I woke up this morning thinking about my progress so far. I was very discouraged. I've never been much for studying in the traditional manner. It may be sign of laziness. So when I sit down to learn a little more Mandarin I find myself distracted. I want to check the email, I'm thinking of all the things in the house to do, etc.
I know I've learned a lot in the last few months but I don't know how much? I am constantly wondering if I could have learned more if only (fill in the blank). I'll never know for sure.
Since I do not attend a University there is no grade attached to my performance. Everything is done out of a personal desire to learn the language. Sometimes that desire is stronger than others. Sometimes I wish I had the structure of a class to keep me on track, even at times of frustration.
So back to my original statement. Progress. If there are no tests, not grades, no one to talk to, how do you know how you're coming along with something? So far all I know is my pronunciation is better, I recognize more words than before, and I can listen to many of the ChinesePod Newbie lessons and recognize most of what's said. I know that's progress. I can distinctly remember a time when recognizing words in the Newbie lessons was a challenge. Now that honor is reserved for the Elementary lessons.
I always try to keep in mind what Instructor Kai told us the first day of class.
"If you stop, you will never make it. If you keep going, no matter how slow, you will one day arrive."
7 comments:
The first three months I studied was in almost complete isolation, I think us westerners need a little time to get our head around how different the language is.
You are not alone there are more and more people learning out there that are not following a conventional route. I think you have already overcome one of the hardest obstacles.
Stick at it a slowly but surely things will open up to you in unexpected ways.
As a fellow American, and fellow Mandarin student, I've got some words you'll hopefully find encouraging.
I've gone through experiences where sometimes I have a hunger to study more vocabulary, to re-review past ChinesePod lessons, figure out, in Mandarin grammar, when the subject gets placed before the location or the time gets placed after the subject, or... whatever. It's just a thirst and I feel mentally that I just absorbed 5 new vocabulary words just by walking down the street (in Ohio) and thinking about stuff I've heard in the past.
On the other hand, I go through periods when I sit down telling myself I should be studying, and I make an attempt to, but also find myself distracted, wanting to do the same things as you - playing games, checking email, etc. I just simply have no desire to study at that time.
After a while, I realized these two very different attitudes towards the language were natural. I view them now as almost pools of water. Sometimes the pools will dry up, but it always rains again and inevitably, some water always gets absorbed. So, what do I do? I just let it be what it is. I know there isn't a requirement for me to know 100 new vocabulary words a month or anything, and that it's "just" a personal passion. If I'm truly interested, I don't need to worry about it because cycles of interest will happen and I think that's natural. So far, it's worked for me and it's a real pleasure to learn and try if I don't force myself. After a while (hopefully), I'll find those escalating levels of ChinesePod lessons easier to understand as well.
Always keep in mind that the brain tells you when it's full by indicating disinterest or distraction and lets you know when it's ready again by restirring the passion. In reality, in my opinion, all its doing is processing and absorbing, even subconsciously, until it's ready to absorb some more.
Best of luck to you and I hope you find these words helpful.
DS, Akron, Ohio
There is a Mandarin testing system in Mainland China called HSK for Han Yu Shui Ping Kao Shi(汉语水平考试). You may have a try to enter the test and get a degree. There are totally 9 grades of the testing system. Many of my friends from US come Beijing to take the course and exam. It seems they've got really a lot help from it and made huge progress.
Nicole from Beijing China
my email: shilef@hotmail.com
Your discouragement sounds like my recent period of discouragement. Then I got a Chinese language professor as my tutor for just a couple of lessons. It was verification of all the things you are wondering about- pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar - telling me things were ging in the right direction.
But I have had to step up my practice to make faster progress: flashcards, Post-it notes on things in the house, CD's in the car, making up sentences about life. You may have to find a language exchange partner at some point - try Craigslist or even your local newspaper.
http://www.china.nafsa.org/chapter1.pdf
is the first chapter of a booklet for Chinese students coming to America. It has much good information about learning a culture/language. The second chapter has suggestions about how to initiate short conversations with speakers of the language you want to learn.
Last week I actually had to stop myself from talking to a coworker in Chinese - but 6 weeks ago I was discouraged, stuck on a learning plateau.
A Chinese friend told me the Chinese language has no differentiation between 'study' and 'learn'. (It seems in America some people study a lot and learn very little!) Maybe you can take that to heart, and know that you are improving as long as you keep studying.
I think you should come to China, even if just for a short time.
You'll find Chinese everywhere.
Every day you will see or hear something and be astonished that you understand it.
You will make foreign friends, many of whom have been here for much longer than you, who will ask you for guidance in Chinese. (Even at a newbie level you're doing much better than some people here!)
You'll be a celebrity, people will stop you in the street and try to talk to you.
From my own personal experience, I can tell you that you'll definitely get more out of Chinese if you come to China. Even if you just come for a short visit.
Chinese language is so fundamental to everything here (well duh, we're in China) that you will never feel at a loss for motivation again.
I'll be happy to show you around.
Why talk of progress? Enjoyment, that's the tune. That's what all of us want. Turn your study of Chinese into sheer enjoyment. When clibming a mountain, if you have to wait to reach the top to be happy, then you'll probably never get to the top. You feel you are going too slow because you thinking of the top when the road to the top is so entrancing, if you care to take a gook look at it that you'll forget about results or goals. Take the easy road and enjoy the mountain all along. The forest, the flowers, the scenery... a love for the mountain, not just a love for the top. What road should you take: take the wondrous road of Chinese characters. For instance, let's look at your favourite character just now, that means discouraged, we'll name it, draw it , and pin it down so that you may rule over "discouragement¨". Hui1 灰 it means "ashes", and by extension it also means grey, and also discouraged. In English we have: "I'm feeling blue". Well, 灰,hui1, means ashes because, you see, the fire radical 火 and the right hand over it (my computer does not print this correctly): ashes, the result of fire that can be handled with the hand. So there you are! Study the etymology of characters and you will never again feel discouraged, you'll always be elated. If I did not enjoy Chinese as much as I do I would envy you now...bye.
I am the only person on earth, or so it seems, who is deliberately learning Mandarin very slowly, keeping it near the bottom of my list of interests, not spending much time at it, and not doing anything that doesn't thrill me at that very moment. No pressure, no hard work, just keeping my toes wet in the language.
I'm not able to demonstrate making any progress, but occasionally I hear something and think oh wow, I know that! My motivation to study hard is very low, but so are my expectations. The pathway is fun, getting there irrelevant, though it will happen one day.
It seems that everyone else who ever thought of learning Mandarin is speeding ahead, with the implication that after all this time I should be better. But I resist. The fun of playing with a little bit of Mandarin at zero personal cost is something I'm not willing to sacrifice for the shallow goal of rapid progress and hard work. I only want what I can get now with 100% enjoyment, and I get lots of that, with no shame.
In the unlikely event that there is another person in the world who's enjoying learning Mandarin without taking it too seriously, they're not fessing up! If you wanted to join me in this casual approach for a while, you wouldn't be alone.
The one thing that most improved my Mandarin was when I was forced to take 2 weeks off, completely, no sight or sound or thought of Mandarin at all. When I came back to it, a lot of the stuff that I'd shrugged off in past months, too hard to bother or irrelevant words, had snuck in and cemented itself to my brain. I seemed to gain 2 months progress from 2 weeks rest.
This week would be a good one to take off, and give myself a little boost. I might not, though. There's still no pressure to work to learn anything, there's still time to dabble aimlessly for a few minutes each day no matter how busy, and the few words that I know are fun to play around with.
So be aware that what you see of other students is only the most brilliant tip. If you're going slow and only doing what you feel like, you're having more fun than they are. You won't burn out, that's impossible, and if you ever need to take a little break you'll come back refreshed without a difficult catch-up period. If ever you find yourself in a more formal learning situation with more pressure, you'll have past learning to draw on and you'll always remember that it's fun no matter what you might be called on to do for a few minutes in your course.
It's not everyone's approach, but it is one of the valid approaches.
You don't need statistics on yourself, nor someone else's evaluation of you, to know that you're getting what you want and loving it. You don't need someone else to tell you hey don't do that now you're not in the mood, or to shout stop or shout well-done when you've been doing one thing you enjoy for three hours straight. You just know. Listen to yourself.
The fundamentals of the language will be valuable in any studies in future years, but learning to associate it with total enjoyment no matter what, is priceless, and lasts a lifetime.
You wouldn't allow your child to feel pressured and become disheartened, so stop doing it to yourself, eh. ;-)
Post a Comment