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Mandarin Chinese Challenge- TAC 2014 | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| BaronBill Triglot Senior Member United States HowToLanguages.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4690 days ago 335 posts - 594 votes  Speaks: English*, French, German Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Persian | Message 1 of 39 16 December 2013 at 8:35pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hello,
Welcome to my TAC 2014 log for Mandarin Chinese! Before I get into the nitty gritty of my study plan, I would like to define my version of “conversational fluency” for the purpose of my challenge this year. Basic FUNCTIONAL conversation ability: 1. I would like to be able to talk about myself, my family, my work, and my hobbies as well as ask others about theirs. 2. I would like to discuss specific topics that interest me (ie: languages, board games, sports, etc). 3. I would like to be able to talk about my day in detail and understand the same from a native or advanced speaker. 4. I would like to be able to discuss common everyday chat about typical subjects (the weather, food, movies, books, etc) 5. I would like to be able to speak with a reasonable accent at a consistent, fluid pace (even if that pace is substantially slower than native) 6. I would like to be able to understand the language spoken at a reasonable pace using fairly basic/common vocabulary. I do NOT need to: 1. Be able to talk about politics or science. 2. Be able to have in depth philosophical conversations or debates. 3. Be able to speak at native level speeds. 4. Be able to understand subtle nuances (ie: jokes, undertones, double meanings, etc) 5. Be able to understand full speed native speech unless the vocabulary is fairly basic (top 1500-2000 words). Without further ado, here are the goals and plan so far: I am starting basically from scratch. My goals with this language are to reach “conversational fluency” in speaking only. I will not even attempt any reading or writing which should help immensely. I did study Cantonese for a few months to about an A1ish level, so I’m hoping that the fewer tones and similar pronunciation/grammar should give me a slight boost. I will only be using pin yin so no characters at all. I have a plethora of resources to help me out with this undertaking, including: * Pimsleur Mandarin I, II, and III * Michel Thomas Mandarin – Foundation, and Advanced * Teach Yourself Complete Mandarin * Practice Makes Perfect: Beginning Chinese with CD-ROMs, Interactive Edition * Chinese 24/7: Everyday Strategies for Speaking and Understanding Mandarin - Wolfe, Albert * Basic Spoken Chinese Practice Essentials (Basic Chinese) - Kubler, Cornelius C. * Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar: A Student's Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors -Herzberg, Qin Xue * Chinese for Beginners: Mastering Conversational Chinese - Yi Ren and Xiayuan Liang * Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (Modern Grammars) - Claudia Ross and Jing-heng Sheng Ma * Speak Mandarin in Five Hundred Words - Chang Fu Mei My plan is to go through Pimsleur and Michel Thomas everyday and start using the Practice Makes Perfect CD-ROMs. Once I’m done with Pimsleur I (lessons 1-30) and Michel Thomas Foundation and Advanced, I will move on to Teach Yourself and Chinese for Beginners. I imagine I will take it from there with vocabulary and intense grammar study. I intend to utilize all of my resources so as to avoid burnout with one course. I will also be using ANKI extensively for pin yin vocab and sentence structures. As stated above, my goal is to have conversations, real conversations. I’m hoping to start italki tutoring in a couple months and ultimately fit in real life meetups. I know this is ambitious, but I know I can do it! Stay tuned for the kick-off on 1/1/13. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Silbermond Diglot Groupie United Kingdom xuexisprachen.wordprRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4357 days ago 64 posts - 79 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Mandarin, Italian, Spanish | Message 2 of 39 16 December 2013 at 11:32pm | IP Logged | ||
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Ooh, I look forward to seeing your log progress along with your language skills and to
being part of the Chinese Team with you this year :D. You seem so organised and prepared already, haha. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| joehaz21 Newbie China Joined 4364 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes Speaks: English* | Message 3 of 39 17 December 2013 at 12:50pm | IP Logged | ||
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I want to join your team.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| LangWanderer Diglot Pro Member Australia digintoenglish.com Joined 4539 days ago 74 posts - 97 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: Korean, French, Mandarin Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 39 17 December 2013 at 1:03pm | IP Logged | ||
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I like that you have clearly thought about your goals and that, equally importantly, you've set boundaries for what you're not trying to achieve. I'm looking forward to reading how you progress!
2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BaronBill Triglot Senior Member United States HowToLanguages.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4690 days ago 335 posts - 594 votes Speaks: English*, French, German Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Persian | Message 5 of 39 27 December 2013 at 3:35am | IP Logged | ||
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I couldn't wait until 1/1/14. I admit I have started a bit early. I have listened to Pimsleur I, units 1-5 and Michel Thomas Foundation CDs 1-3. I have also been listening to a dozen or so Newbie Chinesepod lessons sporadically. I have a decent grasp on pronouns and a few VERY basic verbs.
I really like how the Michel Thomas course goes really over the top on tones. It's kind of annoying at first, but I find that it definitely makes me hyper-aware of them. That's about it so far. Trying to just stick to these guilty pleasures until 1/1/14 (the REAL kickoff)! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| kraemder Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5185 days ago 1497 posts - 1648 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 6 of 39 27 December 2013 at 5:39pm | IP Logged | ||
I look forward to reading about your progress. I'm glad there's other Chinese learners starting from nothing too. And you look so organized. haha. I am not totally disorganized but I feel I should make some more specific goals to make it more fun. Regarding the tones.. I noticed that the pod casts I was listening to didn't really go overboard with it. They don't ignore it. Which actually made me feel pretty relieved haha. What are you doing regarding the hanzi? Are you focusing on conversation over literacy for a while? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| BaronBill Triglot Senior Member United States HowToLanguages.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4690 days ago 335 posts - 594 votes Speaks: English*, French, German Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Persian | Message 7 of 39 27 December 2013 at 5:47pm | IP Logged | ||
My goal this year is strictly speaking and listening. If all goes according to plan, I would like to start with characters next year. Thanks for reading! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| BaronBill Triglot Senior Member United States HowToLanguages.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4690 days ago 335 posts - 594 votes Speaks: English*, French, German Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Persian | Message 8 of 39 01 January 2014 at 2:25am | IP Logged | ||
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Hey Gang!
I started off the eve of the New Year with some vocab/ANKI work as well as working through the first 3 lessons of "Speak Mandarin in 500 words". I also browsed a couple of phrase books and wrote down some interesting phrases. Stay tuned! Happy New Year! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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