This month has been a consistent month for my language learning as usual. I have stuck to my usual routine of studying Mandarin Chinese four times a week for 30 minutes each and studying Cantonese Chinese three times a week for also for 30 minutes each. On top of this, I do one hour a day of Cantonese exposure.
For those of you that weren’t aware I use the websites ChineseClass101.com and CantoneseClass101.com. I have a lifetime subscription to all 34 languages on the website. I like to use this platform because I have repetitive strain injury in my hands so apps such as Duolingo can’t do for me.
Overall I will break this down into Mandarin Chinese active study, Cantonese Chinese active study and Cantonese Chinese exposure:
Mandarin Chinese active study:
Overall I feel that Mandarin Chinese is progressively improving and learning new vocabulary and grammar structures. I also recently completed the second exam out of three with a pass and am now doing the top third of absolute beginner, which is good news.
For me, at the moment it’s unnecessary to memorise many Chinese characters. However, my goal will be to memorise more simplified Chinese characters.
Lessons completed: 95
Flashcards studied: 544
Time studied: 8 hours and 52 minutes
Cantonese Chinese active study:
In total it seems that my Cantonese is slowly progressing and getting better over time. I’m now learning more low-frequency words such as the Berlin Wall and hypnotism. At this stage, however, I am not expecting massive improvements overnight; I am improving slowly as I’m more exposed to language over a longer period.
I’m finding SRS flashcards and developing this set of flashcards to be great in increasing my vocabulary range. For this tool, I use flashcards on the website CantoneseClass101.com and as well as this I used the app Anki which is great in order to create my own flashcards.
Lessons completed: 4
Flashcards studied: 592
Time studied: 2 hours and 56 minutes
Cantonese Chinese exposure:
For this, I do multiple activities that target speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in a language.
What I mainly do is communicate with others via HelloTalk and iTalki. Watch Hong Kong dramas and TV shows. Write my blog and improve my creative writing in the language. Do intensive reading on blogs or website articles and extensive reading on Chinese novels.
Overall I found that this helped me a lot to balance out the four skills in a language and help equalise my improvement in all the four skills of the language.
Time: 1 hour+ a day (28+ hours)
Conclusion:
What about you? How did your language learning go last month? Let me know in the comments below. On how to start learning Cantonese Chinese or other languages click here.
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