I am still studying Chinese, but not with quite the intensity that I had before. I spent lots of time studying in June and July, but cooled off considerably in August and September. For most of August and September, I was traveling around the Northern part of China, and therefore had less time to commit to studying.

I was not very motivated to study, this is especially true for the latter part of September. We are in October now, and now I want to renew my efforts to study and make progress. What I can say about the past few months is that my reading level has not really increased that much, but my speaking and listening has. My speaking and listening is catching up to my reading. My handwritten Chinese is still very poor. When I switched to Intermediate, I really felt the change in difficulty. While I was learning a lot more, I really could feel the strain of the increased difficulty. It requires a lot more effort to study the intermediate level lessons than the elementary lessons. There is a huge difference.

I guess that I am in a transition period right now in terms of my Chinese learning. I don't know which direction to go. Here are some possible outcomes;
- I could stop studying. This happened to me last year at this time. I simply stopped studying Chinese for my first few months here. My increase in responsibility and the realization of the fact that my Chinese was so poor was too overwhelming, so I simply stopped studying. I am facing a similar situation now. In the past week (before the 1st), my studying had been lackluster at best. I did study a little bit, but it was just a token effort. I want to acknowledge this situation so that I can do work to prevent a complete stop in studying.
- I could work solely with Chinesepod. This is a possibility. I use a number of resources to study Chinese. I may simple stop using the rest, and stick with Chinesepod. I am seriously considering this option. I will, however, use a tutor if one becomes available.
- I could diversify my study efforts. I may seek out additional resources to use to study Chinese.

I don't know which direction I will choose. Today, I hope that I don't simply give up.

Yesterday, I started going through the flashcards I was using last year to see how many I remember. I am about a third through the stack, and I can read more than half. It is interesting because I am using a better developed thinking process to attempt to read the words. It is like trying to solve a puzzle. So far, I feel satisfied with what I am finding with this process.

Today, I took the Chinesepod placement test. I seem unable to do well on this test. According to this test, I am still a Chinesepod newbie. The test seems very difficult. Despite all the time that I have spent studying Chinese, my score is not improving. I do believe that I am improving, but the placement test does not support this belief.

Well, I don't want to think too much about the placement test. Instead, I will focus my efforts on improving my Chinese.

02 year 06 weeks into study

After I arrived to China, I felt discouraged about the amount of Chinese that I knew. It is very difficult for people to understand what I am saying, and it feels overwhelming at times. In the past week or so, I have been studying much harder than I was when I first arrived. I am focusing more on speaking/listening than I did when I first started. It is something I wish I did more of when I was learning in the states.

01 year 26, 27, and 28 weeks into study

These past few weeks have been mixed in terms of effort that I have placed in Chinese studying. During most days, I have put at least some effort into studying. I have done well in the past few days especially, really studying the verbal part. I experienced a setback concerning my flashcards. When I went to Florida, I had accidentally left my bag with my flashcards at my sister's house. I asked someone to grab my bag, and while the bag was en route, it got wet. Many of my flashcards got wet, and I am less than thrilled (gross understatement). I am also missing four flashcards as well, and I am hoping that they turn up. I understand that I am probably more angry than I should be about them, but I did put a lot of work into making them, and I am trying hard to learn Chinese.
Chinese is proving to be a very difficult language to learn. I do keep at it, but sometimes I don't feel that I am making progress. Other times, I feel that I will never learn the language because I am too old (I think I have discussed this in an earlier entry, but the thoughts continue to arise). I plan to continue to study, I have lots of time until I leave for China. Currently, my plan is to hopefully be able to speak enough Chinese to get my basic needs met. Well, that is all that is on my mind right now (I feel like I am beginning to sound like Phil DeFranco).
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13jun09-1633h... edit
Here is my latest stack photo;

01 year 03 week into study

What a frustrating few days. My computer is acting weird, specifically, it takes forever for the words that I type to show up. This will be a short update. I have flashcards for about 322 terms, acquisition on about 285 or so, and proficiency on about 190. I did only a few podcast lessons. this is too frustrating, I guess this is it for now.