Took four semesters of Zhongwen at UCF and used the New Practical Chinese Reader Texts but I still feel like I don’t know diddlysquat. I can get the gist of what my boyfriend and his family say when they talk to each other but I can only form very basic sentences. I would like to reach the point where I can fully understand what is being said and speak enough to tell jokes, have polite discussions, and explain how I feel or what I need.
Right now I’m listening to Serge Melnik’s listening files while I drive and I hope to watch more Taiwanese dramas to get a better sense of the language’s pace. And I might go over some NPCR texts for the vocabulary. I should write and chat to my Chinese language exchange friends more often, possibly use the mic feature on MSN. Maybe start skimming blogs? Although I’m nowhere near that level yet.
I wonder where I can get a hold of Chinese kid shows online though. Maybe I’ll just grab a few things when I’m in Shanghai or Taipei…
—-update june 26, 2009-——
I found a Chinese tutor that can help me get my speaking up to speed for 4-6 hours a week! Also, planning on attending a Chinese school on Saturdays starting August. I’m real excited.
In the meantime, I’m getting an overview of Chinese history from John King Fairbank’s China A New History.
—-update june 30, 2009-—-—
I’ve been reviewing from my old textbooks from college, 新实用汉语课本. Right now I’m trying to review about 3 chapters a day. I’m almost done with book one.
As of now, according to the book, I am capable of (albeit in a plain and simple way):
问候别人， 文需要，人指认， 问国籍， 问姓名， 自我介绍， 请求允许， 找人， 告别， 问地点，道谢，评论，建议，请求重复，婉拒，初次见面，谈专业，谈家庭，问职业，谈学校，约会，问年龄和出生，祝贺生日，喜欢不喜欢，解决语言困难，买东西 … etc.
—-update july 22, 2009-—-—
Been getting help from a Chinese friend online and the tutor on Sundays. Working on sentence structures and tenses atm.
