malach's log - Mandarin

Continue or start your personal language log here, including logs for challenge participants
malach
Orange Belt
Posts: 148
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:52 am
Languages: English (native)
Mandarin Chinese
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17627
x 371

Re: malach's log - Mandarin

Postby malach » Tue Jul 05, 2022 2:16 pm

Nearly three months have gone by, without posting here. And, afraid to say it, not much progress with Chinese. This week, I started finally on chapter 13 of my TY book, also doing a bit of revision of the earlier units.

I am getting some daily exposure to the language - definitely my listening comprehension has gone up, for the small parts that I do know. And I'm using a number of short phrases regularly too. So that's something, a kind of base.

I still would like to get through the TY book by the end of the year - 12 chapters in 6 months should be a comfortable 2 weeks per chapter. But, as is all too evident, my language studies are very erratic. Probably I will get a few chapters done this summer, as work is light and holidays are coming up.

Back to chapter 13 today!
4 x

User avatar
Dr Mack Rettosy
Orange Belt
Posts: 134
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2020 5:53 pm
Location: USA, The Great Lakes
Languages: English (N), Mandarin
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16180
x 729

Re: malach's log - Mandarin

Postby Dr Mack Rettosy » Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:48 am

Welcome back! Forgive me if you mentioned it already, but how are you practicing conversations? Did you find a tutor or are you using a language meeting app like HelloTalk/iTalki?
0 x
Mandarin goals:
Read: 2146000 / 10000000 /10,000,000 汉字
Study: 2006 / 5000 / 5000 hours

malach
Orange Belt
Posts: 148
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:52 am
Languages: English (native)
Mandarin Chinese
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17627
x 371

Re: malach's log - Mandarin

Postby malach » Sat Oct 01, 2022 9:14 am

Dr Mack Rettosy wrote:Welcome back! Forgive me if you mentioned it already, but how are you practicing conversations? Did you find a tutor or are you using a language meeting app like HelloTalk/iTalki?


You'll have to welcome me back again! I had another long gap, so sorry for not replying earlier.

I'm living with a native speaker, which is a significant advantage...
2 x

malach
Orange Belt
Posts: 148
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:52 am
Languages: English (native)
Mandarin Chinese
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17627
x 371

Re: malach's log - Mandarin

Postby malach » Sat Oct 01, 2022 9:37 am

Well, various 'things' happened and my language-learning activities almost came to a halt, saved only by daily practice in small conversations. As the new term is starting again, life will become more organised and, oddly, I'll find it much easier to grab some time for self-study!

Progress

  • book study ground to a halt, I'm still two chapters short of finishing the second block of TY Complete Mandarin
  • on the other hand, short daily conversations have firmly embedded the basics
  • to learn reading/typing, I have completed the first two checkpoints of Duolingo, which has also proved useful revision
  • I took another look at the first Mandarin Reader book last night, and could read it without too much trouble
Plan

I'm revising my plan for this year. It's clearly too much to expect to finish the TY book by December, but I should be able to complete the first two-thirds of the book (the book is neatly arranged into sections, A1, A2 and B1 level!). I seem to have internalised the first third, and if I can do the same with the second third I'll be, firstly amazed, and secondly quite happy. If I can generate sentences anywhere near what I read in the dialogs and scripts I'll be doing well, and probably quite able to communicate about many things around the home.

So, the plan to the end of the year is:

  • finish and internalise chapters 1-16 of the TY book
  • complete the duolingo Mandarin tree
  • be able to read at least the second (300-character) of the Mandarin Reader books
  • continue to expand on my conversations - if I can say anything in Mandarin, I will use Mandarin instead of English
I keep flirting in my mind with the idea of booking a HSK test to 'give myself a target', but my past record does not indicate this would be a helpful motivation. I have to be realistic about where I can get to, and the plan above is, I think, achievable for me. It should mean that next year I'll have a solid base in the language, and can slowly add to my knowledge as need arises with vocabulary etc - probably finishing the TY book. My main goal, after all, is verbal communication.
2 x

The Real CZ
White Belt
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 4:23 pm
x 101

Re: malach's log - Mandarin

Postby The Real CZ » Sat Oct 01, 2022 8:34 pm

How have you felt about the jump in difficulty during the last 4 chapters or so of Teach Yourself Complete Mandarin? I probably study differently than you, as I tend to go straight through chapters without trying to master each individual chapter so that I can focus on seeing more. However, I think the last four chapters have way too many new words when going through the dialogues that it lead me to moving over to other courses.
0 x

malach
Orange Belt
Posts: 148
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:52 am
Languages: English (native)
Mandarin Chinese
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17627
x 371

Re: malach's log - Mandarin

Postby malach » Sun Oct 02, 2022 9:42 am

The Real CZ wrote:How have you felt about the jump in difficulty during the last 4 chapters or so of Teach Yourself Complete Mandarin? I probably study differently than you, as I tend to go straight through chapters without trying to master each individual chapter so that I can focus on seeing more. However, I think the last four chapters have way too many new words when going through the dialogues that it lead me to moving over to other courses.


I haven't got to the last third yet (chapters 17-24), so I don't know how the difficulty increases. I have found the second third challenging. So far though, I find the word lists in each chapter cover what is coming in their dialogues. There are more words in the separate vocabulary list for each chapter, and those I imagine can appear in later dialogues. I did a count of the number of words per chapter in the vocabulary list, and, apart from chapters 1-3 and 24, there are usually 50-65 words per chapter, about 400 words per third of the book.

