Main Site Blog Help

Repetition of new words and grammar points

Lesson Suggestion
#1

Hi guys,

I find it really hard to remember new words and grammar points especially the not so frequently used ones, because normally I only hear them in one lesson then on the next lesson there are more new words being introduced and so on, so it is quite hard to retain all those new words and grammar points. I do listen to lessons more than once but when you listen to the same lesson 3 times, it becomes a bit boring and I don’t pay as much attention to it. Would it be possible to make multiple lessons using the same words in different dialogues/situations so that we can remember all the new words through repeat listening in different context. I think it was much easier to retain new words at beginner and elementary levels because most of the words are high frequency but at intermediate level I feel like I’m constantly being bombarded by all these new words and grammar points and not enough repetition to make them stick.

Also, please can we have more everyday situation lessons for intermediate level? While I like the proverbs series, I find them less useful in everyday situation and in the last few months only proverb series are being released on intermediate level.

Thanks a lot :slight_smile:

1 Like
#2

Amy,
I can understand your frustration. ChinesePod was never meant to be a sequential set of lessons that build one upon another with reviews of previously learnt material. Rather it was based on the idea of a “top down” approach that focuses more on topics of interest and random “how do you say this” or “what do you say in this situation” with level classifications that have become increasing arbitrary recently. I would suggest that for vocabulary you do a search of individual words to see which other lessons at the elementary level also contain that word. Another way to go about it is if you have several words all dealing with bike riding you might want to try the search terms “bicycle”, “bike” , “biking” etc. You will probably find some overlapping vocabulary.

How to do this (on the current “normal dashboard” for the web site: (I am not familiar with the work-in-progress dashboard that you might find yourself directed to:
1: On the left had side of the page on the home screen, enter the word bike in the search box that says “keyword, lesson title …”
2. After you see the initial set of results, In the drop down menu for “levels” select elementary.

You will see a list of lessons related to the term “bike”.

Here’s another way to go about it:

  1. At the top of the screen, click on Tools and select Dictionary from the drop-down menu.
  2. Enter a search term. For example, you could enter “bicycle” or 自行车.
  3. You will see a list of lessons that contain the term, along with the level for that lesson. Click on “Go to Lesson”.

You can also do this to see more examples of certain grammatical structures. For example, if you enter 越 in the search term you can see how this is used.

I hope this is clear and helpful.

1 Like
#3

Hi Amy,

It’s really important to learn a new word in different contexts, and making good use of tools like Dictionary and search bar can definitely increase your exposure on unfamiliar words.

In addition to the tools mentioned by @podster (Thank you, @podster for making those wonderful suggestions) there’s also a very useful function in the old dashboard. It serves the same purpose as the dictionary, but it’s quicker!
In the vocabulary tab, you can see a double arrow icon on the right, next to the audio button. If you click on it, you will find a maximum of five lessons which contain this word.

擷取
擷取1504×343 33.1 KB

As for more everyday situation intermediate lessons, I’m glad you asked! I’m happy to tell you that we will launch a new intermediate dialogue series with interesting storylines and characters towards the end of February, stay tuned!

Rebecca

#4

There are a few ways.
One way is to make a playlist of the dialogues, if you have a Premium Subscription. And instead of only adding the one dialogue, add three of each dialogue to the playlist.
Another is Pleco, using Spaced Repetition in the flashcard settings.
The other way, the way that I use, is just keep going. The words and grammar will come up again.
Finally, I’d suggest you add Graded Readers to your routine, such as Chinese Breeze or any of the superb Readers on Pleco. Doubling your chance of new vocabulary and grammar presenting itself again.

#5

Thank you so much @podster for your clear instruction. I will try your suggestion.

@RebeccaChu I can’t wait for new intermediate lessons.

@antony73 Thanks for your suggestions. I use Mandarin Companion graded readers and I will try Pleco flashcard. I particularly want to do more listening exercises as I feel like it works the best for me in the past.