What are the essential lessons I should start learning with?

jono_19
 September 03, 2008, 01:16 PM posted in General Discussion

Hi

I have just upgraded to premium and am liking what's on offer. So I can put some focus around this, what should I start with? Should I do lesson sets, and would it mess me up if I do a newbie, ele, and intermediate in the same session? I would welcome any advice, thank you !!

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henning
 September 03, 2008, 03:51 PM

Jodie, depends - what level are you?

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jono_19
 November 14, 2008, 04:25 PM

Umm, when I do the listening the set I am level two, elementary. But I find i do pick up more on intermediate.

Should I upgrade so I have the 10 minutes guidance every day?

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jono_19
 November 14, 2008, 06:20 PM

Umm, when I do the listening the set I am level two, elementary. But I find i do pick up more on intermediate.

Should I upgrade so I have the 10 minutes guidance every day?

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RJ
 November 14, 2008, 08:09 PM

Jono,

I do both elementary and intermediate lessons. I also glance at the upper levels. I dont think it will mess you up in any way, in fact it makes for a smoother transition. Most people find that some skills develop faster than others. Most I think are weaker listeners or speakers than readers, although there are the lucky few that seem to have a talent for listening and speaking. Basically it boils down to your goals and how much time you have. I have not yet tried the guidance offer so someone else will have to comment on that. I do have a tutor now for pronunciation practice. I prefer that to working over the phone. Listening is tough for me personally and I think part of that is because the sentence structure is so different, true speech is very rapid, and many Chinese words sound the same. Chinese is very contextual. So much so that I think it adds a third dimension to listening. It takes practice. Knowing the words is not enough. Others may disagree but that is how it works for me.

also -Pick lessons that interest you. They come in no particular order.

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mark
 November 15, 2008, 07:19 AM

I think a mixture of lessons that are easy to build confidence and help to habitualize material, plus some lessons that are just past my comfort zone is best.