Study Habits/Strategies
gaopeng
April 22, 2010, 10:57 AM posted in General DiscussionI wanted to start this Group to get people's views concerning the most effective study habits for learning Chinese, especially how people utilize Chinesepod. Anyone who's interested in discussing what works for them when studying Chinese should definitely post here!
Within the Chinesepod system, is there any special way you all utilize Chinesepod's features. Besides listening to the podcasts, studying the vocab/expansion excercises, and/or doing the excercises, is there anything else you do to maximize your learning.
Outside of Chinesepod, what other methods do you use. If you're using textbooks to study, discuss their pros and cons here! What about novels or newspapers? Do you use any other sorts of audio or visual media? If so, what are they? For those of you lucky enough to live in China, what are your strategies for taking advantage of the great language learning environment you've been placed in?
OK, that about sums up my questions. I'll post my own strategies below to get the discussion started. I've had some experience studying languages (I speak Italian well, and studied Spansih for 4 years) but have no official linguistical training. So, feel free to offer advice or constructive criticism.
Cheers!
pretzellogic
Just an FYI, there is already a pretty large set of discussions on study strategies. You can use the link here to get to them.
http://chinesepod.com/community/groups/view/81
Regarding your strategy, it seems to me it's pretty thorough. I wish I had studied more with a Chinese teacher one-on-one when I was here.
I am curious about the amount of time you can dedicate to study. On average, how much time per day do you studying mandarin?
gaopeng
Thanks pretzellogic,
I've been reading the posts in that group on study strategies, and its quite useful.
As for the amount of time I can dedicate to Chinese, I'm quite fortunate in that my job this year as an English teacher has been really low key (I only teach a few hours of classes a day). I have a ton of free time.
I normal study (either reviewing my textbook, with my tutor, or on Chinesepod or some other media) for about 5-6 hours a day. However, a good portion of my day is also spent conversing with colleagues, students, and other people, which really does help.
How about yourself? Do you use any methods other than ChinesePod?
pretzellogic
my job is my main reason for not studying 1-1 with a chinese teacher locally. But i'm thinking i'd better bite the bullet and study with one before my time in China is up, regardless of travel. Chinesepod and practicing locally with Chinese are my main methods, but I have way less free time than you.
gaopeng
Yeah I'm really lucky that my job has so much free time. I only have 3 months left here, so I'm trying to take advantage of it!
pretzellogic
April 22, 2010, 01:27 PMJust an FYI, there is already a pretty large set of discussions on study strategies. You can use the link here to get to them.
http://chinesepod.com/community/groups/view/81
Regarding your strategy, it seems to me it's pretty thorough. I wish I had studied more with a Chinese teacher one-on-one when I was here.
I am curious about the amount of time you can dedicate to study. On average, how much time per day do you studying mandarin?
user16966
April 22, 2010, 02:03 PMYou have got the most essential strategy to learn this language- living with Chinese people.
This is called " 语言环境 ".
xiao_liang
April 22, 2010, 02:34 PMOk, my study strategy.
I have several text-books, which are generally interesting but only supplementary. I followed the entire Pimsleur course, but even the entire thing only gives you the most basic understanding. I have several text-books, but they tend to be chinese-made, which means they're... um, well, pretty rubbish. I have two that are really interesting, comprising of useful phrases and how to use them. I'll look them up tonight and post mini-descriptions if I remember.
Otherwise I listen to podcasts at lunchtime and in the car on the way home. 2-3 a day, and then I do the associated expansion and exercises in the evening. I post on the forums here any questions that come to mind after listening.
I also bother my girlfriend nearly constantly to talk to me in Chinese. The problem there being is that we talk a lot, about a lot of different things, and my Chinese really isn't at the ability where that level of conversation can be replaced. So chinese conversations are a bit stilted, but we do try.
I also have a chinese character flashcard app on my ipod, where I am slaving through individual characters. It's a bit laborious, but I'm finding it useful when I'm studying here and I come across a character I've already learnt, so I get an "aha!" realising where the character might be used (a recent example being 让).
