Procrastination: 1 step forward 2 steps back

[antony73]

I would love to hear from anyone who suffers from procrastination in studying Chinese.

I began studing in 2006, and I'm no way near the level of 9 years study, even though I've been living in China now for nearly four years and have a Chinese wife.

Initially I began with Pimsleur I & II, then moved onto Chinesepod, although I believe my Chinesepod days are over for the time being. I am seriously considering going back to Pimsleur to brush up on pronunciation, and then going through Pimsleur III before moving onto the 'Chinese Made Easier' books, (1-5), even though book 3 would be my level. I feel I need to go back to basics.

I am finding it almost impossible to work through the Radicals. Something I have long endeavored to achieve. Radical study can become so dry after a couple of weeks. I have considered classes. But then, I like the control of self-study. Then again, I lack constant motivation in self-study.

I am aware that a little and often is better than chunks of study, both in terms of memorization and work load.

Does anyone have a similar experience of a lack of motivation or suffering with procrastination with their studies. I would be grateful for some words, either of a shared experience or words or encouragement.

Thank you.

 

[Shun]

Hi antony73,

I guess most people sometimes have periods of low motivation. What I think might help in your case would be to know yourself, to be aware of what you have already learnt and practice it in real life, so you will feel the effects of what you are applying and have more fun doing it. When I don't feel like studying, I just learn whatever is most fun, not what I *should* be studying, and start from there. If you build up a particular skill in Chinese which at first might seem useless in everyday life, you will see that it has relationships to other parts of the language, and in time you should be able to let that understanding grow to encompass those other parts.

So it's less a matter of forcing yourself to learn using a particular strategy, but of starting from where you feel comfortable, where you have a closer relationship to what you're learning. If you feel that no part of learning Chinese currently catches your fancy, why not try something more accessible first, like learning some French, and see how language learning works for you there. Much of what you learn in the process will be applicable to Chinese study.

As for learning materials, I still think the New Practical Chinese Reader is the most thorough, if you like to understand grammar from the ground up. I don't know Pimsleur.

 

[sobriaebritas]

Hello antony73,
Does your wife speak English?

 

[HW60]

I think you need a goal to learn a language. I know a man married with a Taiwan woman who wants to be able to understand his 3 year old son who also speaks chinese. After so many years of studying the books are probably not so important - try to read newspapers or listen to TV, if that is what you want to achieve.

 

[sobriaebritas]

Hello, antony73,

HW60 is certainly in the right: if you know that you want to learn to read, you have to start reading; if you know that you want to learn to speak, start speaking; and so on.

How are you doing with your Chinese studies? It looks like we both have more than one thing in common: your wife and mine are Chinese; and we both know to our cost how you feel when you're going "one step forwards, and two backwards" (for personal, professional and other reasons). I've been living in China now for almost twenty years.

After years of procrastination, endless ups and downs, ever newer software... I looked back at it all, and said to myself: "I'm not alone, because I'm not the only one who likes to learn a language in a way similar to mine (learners' background, needs, etc.); I don't really need (to understand, speak, write) Chinese, but I like it; so from now on, I'll look at my Chinese studies as a lifelong hobby." Today, a few years after that, I feel I'm going "two steps forwards, and one backwards"; I feel a lot less anxious-perfectionist; and I'm enjoying it moment to moment.

All we need to do is to know what we want.

Best of lucks!

P.S.
"You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes
You just might find
You get what you need"

 

[feng]

I would echo sobriaebritas. Just have fun with it. I consider my Chinese a hobby, yet over many years I have come to be able to do what I want with it. I find making it a hobby takes the pressure off. While I don't get up early and study Chinese for an hour every day, that's OK, because doing so would make me quit, and then how far would I have gotten with it? Lots of people out there will give you advice about how you have to 'man up' and go hard or go home, but that just leads to a high drop out rate. Trust me, you can become a fluent reader and speaker little by little.

Try to find things that particularly interest you in the language or culture, and then focus on those since you don't need to learn everything. That can provide motivation. Since you are in the PRC, Shun's advice about the New PCR series is good since it is a whole set you can work through (though you may not need or want to do the whole set). I'm not clear on your level, but as HW60 said, at some point you will need to venture into authentic materials (stuff written for native readers). It's a bit of a hump to get over, but it's worth it because that's why we learn a foreign language, right?

Also, try to put yourself into Chinese only situations as much as you can (at work, with friends, join a class or something). You can ask English speaking Chinese friends, "Can we speak Chinese for a change?" You can definitely do this, Antony.

 

[antony73]

Thank you all for your replies. Encouraging reads.

I think what you have said is right. I once had 'all things China' as my hobby, which is why I moved here, but have lost that somewhere along the way, hence studying for the sake of, not the love of it.

sobriaebritas, my wife does speak English, good English, although is extremely traditional in her outlook and does for sure appreciate the traditional and classical aspect of China. Perfect!

Well, to sobriaebritas. feng, HW60 and shun... I take my hats off to you sirs... THANK YOU!!!