Articles in the ‘Attitude and mentality’ category
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Learning Chinese is more like walking a thousand miles than running 100-metre dash
Learning Chinese is more like walking a thousand miles than running 100-metre dash. Make sure that your strategy works in the long term!
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Should you use an efficient method for learning Chinese even if you hate it?
Methods for learning Chinese can be good because they are efficient, because they to focus on the right content, or because they are enjoyable, allowing you to spend more time. But no method is good in all these ways at once, so what should you do if you just don’t like the most efficient method?
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Using the HSK as a roadmap to learning Chinese
For some students, the HSK is not just a proficiency test, but also a roadmap to learning Chinese. Is treating it as such a good idea? And if you do, what should you keep in mind?
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Learn Chinese efficiently, not quickly
Learning Chinese efficiently is a better goal for most people than learning Chinese quickly.
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How to study Chinese when you don’t feel like it
The more you study the better, but what if you don’t feel like studying at the moment? Instead of giving up, gear down and find ways of learning Chinese that suit your current state of mind.
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Are there any shortcuts for learning Chinese?
Some say that there are no shortcuts for learning Chinese, others say that there are many. So which one is it, are there any shortcuts for learning Chinese or not?
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Take responsibility for your Chinese learning now
You should be responsible for your own learning, and if you outsource that to someone else, the results might be disastrous. This might sound obvious, but I think the problem is widely overlooked, especially by students enrolled in language courses.
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How to learn from your mistakes and errors when learning Chinese
Making mistakes is a natural part of learning Chinese, but how can you make sure you learn as much as possible from the mistakes you make? The answer can be anything from “ignore it” to “stop everything you’re doing and get to the bottom of it”, and it all depends on what kind of mistake you’ve made!
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On accuracy, communication and comprehensibility when learning Chinese
Some think that as long as people understand you, accuracy doesn’t matter much, but others think that errors should be avoided at all costs. How serious are errors when trying to communicate in Chinese?
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Are authentic texts good for learning Chinese or is graded content better?
Authentic texts not written specifically for second language learners are rich, varied, interesting and engaging, but they can also be terribly difficult and confusing. Should you use such texts for learning Chinese, or are you better off using content tailored to language learners?
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