Expert: Terry Thatcher Waltz - 12/28/2005

Question
WHAT HELPED YOU TO LEARN CHINESE? BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN LEARNIG FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND HAVE REACHED A POINT TO WHERE I DON'T FEEL I'M LEARNING ANY MORE.  

Answer
Hi James,
Well, the best thing is to take a diversified approach to your learning. If you don't already do so, you might want to use flashcards, or change your flashcards from paper ones to computer or PDA-based ones. There is a great program I recommend to everyone at www.mapletop.com; it's called SuperMemo and the Palm OS version is excellent for learning vocabulary.
If you can manage a language exchange -- either in person or over the Internet -- that would probably also help a lot, both for learning new things and for keeping your motivation high. Finally, of course, a nice trip to Taiwan or the PRC would be a great way to pick up more Chinese, buy lots of books and tapes, and really use your language. If you don't use Chinese in real situations, it's easy to feel that you're not making progress, so try to find or manufacture some situations if you can.

Hope this helps. But remember, too: most people say it takes them five to six years to really feel "any good" at Chinese. I've been doing it for over 20 years and still learn something new every day. Like the Chinese proverb says, "huo2 dao4 lao3, xue2 dao4 lao3..." (You keep learning all your life, but you never learn it all.)