Like I stated last week, the study efforts have been scaled back. This is mostly because of the fact I have less time on account of the fact that my classes have resumed in college. The progress of this week was either average, or a little bit under average. Here are the specifics;

Currently, I have flashcards for 579 terms (more or less). I am studying about 80 or so of the 579, so that means that I have proficiency of about 500 terms. I am again adding 60 terms this week, and I am not converting any handwritten terms this week.

Each week, I plan on setting aside one day to do review of flashcards that I already know. If I identify words that I have trouble with, I put them in with the stack that I am currently learning. This week, I took a trip to Washington DC to watch the Presidential Inauguration, and that disrupted my rhythm a little bit. I missed Tuesday's flashcard session, and on Wednesday I made a decision to skip my weekly review session and do flashcards instead so that I would remain at the pace that I want to maintain.

For the speaking and listening, it was a mixed week. It started out strong, and ended up non-existent. I didnt do any podcasts at all since Saturday because of frustration. I was working at a podcast, and I seemed unable to learn any of the words. I grew frustrated and started listening to music instead. Tonight, I plan on starting the podcasts again. I am just dreading doing so.

Well, that is all I want to say right now.

忠贞义杰，仁孝睿达 --忠（诚）-loyal（to the nation or monarch）

                    贞（洁）-chastity（to the husband or ethics）

                    义（气）-personal loyalty（to the friends or alliance）

                    杰（出）-illustrious conduct（to the society around）

                    仁（慈）-humane（to every organism）

                    孝（顺）-filial piety（to their parents）

                    睿（智）-wise and farsighted（but not sly）

                    豁达（明朗）-open-minded and  lucidity（to things）

大慈大悲者大福 -- the one with big mercy will be good fortune

既然选择了远方，就要风雨兼程 -- go across the wind and rain all along the road since you choosed the long path to faraway 

人在高处心自远 -- when one stand high,his aspiration is also far reaching

温柔乡，英雄冢 -- the temptation and glamour of the beauty,the sepulcher of the hero

宠辱不惊，看庭前花开花落；去留无意，望天空云卷云舒 -- not be moved by honour or disgrace,peacefully seeing bloom and blossom fall；care less about going or staying,calmly looking up the loud furl or unroll in the sky

When do you use 好and when do you use 很? Or are they interchangeable? Is there a difference in meaning of for instance 好美 or 很美?

In the approximately 1300-1400 lessons or so that cpod has put out, how many different words would a student have learned, assuming they listened to all the lessons?

I don't expect that someone actually go through all the pdfs and count words manually.  But i'm thinking that a word macro could count different words in all the lessons, and spit out a value.  I'd be willing to try and write a macro (for free,  of course) and have cpod use it to count words.