breaks in studying

Purrfecdizzo
 October 05, 2010, 01:12 AM posted in General Discussion

Hi all, I have a question... I normally study every day, but I am thinking that maybe I should take a day off from studying every week. I don't know if this is simply me trying to be lazy, or if this is a good idea. Any thoughts?

thanks

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ptsmith
 October 05, 2010, 01:29 AM

In general, smaller but frequent chunks are preferred over larger portions, so 15 minutes daily would beat a 2 hour weekly session. But remember that learning a language is more marathon than sprint so stay tuned to your mental balance. If you need an occasional day off to stay fresh, take it. Learning should be something fun that you look forward to, not just another activity on a to-do list.

How long have you been studying?

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Purrfecdizzo
 October 05, 2010, 01:56 AM

it will be two years in mid-November.

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JasonSch
 October 05, 2010, 04:12 AM

Maybe you could try having a day (or two) during which you don't sit down and actually study, but rather, just get some entertaining input. (via a movie, TV show, music, podcast, etc) I would take week breaks from studying at times, and in an effort to alleviate my guilt, I would just make sure I was watching/listening to enough Chinese. Seems like the easy way out, but hey, you'll probably even bump into some of the language you've been studying. Either way, I agree with ptsmith, it's best not to get too burned out.