Hi,
Like other users, I found a “steep jump” from intermediate to upper intermediate, even when I start with the first lessons in each category (curriculum, grammar, HSK 5, etc.). I can’t find bridge lessons from intermediate to upper intermediate. A search for “bridge” within intermediate, for example, returns only two or three lessons. I did see a blog post for this from two years ago and I wonder if this has been addressed more recently.
Thank you,
A Chinese pod-ophile?
Hello,
That is a good question. I understand your struggle with the large gap between intermediate and upper-intermediate level. According to this post (Intermediate to Upper Intermediate Bridge lessons), the following are all bridge lessons:
You’re Infuriating
Typhoon Warning
Too Much Pressure on Kids
Buying Cheap Shares
Culling Stray Dogs
Please let me know if there’s any lesson that you can’t find.
I would say the rule of thumb is that the upper-intermediate lessons from 2005 to 2014 are the easiest, and it’s best if you stick with the topics that you’re familiar with. The themes at upper-intermediate level can be very broad and specialized, and if you watch the lessons without selecting the topics, it can get too overwhelming for you really quickly. Could you let me know which topics you are interested in and what do you want to learn? I can look into our library and give you some lesson recommendations if you want!
Rebecca
Have to admit my first Upper Intermediate lesson, “Wine Tasting” did give me a bit of a shock especially the lesson audio. I worked through the lesson with my tutor and found that it was hard but not as hard as I first thought. I have started to flick between an intermediate lesson and the upper course to ease myself in, which is helping the confidence levels. That might be the best way to ease in to the upper course. Hope that helps others feeling the same way, you need to stretch yourself to move on up.
Yes that’s absolutely right, diving into a new a level in a “cold turkey” way would be extremely difficult (especially upper-intermediate) and it’s best if you go back and forth between the two levels and study them simultaneously. There is nothing wrong with going back to the lessons at a lower level and you can always find something new to learn about every time you study a lower level lesson.
Rebecca
Are there any plans to structure an All the Way to Upper Intermediate course, as you have to Intermediate?
Right now we don’t have plans to expand the series to upper-intermediate level as the grammar structures and vocabulary become quite complicated at this level and it really requires the learners to practice a lot to make the transition from intermediate to upper-intermediate. However, we do have some easier upper-intermediate lessons that can be seen as bridge lessons to make the jump easier!
The older upper-intermediate lessons (pre 2015) are way easier than the newer ones (like last 3-4 years). In general I feel the level has gone up a bit - so starting with older stuff is usually easier than the newest lessons (also for intermediate and advanced).
Over the years we have experienced some shifts in the academic levels, for example the upper-intermediate lessons became harder due to the hiatus of media level lessons in around 2015. After 2018, however, we reintroduced the media level and tried to produce easier upper-intermediate lessons that are more comparable to the ones pre 2015. So I would also suggest starting with pre 2015 lessons, move on to post 2018, and then tackle the ones in the years between.
I am currently trying to bridge this gap. Thanks for the info. It would be nice if there were more transitional lessons.