Even A Slow Month Learning Mandarin Taught Me New Things | Update

[@RoseyMarie]

Great update. Glad to see you are still at it!

[@peach9265]

I just recently hit my first 1,000 character milestone in the MB course and I was so excited about it!!! Good luck to you continuing your journey! 加油！

[@SeaboltSpeaks]

That is fantastic! Keep going!

[@tahall5646]

I am also learning MB. I agree with you completely that writing the characters and words is important. I am looking forward to your next update.

[@SeaboltSpeaks]

Really appreciate that! Happy studies, I hope you're doing well!

[@Yihwa-G__]

The further you get into learning a language, the more surprising it is how helpful a break can be. I usually stick to a pretty consistent study routine, but every year, I hit a phase where I just want to focus on something else, like picking up a new skill. This usually leads to a 6- to 8-week break from my language studies. I never plan on taking such a long break; it just happens. Whenever I finally come back to my languages, I can’t help but feel worried. But after just a couple of days, I’m always pleasantly surprised. I realize that the break might have actually helped me out instead of hurting my progress. In my case it is not Mandarin, as I am a native speaker, but I focus on Thai, Korean, and Spanish. After this year's break, I found that my speaking and listening skills in Thai and Korean were better than ever, even though I have to say I was already at a high intermediate or advanced level before the break. With Spanish, where I'm still a low intermediate learner, I did forget a few things, but I caught up pretty quickly in just a few days and even noticed my grammar improving, which my language exchange partner pointed out too. So, I’ve learned that breaks can really help connect the dots. But from past experience, when I was more of a beginner, taking a break longer than 1-2 weeks definitely set me back a bit. Moral of the story, breaks are really not that back, just get yourself back on track. I seems you did just that! Good luck with your studies.

[@SeaboltSpeaks]

I ALWAYS get pulled towards wanting to learn a new skill haha so i fully understand that. But yes, breaks are BIG BIG BIG, and can really help out!

[@RealDeal-up5gt]

Great work! Any videos of you speaking the language and putting into live practice?

[@SeaboltSpeaks]

I will be making those as i become more comfortable with conversing!

[@wastingtimeop]

I never write on paper. I often do write in the air with my fingers or write in my head, usually with my eyes closed. It takes time, but it I can write write it, I kinda own it. It helps separate it from very similar words later as well as clues you into other similar characters as to their meaning and pronunciation. 加油！

[@SeaboltSpeaks]

When i was on vacation I didn't write on paper, i did the same thing you did. Closed my eyes and wrote with my hand holding an invisible pencil on the desk!

[@alchemist_one]

Refold is great, but I have serous doubts about someone spending so much time so early on writing and focusing on simplified. I learned traditional characters in Taiwan and found the transition to simplified mostly painless when I lived in Beijing for a year and a half, but friends I've known who when the opposite direction had a much harder time. I think they took a bit longer to become comfortable readers, in terms of hours invested also. That said, a lot more people in Taiwan want to speak English if you look foreign, so there's an immersion advantage in China for many. IMO, the best path is to get really good at listening first, and then get into reading after your ears are really trained for the language. Anki is good as a supplementary tool to hold onto the vocab you're learned through listening and reading.

[@SeaboltSpeaks]

The beauty of language learning is finding the way that works for you. The odds of me ever going to China or Taiwan and virtually non existent right now, and most methods i've found teach simplified, so simplified is what I chose. I also do know a bit of "traditional" characters and how the components change from where i studied Japanese for so long. I have had much higher success in Mandarin from where in the beginning I spent so much time studying and getting a base, and now am dipping into immersing with a foundation. It's working really well.

[@joannawentworth9519]

Would you say that Mandarin Blueprint is worth it even if you don't use the mnemonic/making a movie feature? My brain doesn't learn like that, and it feels extremely unnatural to me, but I also believe their course could be a good way to get better at the characters, even if I use my own way to learn them. The structured approach and the 'building vocab' is a big part of what I need help with.

[@SeaboltSpeaks]

The whole course is centered around the mnemonics. HOWEVER, if you want simply a roadmap of which characters to learn and a really good flowing order to learn them then i'd say it's good. Plus it doesn't stop at 1000 or 2000 cards. They teach you well over 3000.

[@markchavez738]

I would get it if they had a monthly subscription. $1000 is just too much. I don’t know it’s tempting though.

[@SeaboltSpeaks]

They were supposed to change to a subscription based plan. Is that not working for you?

[@speakinggladly4122]

I tried the blueprint course links to see, but they didn't work.

[@SeaboltSpeaks]

Thanks for letting me know, i'm getting with them to see what's going on!

[@fernandoquiroz4474]

No one understand you. You talk very yankee dialect

[@SeaboltSpeaks]

Strange since i'm from the heart of Appalachia.

[@RoseyMarie]

You mean that you don’t understand him. I understand him perfectly fine. Most likely the rest of the people watching and commenting did too. No need to be rude. Also, that is nowhere near a yankee dialect/accent. He has an Appalachian accent.