My method of study

I've been reading how other people study Chinese, and it's very different from how I'm doing it. Usually people will delay learning the writing system, or not push it that hard in fear of burnout. I am doing the opposite. I'm not actively studying words, grammar, or sentences just individual characters. After learning enough characters to read everyday material, then I will get serious about words and sentences. I think reading is the best way to learn the rules of grammar intuitively which is needed for near native fluency. You simply cannot learn the rules of grammar and then force individual words through a grammar algorithm. Computers can't do it effectively, and neither can we.

The other thing people do is listen. However, most people refuse to listen to things they cannot understand. I have been listening to Chinese constantly, whether I can understand it or not. I have noticed an improvement in remembering Chinese words after listening to Chinese constantly. My mind is becoming so familiar with the sound of the language I don't forget a word 5 seconds after learning it. I can also pronounce new words correctly after the first or second try instead of having to say it over and over again. The other cool thing that's been happening, I'll hear and word over and over and I can say the word perfectly but I don't know what it means. Then I'll be reading something and come across the word and *bang* it's instantly locked in my memory from hearing it repeated 10,000 times.

I used to completely block out the sounds of the Korean language when I lived in Korea. My mind simply did not want to listen to it. I did the same thing with Chinese initially, only listening to English music and watching English DVDs. Now, my mind craves the sound of Mandarin. I have no desire to listen to English music anymore, I just want to hear Mandarin, even though I can't really understand it.

I think there is a lot to be said for complete immersion, even when you can't understand the language. For the record, I'm still a newbie in Chinese. I can't hold a conversation and I can only use a few words here and there. I'm only up to 390 Chinese characters, but I've got my method down and time will take care of the rest.