Tuesday’s presentation provided helpful direction by allowing me to use my reactions to the beginning of my language learning to guide the structure I wanted to create, and by reminding me how important it was to be specific and set goals to stay on track. I realized that, while I had a decent idea of how beginning my sessions would work (and how I could apply the brief introduction I had given myself over the summer and on breaks), it was important to have set concepts to understand how I could adjust to moving more quickly or slowly than expected and mark my progress. My tutor said that he believed some elements of textbooks could be slightly inefficient or confusing, and I had originally planned for more hands-on, direct learning with speaking, listening, reading, and writing, but I did search our library and found The Accurate Use of Chinese, by Wen-Hua Teng, which was written for English speakers. I believe I can use it to check any concepts I might not fully understand and see more grammatical, form-focused explanations of the topics I study. I do plan to use some flashcard sets (usually those designed for college students or beginning vocabulary), but I will write the words and pronounce them to build stronger familiarity. I have also found multiple syllabi from colleges, high schools, and my study abroad program that I will use to track how my progress compares and outline the ways to reach my goals. Currently, my plan covers seven weeks, after which I will evaluate my current ability and give myself time to create more planning based on common errors, new ideas I come to understand, and any further information on future courses. During the first week, I studied basic pronunciation and the Pinyin system, writing systems, past and future tenses, and numbers and numbering. Following that, I hope to learn “survival” phrases, foundational vocabulary, and question endings in week two; adjectives, conjunctions, and more writing in week three; adjectives and adverbs in week four; continued conversation practice in week five; pronouns and modifiers in week six; and then create a benchmark measure (possibly some sort of quiz) in week seven. My classmates seemed to find this plan sufficiently detailed, and I actually received great feedback about engaging with media from my presentation partner. I mentioned that I wanted to find material like children’s shows (for repetition), as well as more day-to-day TV and music (to understand basic conversation), and poetry and advertisements (to practice with short, direct texts conveying a central message). My partner suggested using modern material to practice with more current vocabulary, which I found really helpful, and I also plan to discuss what might be best for my level as I progress with my tutor.
I hope to learn Mandarin first to prepare for the study abroad experience I hope to have in China – I would like to be better able to communicate and engage with others once there (as well as navigate a new place with slightly more awareness). In the long term, I am interested in a career in diplomacy or analysis, and I believe learning Chinese and Spanish (which I have studied for some time previously) will allow me to be better able to study both regions, understand the perspectives of people there, and learn more about the connections between them. I am excited to continue the learning process in both 105 and 110 and form a better understanding of how languages function and how to communicate through new ones.
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