The Most Difficult Thing About Chinese
Published on Sep 21
Photo by Dave Dugdale
By far the most difficult thing I’ve found about learning Chinese is measure words.
I came upon them when learning nouns during a Rosetta Stone lesson. As I was learning, a large point of confusion for me was that the word 书 (shū, book) came up often, and seemed to mean “book” when used alone, but it was often accompanied by the word 本 (běn), which didn’t seem to change its meaning at all. I couldn’t decide whether 本书 meant book, or 书 by itself meant book.
Pernicous Procrastination
Published on Sep 8
Photo by Victor Nuño
I’ve found lately that one of the hardest things to do during the time I’ve blocked off for studying is to, well, study. Now that the initial romance of the idea of learning a new language has become quotidian, I’m finding it surprisingly difficult to keep learning exciting.
In my current routine, I wake up at 7:15 and make coffee. By 7:25, I’m studying. I typically begin with Rosetta Stone, and do 2–3 exercises. I’ll then turn to Anki and drill my vocabulary words before returning to Rosetta Stone until about 8:45. Then I’ll get ready for work. That night, I’ll re-drill any vocabulary I forgot for the day on Anki, then perhaps do a few exercises on Rosetta Stone for iPhone or iPad (which are typically speaking drills of the vocabulary learned that morning).
Twelve Months to Fluency
Published on Sep 2
Photo by jessica
A great deal of the research around New Year’s resolutions suggests that 88% fail. According to studies, one large contributing factor tends to be that the goals are not measurable enough. For instance, it is easier to track whether a goal of “lose 10 pounds by May 1” is met than it is to concretely measure whether “spend more time exercising” is something you can check off your list.
Learning languages is no different. Continue reading…
Using Anki for Spaced Repetition
Published on Aug 24When you’re learning a new skill, it can be easy to forget information you’ve already encountered. A vast amount of research has been done to study remembering and forgetfulness in learning, and it has been shown that spaced repetition—being reminded of what you’ve learned at strategically spaced intervals—greatly improves your chances of recall. In this brief post, I’ll show you the tools I use for spaced repetition. Continue reading…
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Published on Aug 18Tonight, my wife and I watched Ang Lee’s exquisite Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. We had both seen it before, but we had both loved the beauty of the physics defying martial arts, so we decided to watch it again.
I had forgotten how frequently the movie drew the common parallel between calligraphy and swordplay, a theme explored in Jet Li’s Hero, another exciting, yet gorgeous film.
I was excited when, at the end, I recognized the characters in Ang Lee’s name. Continue reading…
Getting Started
Published on Aug 17After I initially became fluent in French, I had wondered at the possibility of learning a second foreign language. I was relatively competent in Spanish, but I thought of a new conquest. There were many that I wanted to learn; in fact, I can’t think of a single human language that I wouldn’t want to learn. But though I’d thought of learning Chinese, it always seemed too difficult. Continue reading…