Finding the time to study Chinese

As a Chinese heritage language learner, the goal to learn Chinese is not for work or studies—it’s a voluntary endeavour. It’s more like a hobby. Without a study plan in place, learning Chinese quickly falls to the bottom of the to-do list in the face of more pressing priorities. To avoid this pitfall, we need to make time to study. This comes in three steps.

1. Set goals: The four strands of language learning

In Paul Notion’s “What do you need to know to learn a foreign language?”, he lists four strands of language learning:

• Learning from meaning-focused input (listening and reading)
• Learning form meaning-focused output (speaking and writing)
• Language-focused learning (studying pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar)
• Fluency development (getting good at using what you already know)

Heritage language learners have strengths in listening and speaking, but weak in reading and writing. We also need help with grammar and vocabulary. And depending on whether your family speaks standard Mandarin, you may need to work on pronunciation. Right now, take five minutes and think about your goals. Do you want to have more confidence speaking? Maybe you want to read a novel. Consider this on a quarterly basis. For the next three months, dedicating one skill per month, which ones are most important to you? For me, I want to develop my reading and writing skills. These two are most important to me because they are my weakest areas. This month I focused on writing (read 5 steps to improve your writing). Next month I will move on to reading. In the third month, I’ll move back to writing. From there, I’ll assess my progress and see how to proceed.

The inspiration behind developing one skill per month comes from Hacking Chinese Challenges. Anyone can join for free. I adopted this format for my own goals and join when the challenge interests me. I particularly like the idea of focusing on one area for a short period of time, instead of all at a time. It reminds me of the 100 day project, a global art project where thousands of people commit to creating. You create someone daily for 100 days. It’s short and intense, and you learn a lot during the process. By focusing on one skill per month, you just focus your energy on that area. 

If you need inspiration, the rotates between through these areas monthly. You can join for free or build your own set of challenges.

2. Building habits

Learning is not easy. So, we need tactics to make it easier. Consistency and routine is key here. Find a dedicated time and space to learn Chinese and prioritize that. Here is some research that supports this:

Decades of psychological research consistently show that mere repetition of a simple action in a consistent context leads, through associative learning, to the action being activated upon subsequent exposure to those contextual cues (that is, habitually)

Sometimes, you don’t get to choose when you learn Chinese. I have been learning while commuting to school twice a week. The total learning time is about 20 mins. To be honest, I want to spend more time learning, but I’m restricted by a busy work, school, and life schedule. So even just 40 minutes a week gets me by. Being consistent in small bits is better than one large chunk with lower frequency. I transfer two times, so I study vocabulary in the first bus. On the second bus, I spend a few minutes reading “Developing Writing Skills in Chinese” and complete one exercise, which is usually to write a paragraph in Chinese.

I could do this efficiently because I have systems in place. My Pleco deck is ready with flashcards I can fire up at a moment’s notice. And my book is with me on my commute. Studying doesn’t just happen; it requires some preparation. To improve listening, you could have a go-to podcast on hand so you can listen while driving or doing some chores. To improve reading, build a collection of reading materials.

3. Track your progress

I cannot stress the importance of logging progress. It has motivated me to be consistent and visibly shows my hard work. My preference is using Notion (it’s free for personal accounts).

Keep learning

I’ve been learning Chinese for some years now and sometimes I struggle to keep up. I’m curious about how you’ve been keeping up with learning Chinese—comment below to let me know what has worked for you.

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