The main problem is I don't have the time in the day or evening to do formal study in a class or with a teacher. I know it seems like I post a lot here, but it's really just 5 minutes in the morning, lunchtime, and then 5 minutes in the afternoon. That's why Chinesepod fits so nicely into my lifestyle - I don't get massive chunks of time for study, so it's piecemeal and through the day.
gaopeng
April 22, 2010, 03:02 PMThanks pretzellogic,
I've been reading the posts in that group on study strategies, and its quite useful.
As for the amount of time I can dedicate to Chinese, I'm quite fortunate in that my job this year as an English teacher has been really low key (I only teach a few hours of classes a day). I have a ton of free time.
I normal study (either reviewing my textbook, with my tutor, or on Chinesepod or some other media) for about 5-6 hours a day. However, a good portion of my day is also spent conversing with colleagues, students, and other people, which really does help.
How about yourself? Do you use any methods other than ChinesePod?
gaopeng
April 23, 2010, 08:32 AMYeah I'm really lucky that my job has so much free time. I only have 3 months left here, so I'm trying to take advantage of it!
gaopeng
April 22, 2010, 11:33 AMI figured I'd give a brief intro to my own study habits/strategies to get the discussion rolling. I currently have a lot of free time (and not too much else to do), so I've been spending a lot of it studying Chinese. Please feel free to comment or offer criticism on my strategies - I'm always looking for ways to improve.
For background information, I graduated in 2009 from an American university with a major in Chinese. However, as those of you who have done the same probably know, three years of college level Chinese does not get you anywhere near fluent (it's not like it's Italian or another romance language)! I then moved to China, and currently teach English in a relatively small city in DongBei. I've been in China for about 9 months. I started using Chinesepod just after graduation (and recently upgraded subscriptions). I've listed out my own study strategies, as well as posed some questions, below:
1. Tutor - I study with my Chinese teacher (who has also become a really good friend) often during the week. We study the textbook together, sometimes read newspaper articles or speeches, or just practice 口语 throughout the week. This opportunity has been amazing, and I realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to practice with a native speaker on a daily basis.
2. Textbook - I'm currently studying Anything Goes: An Advanced Reader of Modern Chinese. It uses newspaper clippings from 人民日报 or other newspapers. It's pretty good, but I feel like the writing style is a bit too formal, and also doesn't use the most practical vocabulary. Before that I studied All Things Considered (the 3rd year counterpart to my current book) at school. Again, not really practical enough for my liking. During my 1st and 2nd years, my school used Integrated Chinese Levels I and II. I though these books were quite good in getting the basic grammar across, although were lacking in some of the vocabulary. This is just my review of the textbooks I've used. Please feel free to review your own here!
3. Chinesepod - I love how practical and interesting Chinesepod is (it's such a relief to listen to a podcast after studying my dry textbook). Feel free to comment on how you use Chinesepod here. I tend to write down vocab on paper (I'm a kinetic learner) to help with retention.
4. Newspapers/Other written sources - A few times a week I'll pick an article out of the Chinese version of the Wall Street Journal. I normally try to print out a copy, mark it up, and write down the vocab I don't recognize for later study. I've also used random interesting speeches (often recommended to me by my Chinese teacher).
5. Media - I feel like I'm definitely lacking here. I've watched a few Chinese movies (非诚无扰 is hilarious) and have tried typing up my opinions on them. What are your strategies? What movies do you all like? For those of you in China, do you watch Chinese TV often? If so, which channels?
6. Everyday life - Obviously this is much easier for those of us in China. I try to be a friendly guy and talk to people whenever possible. For those of you not in China, feel free to discuss your strategies for contacting native speakers in your hometown. Does your city have a Chinatown? When I lived in Seattle, there was a Chinese-run coffee shop with imported Chinese newspapers I frequented. Do you go to Chinese restaurants and practice ordering? Let us know!
OK, those are just my thoughts on how I study. Feel free to discuss textbooks/newspapers you've used (or novels you've read, if you're that advanced), your favorite media, or especially what your strategies are for getting the most out of Chinesepod.