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12 Months of Mandarin

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Re: 12 Months of Mandarin

#31

Post by joshdavham »

vunderba wrote: post #3

I commend the author's discipline - this is a pretty standard approach. TLDR - Move as many things as possible in regular life to the target language (software, tv shows, reading, etc) to maintain the language - There is no substitute for full immersion if you have the opportunity. I learned traditional Chinese in Taiwan while I was an ESL teacher. - The power of SRS (spaced repetition system) cannot be overstated I…

> The power of SRS (spaced repetition system) cannot be overstated

Speaking as someone who has used Anki the last 5 years, has built and sold Anki decks and is working on implementing various spaced repetition schedulers as we speak... unfortunately its importance can absolutely be overstated.

Definitely more language learners should be using an SRS, but there are lots of people who take it way too far (I have way too many stories).

Where things go wrong for most people is their understanding of the role of the SRS. The SRS to language learning is what protein shakes are to bodybuilding. But while no serious body builder would try to get ripped by drinking protein shakes and neglecting working out, there are unfortunately tons of language learners doing basically just that with the SRS. To acquire a language you need input! The SRS is just (very) helpful supplement.

Re: 12 Months of Mandarin

#32

Post by Terr_ »

edent wrote: post #7

While I haven't the same proficiency, I had the same "local celebrity" experience when visiting Beijing. While it is fun at first seeing people double take and then ask to take a photo with you - it gets old fast! Mind you, I'll never tire of (partially) understanding what people say about me when they think I don't understand. One thing not mentioned is that it is often a good idea to have some formal testing. Frien…

> I had the same "local celebrity" experience when visiting Beijing.

My own dimly-remembered anecdote involves passing through mainland China back in the 90s in tow of my parents, as an elementary-schooler with very blond hair. (Two qualities that are no longer true.)

Even in the downtown areas of Beijing it drew attention, but if you went further out to more-rural zones... Well, imagine small crowds coming up to gawk and indicating they'd like to touch your hair to confirm it's real and/or for good luck.

It wasn't just a lack of in-person visitors, but also that the standard of living there 30 years ago there was a much lower, and even the locally-affluent were unlikely to get much media from outside the country.

Re: 12 Months of Mandarin

#33

Post by joshdavham »

kklisura wrote: post #9
bluechair wrote: post #6

It might be helpful to someone, so I’m suggesting something similar for Spanish: * https://www.dreamingspanish.com

Anything similar for Japanese?

Yes! You should checkout https://cijapanese.com/

It's an awesome site with just under 1,000 videos. There are also transcripts and a time tracker to help track your progress.

Note I'm not affiliated, but am just a happy user. (Also my friend is the site developer)

Re: 12 Months of Mandarin

#34

Post by curiousgal »

pragmomm wrote: post #20
edent wrote: post #7

While I haven't the same proficiency, I had the same "local celebrity" experience when visiting Beijing. While it is fun at first seeing people double take and then ask to take a photo with you - it gets old fast! Mind you, I'll never tire of (partially) understanding what people say about me when they think I don't understand. One thing not mentioned is that it is often a good idea to have some formal testing. Frien…

[flagged]

I am curious, do you actually believe these things?

Re: 12 Months of Mandarin

#36

Post by thatsnotmepls »

kentosi-dw wrote: post #12

The importance of an SRS system like Anki cannot be overstated. However I can see how this might be a burden to some when it comes to entering in your own sentences. For this, I highly recommend making use of your OS's dictation (speech to text) feature. You get to practice speaking _and_ enter sentences much quicker.

I have ChatGPT create 20 sentences for a new word I want to learn, works super well with Anki.

Front -> Word. Click button, shows random sentence out of 20.

Back -> Word and sentence translation.

Re: 12 Months of Mandarin

#37

Post by giraffe_lady »

pragmomm wrote: post #20
edent wrote: post #7

While I haven't the same proficiency, I had the same "local celebrity" experience when visiting Beijing. While it is fun at first seeing people double take and then ask to take a photo with you - it gets old fast! Mind you, I'll never tire of (partially) understanding what people say about me when they think I don't understand. One thing not mentioned is that it is often a good idea to have some formal testing. Frien…

[flagged]

[flagged]

Re: 12 Months of Mandarin

#38

Post by alexawarrior4 »

CollinEMac wrote: post #29

I'm always surprised when people mention watching shows in their target language as a study method. For me, I don't understand much and my mind starts to wander pretty quickly.

I had the same problem, the solution is to start with extremely easy content, either from a language learning site/channel or content targeted at toddlers. Even 2 year olds already have quite advanced language skills! Peppa Pig is a perennial favorite. You build up from there with childrens' shows, cartoons, and at some point later on introduce graded readers. Watching full-speed native TV shows is like the final exam after 1500+ hours of study, and even then may have a lot not understood if you aren't familiar with the slang/dialect. This is especially true for heavily dialectical languages such as Chinese where it's common to always watch with subtitles on.

Re: 12 Months of Mandarin

#39

Post by joshdavham »

CollinEMac wrote: post #29

I'm always surprised when people mention watching shows in their target language as a study method. For me, I don't understand much and my mind starts to wander pretty quickly.

There are five tricks I'd recommend to stay focused.

1. Try watching something that is actually interesting. Often this could be something you'd like to rewatch that you've seen before, but now dubbed in your target language. 2. Try watching something that you understand. Search "[target language] comprehensible input". This content has been simplified for people like you. 3. Focus on what you DO understand, not what you don't understand. Not only does this not weigh you down, it also give you something to focus on. 4. Pop bubble wrap (or something). Watching a TV show is effectively "doing nothing" and this makes some people uncomfortable (sorta like struggling to meditate). If you can find something to do while you're "doing nothing", this can help a lot!

Re: 12 Months of Mandarin

#40

Post by thatsnotmepls »

CollinEMac wrote: post #29

I'm always surprised when people mention watching shows in their target language as a study method. For me, I don't understand much and my mind starts to wander pretty quickly.

Use subtitles and the extension Language Reactor. You can translate any sentence or word on the fly.
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