That's my new slogan for evenings Sunday through Thursday. I work a compressed work week (from 8-7, Monday - Thursday) and get my daily call from Vera at 8:10. There just doesn't seem to be enough time to spend with each lesson, to dig into it and internalize the language.
Stephen King said in "On Writing" that the late Kurt Vonnegut would work on one page until it was perfect. He didn't write a book and revise it. He wrote and revised all at once. He would apparently, if Mr. King is correct, throw entire pages away and start rewriting until the text was perfect.
My mind works this way too. It wants every pronunciation, ever possible shade of meaning, every tone just right before it moves on to the next word. Because there is a fear that if I let it go now it will never be right. Talk about maddening! One of the beauties for me working on the Practice plan is that I have no choice. I have a set of lessons in a set order and I have to go through them in that order. I don't have time to get every word and I don't have time to care if I get every word because once one lesson is done there's another. And another. And another. For 7 more weeks. The interesting thing (so far) is I believe my vocabulary is increasing. Not enough for my tastes but more than it did before.
I'll post a recap for the week on Friday or Saturday.
2 comments:
Hi Jeremy, please don't be too hard on yourself. Just take it easy.
Our main goal of this course is to provide an environment for you to practice Chinese. Therefore, in my understanding, it's more important for you to practice what you've learn than just catching up a lot of new lessons. What do you think?
I don't hope the daily calls beccomes a kind of burden for you. We're very happy to adjust your study plan according to your needs. Please feel free to let us know.
I hope you enjoy your learning!
Aggie,
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
I think you are correct about practicing with someone.
The calls are not a burden. I look forward to them everyday. They are difficult, but in a good way.
A friend was telling me that in order to become a better chess player you must compete against others better than yourself. You have to push yourself. I feel the same way about learning Chinese.
If you had determined I was at a Newbie level I would have been able to do the lessons with little effort. The drawback is I would have learned very little. Since I am practicing with Elementary lessons I am learning a lot of new vocabulary and the practice with Vera helps me remember it.
And yes, I am enjoying the learning very much!
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