Learning Chinese is difficult because there are so many characters to learn. Tones are hard to master for a native English speaker. Learning characters takes a lot of focus and energy. Holding the characters in your memory requires a lot of repetition.
The Chinese language never stops to amaze me at how beautiful and rich it is. Each character has so much inner meaning. Looking at Chinese characters makes me feel good. I have been studying Chinese since the summer of 2001, but I haven’t made as much progress as I would have liked to.
I need to dedicate myself more to studying Chinese with more consistency. Studying Chinese requires a fundamental fresh look at communication and culture. One that can’t be understood using the mechanics of the English language.
I’m trying to understand what I need to do to learn Chinese. Do I have enough determination? Do I spend enough time on it? Have I been focused enough? Should I listen to more Pimsleur Mandarin Chinese audio lessons? Or should I attend a class where I’ll need to engage and participate? Perhaps I should try speaking more at home.
I enjoy the ABC’s of Chinese app but haven’t been very consistent with using it. I’ve downloaded the app on my iPad, and have bookmarked the site in my web browser for easy access. Memorizing the characters has not been easy. Handwriting the characters in long form seemed to be one of the more effective methods I’ve tried.