While doing various online Chinese language courses, I realised that at 40 memorising long lists of characters was not going to be quite as easy as it was 20 years ago, so I did quite a bit of research into learning, particularly around learning languages. Turns out learning lots of Chinese characters is pretty time-consuming, so there are plenty of resources on the net to help you do it efficiently. Quite a lot of research has been done on learning about learning.
One of the other obvious ones is keeping healthy - a lot of studies talk about the advantages of eating well and exercising, and making sure to optimise study time. I have always tried to make the most of my time but I'll confess I've never been very good at it! I tend to have bursts of activity for a few months and then let it fall off, which means the work gets lost pretty quickly too. I definitely plan on being very physically active in Yuxi though, because there are plenty of really nice areas to explore on a bike and the university has some nice sports facilities (it appears).
One of the cool things I found out was that most of the memorisation techniques that are still used today were invented a loooooong time ago. Association techniques are still pretty much the most effective way to memorise long lists of things, and they have been written about since the Ancient Greeks. Using memorisation techniques that have been around for millennia are a probably pretty reliable, and there really are no secrets - it just takes regular practice and some dedication. I *used* to have a memory that didn't require using techniques, I just remembered stuff. Not so much any more! Being disciplined is the key here.
Flash cards are another great tool, and have been around since at least the 19th century. I have been using the open-source Anki tool and it is pretty effective. The problem is that without using/seeing the characters regularly, they get forgotten pretty quickly too. I think I have some pretty good tools for when I can concentrate on it for most of the day though.
The massive advantage of language learning is that practicing your language with native speakers is a critical part of it - "consuming" large quantities of language is not just a good idea, it's obligatory. So that means going out to dinner or the movies with friends, getting involved in clubs or similar is actually *work*. So relaxing is work :-). Anyone who has spent time living in a foreign language that they are learning knows, a whole day just sitting around chatting or watching movies can be totally exhausting but it's also fun, so I'll definitely try and spend as much time "relaxing" as possible too.
I have a pretty ambitious goal for my year studying - I'd like to take the HSK exam (equivalent of IELTS/TOEFL/DALF, etc.) at the end of my time there and I have set myself C1 level as my goal. If I can learn an average of 10 new characters per day over the entire year then C1 will be achievable. Getting to C1 from a poor A1 in a year is a massive undertaking, but why aim low? :-).
One of the other obvious ones is keeping healthy - a lot of studies talk about the advantages of eating well and exercising, and making sure to optimise study time. I have always tried to make the most of my time but I'll confess I've never been very good at it! I tend to have bursts of activity for a few months and then let it fall off, which means the work gets lost pretty quickly too. I definitely plan on being very physically active in Yuxi though, because there are plenty of really nice areas to explore on a bike and the university has some nice sports facilities (it appears).
One of the cool things I found out was that most of the memorisation techniques that are still used today were invented a loooooong time ago. Association techniques are still pretty much the most effective way to memorise long lists of things, and they have been written about since the Ancient Greeks. Using memorisation techniques that have been around for millennia are a probably pretty reliable, and there really are no secrets - it just takes regular practice and some dedication. I *used* to have a memory that didn't require using techniques, I just remembered stuff. Not so much any more! Being disciplined is the key here.
Flash cards are another great tool, and have been around since at least the 19th century. I have been using the open-source Anki tool and it is pretty effective. The problem is that without using/seeing the characters regularly, they get forgotten pretty quickly too. I think I have some pretty good tools for when I can concentrate on it for most of the day though.
The massive advantage of language learning is that practicing your language with native speakers is a critical part of it - "consuming" large quantities of language is not just a good idea, it's obligatory. So that means going out to dinner or the movies with friends, getting involved in clubs or similar is actually *work*. So relaxing is work :-). Anyone who has spent time living in a foreign language that they are learning knows, a whole day just sitting around chatting or watching movies can be totally exhausting but it's also fun, so I'll definitely try and spend as much time "relaxing" as possible too.
I have a pretty ambitious goal for my year studying - I'd like to take the HSK exam (equivalent of IELTS/TOEFL/DALF, etc.) at the end of my time there and I have set myself C1 level as my goal. If I can learn an average of 10 new characters per day over the entire year then C1 will be achievable. Getting to C1 from a poor A1 in a year is a massive undertaking, but why aim low? :-).