You're right, I do try to 'master' each chapter, at least to the extent that I know all the vocabulary, and can understand all the dialogues when I listen to them. I also do the exercises and have a list of the sentences used in the grammar sections, which I read through, trying to remind myself of the grammar points illustrated.
4 x

malach
Orange Belt
Posts: 148
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:52 am
Languages: English (native)
Mandarin Chinese
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17627
x 371

Re: malach's log - Mandarin

Postby malach » Sat Oct 08, 2022 4:41 pm

Ramble

Well, I'll blame being bored at work for much of this, because I spent too long this week on a "tour" of all available language apps and websites I could find! A part of this is the thought of trying not to forget whatever I once possibly knew of other languages. It's been a meaningless search. Regarding my chosen language, Mandarin, there's no point looking at any other app - they all cover the same basic stuff, and I have that already in my TY book. Regarding other languages, I hope this was the last gasp of looking backwards. For whatever internal or external factors, I never got that far in any other language, and trying to pretend I can even retain the handful of sentences I knew before is not going to work well with a focus on one other language.

Progress

I continue to make progress. My current strategy is centred around the TY book, although I'm using Duolingo as a revision aid, and source of practice sentences. This is working quite well. Each day this past week I have done some work on the TY book and Duolingo, and I try to keep 3 or 4 of the phrases or words ready to use later in spoken practice. I then try these out, and 1 or 2 of the new phrases or words seem to stick each day.

Tones are something I seem to only sort out in actual conversation. Unlike German gender, where you can learn a noun with its article or an adjective, I don't see any shortcut to remembering tones with words. I try to recognise them, of course, and have some success on Duolingo, but remembering them in conversation is not easy first time around. But after being corrected, and trying a few times later, the required pronunciation seems to get fixed in my mind, even if it doesn't always come out right!
1 x

malach
Orange Belt
Posts: 148
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:52 am
Languages: English (native)
Mandarin Chinese
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17627
x 371

Re: malach's log - Mandarin

Postby malach » Tue Oct 11, 2022 3:23 pm

Progress

Nothing major to report, but still making progress. I seem to have got the hang of a little cluster of phrases to do with location, "on the table", "under the chair" etc, ready for conversational use, which is a little step forward.

Ramble

While practicing some tones, and the difference between 'book' and 'tree' ... my partner asked some questions about English, which is basically why I'm writing today.

She's unquestionably "fluent" in English, with over 20 years in this country using the language for everything. But clearly she is a 'second-language learner'; over the years I've known her, I've often helped with explaining bits of grammar and the occasional word. But yesterday she asked about pronouncing "cattle" vs "kettle", specifically, and she was trying to distinguish these words. She then went through a list of different vowel sounds she struggled with in English pronunciation, and I got the impression she was recalling some lesson exercises from long ago.

It just felt so familiar, this struggle to pronounce things correctly. It left me with two thoughts: (1) I'm glad I'm going English->Chinese, as tones seem easier for me than her experience with English vowels! (2) Pronunciation will not "just become good", even with 100% immersion and regular practice/feedback.
6 x

malach
Orange Belt
Posts: 148
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:52 am
Languages: English (native)
Mandarin Chinese
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17627
x 371

Re: malach's log - Mandarin

Postby malach » Mon Oct 31, 2022 10:12 am

Progress

Not a lot technically, although each day seems to bring at least one new learning point: yesterday it was a particular word for making coffee, the day before it was the word for honey (and its reverse for honey bee).

Yesterday we met a Chinese couple, who spoke particularly clearly, and I realised I could follow most of the early part of the conversation, which was about sitting down, organising drinks and food, etc. And even later, I could follow chunks of the conversation on other topics, which I was broadly familiar with - work, family etc. Thinking about it today, this is encouraging progress, even if I often feel like I'm getting nowhere. My aim with learning Mandarin is to be able to get along better with 2 or 3 people, and possibly interact with friends etc, and I seem to be getting somewhere with that - at least with the listening side of things (although a previous couple I met spoke so quickly I could barely follow...).

I looked back at my first post in this log, and I said I would be happy if I could actively use half of the material in the TY book by the end of 2022. I've been rechecking the contents of the first third of the book to see which parts I could be using more actively in conversation. And I'll do the same with the second third, which is far more challenging. But I don't think I'll be far off my target "half" by the end of the year. Even if finishing the book will have to be postponed for 2023!
4 x

malach
Orange Belt
Posts: 148
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:52 am
Languages: English (native)
Mandarin Chinese
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17627
x 371

Re: malach's log - Mandarin

Postby malach » Wed Nov 23, 2022 4:16 pm

I've definitely been struggling with language learning. Partly because there are so many other things happening, that putting in "hard work" at studying is not very attractive. Also, I've found myself beating my head against a brick-wall with the second third of the TY book. Although I can 'get it' in the micro, when studying, this rarely stays, and I forget what's in the dialogs etc after a little while. I guess it's not properly anchored in my mind, or something.

But the first third of the book seems fairly secure. And I've been getting a lot of listening practice lately about the house - especially as we have a visitor who speaks limited English. This keeps motivating me to try harder and return to learning a few more words and sentences. Although reading was not really my focus, I've found some HSK 1/2 level stories which I'm able to get through, and I'm hoping these will help cement the basic concepts further in my head.
2 x


Return to “Language logs”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests