What Chinesepod taught me...
henning
February 23, 2008, 06:20 PM posted in General DiscussionI listened to lots of Chinese radio today and during the last weekend.
I was surprised what I can understand by now after almost 2 years of CPod. As I acquired about 90% of my vocab here, this also reflects the current distribution of topics.
To my surprise I was best in following discussions about movie stars, love, and relationships. In one show the quota of understanding reached beyond 80% - OK, the interviewed actress was not the quickest (neither in speaking nor thinking) and her vocab was perfect for an intermediate learner.
Second came traffic-related subjects. Yes, all those trains, plains and automobiles worked relatively smooth (albeit not as smooth as the gossip stuff), despite the fact that speed was rather high. I would guess I got 40-50%.
This was followed by general news (rate fell to about 15-20%). Definate issue is the reading speed in the news casts - the signal densitiy is pure terror. Also weather is still not sufficient - obviously that one intermediate show was not enough.
Some subject I hardly got what they were about - especially one about medicine and health. Science in general is a weak point.
windwalker
February 23, 2008, 07:48 PMYeah, I really wish I'd discovered Chinese Pod earlier. Still, it's not so bad, as 对外汉语 in China is much more developed for lower levels than it is for higher ones. The Upper Intermediate and Advanced levels are really good for picking up the higher-end slack, as well as providing us with fun, current vocab. Just yesterday I was able to call someone a 自虐狂, and she started to beat me like a 虐待狂! 哎呀，我真的受罪了! Vive le Pod chinois!
mark
February 24, 2008, 02:32 AMThere are a couple Chinese radio stations in the SF Bay Area. I sometimes listen. It seems I have the best luck with repeditive stuff like weather, traffic, stock market reports (but it is good listening practice, because the delivery is very fast). Otherwise, it's pretty hit or miss whether I figure out what's going on or not. My success rate has gradually been going up over time, but it is still a humbling experience that reminds me I still have lots to learn.
Julesong
February 24, 2008, 01:23 PMcalkins, thanks so much for giving us that radio station webpage! I've been looking for something just like that - fabulous! :)
John
February 24, 2008, 02:05 PMHenning, Glad to hear about your progress. That's really amazing. (I don't have any such success stories... I did it the easy way by moving to China.) There are more health/medicine topics in the pipeline already!
calkins
February 23, 2008, 06:31 PMHenning, great idea! I never thought about listening to Chinese radio online. Just did a search and came up with a nice list of online radio: Chinese Internet Radio and News Radio P.S. wish my listening comprehension was where yours is now!