hey guys ive been learning chinese for 4-5 months or so

we had the summer holidays and ive forgotten alot of it heh

i know quite a few people can speak chinese here..whats the best way to learn/study ?...right now my class is so difficult and i really struggle because i find it very difficult to read and write hanzi
in fact ive kind of given up on writing hanzi...i think its too late and im better off concentrating on my reading, grammer and oral

can any of you recommend good ways to study chinese...unfortunatly lots of Koreans have joined my class this smester and their chinese is much better than mine so the teacher is moving very fast at their pace..and im finding it really difficult to keep up

thanks

well, this question will never have just one answer, it depends on you, your motivation, what you wanna improve (seems to be read and write here), if you're willing to pay for it ect...

just a small add from a friend but you could go check out www.chinesetutor.net and ask Simon Laing to explain you a bit more. Say it comes from Lucille the Frenchy who was in Leeds.

Then, more seriously, play wow in Chinese, not English. It's gonna be hard at first but then, you'll be like swimming in a pool.
and in general, read comics and kids books in Chinese, you can even find comics translated like Garfield if you feel like it.

Then, do like the Korean must do all the time, talk to an Chinese friend all the time, chat on msn, watch DVDs subtitled, write pages of characters everyday...

Many friends also say the best way is to date a Chinese (but that would be more for your oral), but don't do that just to improve ur skills.

you also have www.chinesepod.com which is great for the oral (all levels included) and is free.
watch Chinese youtube on www.tudou.com, www.youku.com ...

Then, in Chongqing you have the univ of foreign languages or something like that. Every.... Thursday or Wednesday the students go to the Moon or the Sun place and chat according to the Language chosen (I think it was French on Thursday and English en Wednesday). Great way to socialise with Chinese students.

Or just buy a book to learn Chinese. The Beijing Univ Editions are quite alright, altough I'd recommend any with clear exercises in ENglish, Grammar and CDs / tapes to listen. (sorry don't have any precise name in mind, and I think Youfeng publishers would be the best but they're French).

But if you do it the CHinese way (memorising by heart without really thinking about it or using it in exercises ect...), you'll get bored and won't remember a thing.

Try to find fun ways to learn it like i suggested above, and don't compare yourself to the Koreans, I had the same problem and the teachers were just following their level, not the western students level which was shit. +, the Koreans in my class all cheated for their exams...

i don't know if that was very clear, but don't hesitate to ask me to clarify a bit more.

Let me teach you a secret of the ages. This is the ultimate method for learning any language.

First of all - you need motivation. You're a young man. I'm going to assume you're straight, however this technique (with minor modification) can work just as well for a homosexual.

The ultimate motivating factor in learning a language while in another country is _sex_. The most attractive women in China don't speak English very well, likely because they don't really need to in order to get whatever they like. So, to pick up those women, you need to improve your Chinese. When you go to a bar or club, people can't always hear eachother and communicate extensively with body language and gestures. If you're socially capable I would say you would be capable of reading and communicating in this manner, and while communicating, you'll soon realize you're listening "extra hard" to get what she means and let her know you want to take her home and show her why Chinese females tend to prefer foreign men.

Developing these non-English speaking female relationships is essential to speedy fluency in oral Chinese. You can even get a little chinese oral while you're improving.

For reading/writing I'm not too sure, I can only speak fluent, my SMS skill is still lacking (but it's improving due to maintaining my harem through a series of SMS communications and asking people around me "hey, what's this mean?" -- by the way, the "hey, what's this mean?" thing is another way to meet more oral Chinese teaching females.

Good luck.

Maximus.... you're only talking for western men here.... I'm a girl... it's sooo different for us.

Just, don't use someone to help you progress like that.

but oh-so-true.
i am soulbound, so i cannot Roll anymore. I got that BOP.
crap.

maximus wrote:

meet more oral Chinese teaching females.

the joy of double meaning sentences...

there is a second meaning, besides the one i am thinking of right now?????

Glob there is a slight sense of humor (although it really is true) intended with the post, please Fang Song, Fang Song.

Oh, and to adapt this method of learning for females: well, since most of the foreign women I've met in China express absolutely no sexual attraction to the men here I think it is suitable to find a foreigner fluent in Chinese, and force them to teach you in the same methods I mentioned above!

I believe the following quote clearly identifies the double meanings:
"Developing these non-English speaking female relationships is essential to speedy fluency in oral Chinese. You can even get a little chinese oral while you're improving."

nothing else to say ^^

thanks all for your replies