Main Site Blog Help

Upper elementary?

#1

Hi there,
We are few to think the bridge between intermediate and elementary is quiet hard.
I know that before there had some bridge lesson, but now… not anymore… i really think elementary is easy to learn, the vocabulary is fine, the dialogue as well etc…
But intermediate, im lost because the dialogue are too long, too much vocabulary, they speak too fast :stuck_out_tongue:
I like learn intermediate, but i must learn it in front of my computer and be 100% focused… and with elementary i can just listen and thats fine… i dont feel any progress with elemtary but with intermediate im completely lost!

So an upper elementary or bridge lesson could be welcome :smiley:
Any comments?

#2

Hi,

I have the same problem as you, most elementary lessons are too easy but intermediate lessons are usually too hard.

There’s a method you can use to make the lessons look easier. Start looking at the sentence separately, studying the shortest and easiest at first.

Then you can take a look at expansion and grammar tabs.

Finally, go back to the dialogue, to take a look at the difficult sentence before studying the text as a whole.

Here a few intermediate lessons I have found easier

I’m an alien
Cake thief

1 Like
#3

I’ve found that the upper levels have to be studied as you say, in front of the computer with 100% focus. To be able keep up with naturally spoken Chinese requires a lot of practice. A LOT A LOT of practice. But there are a few things you can do both directly and indirectly to help with the transition.

Directly: When studying an intermediate lesson don’t start with the podcast. Start by studying the dialogue inside and out. When I study a lesson, I take the following steps:

  1. Listen to the dialogue once, trying to understand as much as you can of it.
  2. Read over the vocabulary list. Then listen to the dialogue again, trying to pick out as much new vocabulary as you can.
  3. Study each line using the dialogue tab. Aim for 100% comprehension with each line.
  4. Listen to the whole dialogue another one or two times. Your comprehension should be a little better now (though probably not 100% yet)
  5. Now you should be ready to listen to the podcast, where you can get further insights into the vocabulary and cultural aspects.
  6. Review the dialogue the next day.
  7. Put the dialogue into an iTunes playlist and review old dialogues every once in a while.

Indirectly: Don’t just listen to Intermediate podcasts. You should be practicing your Chinese comprehension in a variety of ways. Here are my recommendations.

-Put lots of Elementary dialogues in a playlist and listen to them en masse.
-Check out Glossika. It’s a great way to get in tons of listening practice.
-Read graded readers like Mandarin Companion and Chinese Breeze. It’s a great way to internalize Chinese grammar, especially since it is written and you can read it at your own pace.

加油！

#4

About the way to study intermediate, I already do exactly like you :wink: that’s funny

But that’s a good idea to keep elementary lesson. Basically the elementary most of the vocab are already known. So I can listen just on the road. But clearly intermediate, not yet. There is some quiet easier, some other I can’t… I think when I will be definitively transfer to shanghai I will go faster.

With that I’m using skritter for HSK list, and apply it with The Chairman’s bao. Both together is quiet usefull. I’m trying it since only few days.

I’ve just discovered madarin companion, I bought one book on kindle for ipad. I will check it…