The Language Warehouse

I'm getting discouraged with my language learning. I feel I should be able to remember much more than I do. I'm always listening and trying to talk to myself in Chinese. However, when someone talks to me it gets all tangled in my mind. Some of the words I recognize but not enough of them to be able to understand the meaning of the sentence.

So I went Googling and discovered a few helps. One great help was The Language Warehouse. (I tried to locate it again, but it seems the site has been closed.) The key thing I learned there was the need for sleep. I average about five to six hours of sleep during the weekdays. My memory is terrible. I'm going to focus on sleeping more. I need it.

Exercise is important for increasing your ability to concentrate for extended periods of time.

The Warehouse also pointed me to SuperMemo program. This program allows you to collect all kinds of stuff, web pages, typed text, pictures, etc. Then it will schedule leaning periods. At their site there is lots of stuff to read about retaining the stuff you learn. They will even provide a free version of the program. One of the key things about learning anything is the need to schedule repetitions. It's the repetition the helps the long-term memory.

As is often the case when browsing the Internet, one thing leads to another and you end up blowing an hour finding good stuff to use.

Finally, repetition is key. Carry a book and write expressions and review them often. This single approach to language learning will increase your ability to remember the words and sentences.

...dave
Kindness: a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see. -Unknown