Lesson Numbering System
user11742
May 12, 2009, 01:54 PM posted in General DiscussionDear CP
I recently graduated from Newbie. I want to study Elementary in chronological order; that is, from the first published lessons to the latest. One of you latest lessons is numbered B1155. Does that mean the first lesson was numbered B0001.
Please explain the numbering system to me so I can find the lessons in the above-mentioned order.
Thank you, Bert
trevorb
May 13, 2009, 07:40 PMWhen I first came to Chinesepod doing it in order seemed logical to me too but then I realised they were not a series but each stands alone and they overlap too. I gave up trying to study all the lessons up to the current one and instead I just study the current lessons and the qing wens.
This has reduced a self imposed stress on me of trying to catch up with the latest lesson. I have still downloaded all the lessons to my iPod and on long journeys I set it to shuffle and listen to what I get. I think maybe I started trying to apply logic to what is affectively an art, now I just try to enjoy.....
tingyun
May 13, 2009, 08:23 PMThere are definitally many valid approaches, and what one finds interesting is the most important.
I suppose, for me that stress never materialized, as I never intend to catch up to the latest lesson for more than a few days - as as soon as I've exhausted the archive and studied the latest lesson in my level, well, its a good time to move up to the next level. I did that for ele - studied the 199 then released, reached current, and haven't touched ele since.
Honestly, I think the number of lessons archived up is a good measure for how much I need to study to move up to the next level (with the exception of newbie, its an easy level to pass). Currently I've mastered about 115 Intermediates, and by my estimation, I'll need the rest of them before I feel fully ready for UI. But then again, people learn at different rates, and have a different tolerance for what the ideal level of challange in a lesson is. Also, I imagine this depends on the rate at which you intend to study - if you're going at 8-10 lessons a day, you can't really wait around for the new lessons.
Also, it depends on the use you intend to put the language - if you intend on applying it mainly in specific circumstances, say business, or speaking with inlaws, you can afford to specilize in lessons. But if your goal is eventually to achieve native-like proficincy, you really can't afford to cut out topics you lack a particular interest in.
A side benefit of going in order, is its easy to print up all the transcripts in one sitting, and organize playlists of the dialogue files for review.
user11742
May 15, 2009, 01:59 PMThank you timsls and trevorb for your advice.
I guess I got spoiled by the old CP numbering system because it was simple and logical. For example, in Newbie, Les. No. 20 was Shopping, the next, No. 21 was Exchanging Personal Info, etc. Easy to keep track of, esp. when printing out and numbering recordings. Why did CP have to change to a more complex, obscure numbering system, I wonder. Their new, coded system might be great for them, but useless for the consumer. I complained to them about it, but got no response.
Bert
user76423
May 15, 2009, 05:11 PMCPod has a basic philosophy: dont try to use the podcasts like a schoolbook: lesson 1, lesson 2, ...
Forget about the numbering, the gaps, the missing logic.
Just choose a lesson that seems interesting for your needs and your current level.
tingyun
May 15, 2009, 06:50 PMI agree with the first 2 sentences - but, again, I believe there are some circumstances that warrent forgoing the "choose interesting lesson" method and instead favor plowing through them one after another.
Besides, you don't have to subscribe to the "CPod Philosophy" to make it an effective part of your language program. People have varied interests, time commitments, language ability, alternative recources (access to language speakers, other programs), language learning goals - the idea that anyone is going to be able to lay down a language learning methodology thats fits everyone perfectly is a bit far-fetched. I've always thought the great virtue of CPod has less to do with language learning philosophy, and more to do with MASSIVE content.
lechuan
May 15, 2009, 10:18 PMI had the same concern, so to make sure I wasn't missing any lessons, I download ALL the lessons from all levels into one folder, run a perl script to make sure that no numbers are missing, then run another perl script to sort all files into individual folders arranged by lessons. I then use the sorted lesson folder (ie. B_elementary_lesson) and work through them in that order. Let me know if you'd like copies of those scripts.
If you listen online, you Bookmark all the elementary lessons for studying, and set up your RSS feed to auto-subscribe. Then mark them as studied as you finish them. That way you can keep track of what you study.
That being said, I agree with Bert that it would be more useful if each set of levels had their own numbering scheme (ie. like Poem's with Pete, Dear Amber, Qing Wen do).
tingyun
May 12, 2009, 02:28 PMHi Bert,
My understanding is this - all levels are numbered on the same system, so, maybe number 41 was newbie, number 42 intermediate, number 43 newbie, number 44 advanced...(just as an example, those aren't the real numbers).
Second, many of the oldest lessons are no longer available, having been remade or retired.
So, if you want to go chronological (which I did also, though I should point out CP doesn't advise this approach), then go into the lessons tab, get the ele set, then go back to the highest numbered page. Each page in the ele set contains ten lessons, so it will probablly be a little over page 20 in the ele set where the oldest are. Then just start at the last lesson listed there, and work your way backwards.