During the week I had a go at writing a nice entry about resolutions and choosing goals that resonate with your true aspirations. Unfortunately I ended up with a page of old guff, so instead I'm going to approach this the straightforward way. Here's what I'm going to do and why.
There's a lot of grammar and vocab I've covered briefly in lessons over the last three and a half years. Because I've not used it it hasn't stuck, and because it hasn't stuck I've not used it. Something needs to break the cycle, even if it does mean stepping away from the Pimsleur study that has been so effective. In line with the previously mentioned "
revised strategy", I also hope to produce the notes ahead of the lessons in future, although there will be a little catching up first during which time I will just read the chapters.
'08 Target : Produce notes to cover all the material in the first year of both Japanese and Mandarin; ideally one chapter per week
Last year as my study progressed I decided to take the JLPT Level 4 exam in December. However, when it got to registration time I quickly realised there was no way I'd be ready, so it didn't make sense to register. This was a reluctant admission, and I only really let myself off-the-hook on the basis that I would がんばります and be ready for the JLPT Level 3 this year (so in effect I would still be on the same timetable). So that's my challenge! I'd also like to do some research about the HSK (the equivalent exam for Mandarin) as I know very little about it right now.
'08 Target : Pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test - Level 3
According to "
ReadWrite Kanji" I have completed 246 kanji, and I definitely can recognise more than I used to. That said, I doubt I'd pass any JLPT level test of those symbols or be able to read them in sentences when I'm not provided with a neat set of four multiple choice options. I don't think radicals will always help decipher a symbol, but they may serve as good memory aids and I think they're the only way I'm ever going to learn two-thousand of the little beggers.
'08 Target : Know all the kanji required for JLPT Level 3, be able to read them in sentences (without multiple choice options)
I would like to get cracking with studying some of the Chinese characters too, but I'll need to take it slow and see if it impacts the kanji study, as the JLPT costs money and can only be taken once a year, so has to be the priority!
- Review the Pimsleur recordings I've already covered.
This includes having one in the car stereo and possibly typing up the notes I made in 2007. I might be tempted to work through the Mandarin one again, since its the language I have less experience of.
'08 Target : Listen to all 30 units of both Mandarin I and Japanese I again this year
To date the only thing I've managed to do with the plethora of rich online language resources and podcasts like ChinesePod and JapanesePod101 is make a mental note that at some point I should go back and "do them". Recently, inspired by
Keith's focus on listening and the ease of using Google's Reader plugin on iGoogle, I've started just listening to all the recordings as they come through on RSS
whether or not I am "ready" to hear them or will understand them. Everything gets air-time, right from the most basic of all the basics up to the insanely-beyond-me "media" entries at Cpod.
'08 Target : Listen to all ChinesePod and JapanesePod101 podcasts as they are published, listen to something in each language every day.
This is going to come from having the notes under control so I can refer to them and find how to say what I'd like to say. It'll be in written correspondence to start with but hopefully once requires less dependence on notes I'll be able to start having more conversations in Mandarin and Japanese too. A few days ago I used my notes to look up how to say "thank you" in Mandarin using Characters, so I've started already! It'd be nice to do some translation too, but we'll see how everything else goes first.
'08 Target : To feel confident enough to have a three minute conversation or write a 250 word e-mail in either Mandarin or Japanese
So there you go, that's where its at for 2008. They're not the most exhausting stretch goals in the world, and there's not as much new, exciting, shiny stuff there as I would like, but they are achievable and give me a little space to add other things in as the year goes on. I hope you'll come back often in 2008 to find out how I'm getting on, and see all the useful language resources I discover along the way!
Let's see if 2008 can be even more successful than 2007 for language study!
PS. Here's a little jingle from ChinesePod that amused me today:
"Working out is so 2007; chicks dig guys that speak Chinese! Make a new resolution - go to ChinesePod.com/succeed!"
They're advertising a special deal that gives you a free study plan and skype sessions if you sign up for Premium before the end of January. Definitely worth a look!
Subscribe via
Victoria
Post a Comment
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments