Newbie with questions about learning

Hi, fleskfelix. Welcome to the community. Your questions: 1. With the exception the beginning tutorial, there really is no logical flow of lessons. It might be best if you use Chinesepod to supplement a textbook. That way, as you study the book you can find corresponding lessons. Otherwise, you can study randomly or to fit your needs / interests. 2. Some may disagree, but I recommend learning words in context. Perhaps 你好 doesn't serve as the best example, because those two characters are more often seen individually, as 你 and 好, rather than together. Otherwise, Mandarin is a disyllabic language, so most words consist of two characters. Also, knowing two individual character's meaning doesn't guarantee that you'll know what they mean when put together. 3. What you can handle per week/lesson is different for each person. New language learners in general need exposure to smaller chunks, whereas more advanced learners can handle larger chunks. Pace yourself and progress after you're comfortable with previously studied material. Remember to constantly review. 4. Review as often as possible. The more times you're exposed to and retrieving previously studied information from your brain, the larger the chances that that information will solidify in your long-term memory. 5. Characters are a huge part of learning Mandarin. Most good textbooks past the Intermediate level will only provide characters (no pinyin, with the exception of new vocabulary words). You're giving yourself a handicap by not learning the characters. Hope this helps.

Ｗelcome to CPod, Felix. You're going to have a great time here learning with the rest of us : )

Thanks! Supplement a textbook sounds like a good idea. Could I get som advice on what textbook to get, for absolute begginer. That also teaches characters. Thanks for all the help and friendy welcoming! :)

I've been using the New Practical Chinese Reader since day one. I'm half way through volume 5. Volume 6, which is the last volume, should be published soon. Fantastic text book.

Thanks kyle, I've checked what it says on the internet about it and I really feel like taking your advice.

About the lesson order: I choose my lessons based on the vocabulary I found most difficult to make stick. I look up those words and add lessons where they appear. This repetition reinforces learning, and the new dialogues ensure there is always something new to keep me focused. I haven't seen the New Practical Chinese Reader Kyle mentions, but can tell you that the (previous) Practical Chinese Reader is a great choice. It's also composed of six volumes and the pace and content seem well chosen. I agree that the number of lessons you do will vary. At first I used to struggle to work through a newbie lesson in a day, but can now easily do three or four of them in one go if I have time. I hope you have fun here, and do tell us how it goes :)