Studying a whole NCPR book in one month?

[elvisrules]

Is this possible?

I'm following a slow Chinese evening course here in Belgium, which follows the NCPR 1. The course will last the whole year.

I would like to speak thinks up a little, as otherwise it will take me 6 years just to reach HSK level 6... So I've been considering following an intensive Chinese course in China this summer.

I'm wondering if it possible to study the entire NCPR 2 in one month?

If so, which language school/universities would people recommend, and why?

(It would have to be someplace that follows the NCPR as that is what I would be following once I get back.)

Thanks

[kdavid]

Sure it's possible. But will you be able to retain it all--that's the important question?

If you're studying in China and using it everyday, then the chances of a high retention rate are high. If you're studying at home and not using it, you may be able to get through the book, but probably won't remember much.

Pace yourself and study for retention. Having gone through a whole book isn't worth much if you can't recall the information in it.

[renzhe]

One month is a bit fast. You likely won't retain much. I would only recommend do it if your level is already beyond it, so you can speed through it.

I finished the NPCR series on my own (the pace was too slow for me too), and I did it by doing one lesson per week, with a review of last lesson every weekend. That seemed to work well.

At that speed, you're looking at 2.5 -3 months per book.

[elvisrules]

Thank you for the replies.

I will be studying in China, hopefully intensively through "total immersion", as I have found that system to work very well for me with other languages, so I think my rate of retention would be high.

Does anyone know at what uni/language school I could immediately start studying NCPR 2 at? (I don't want to waste 1 week reviewing NCPR 1 for example)

And how far through it I would be after a 4 week summer course? Or 6 weeks? Is there no language school which would go through this whole book in 6 weeks?

Thanks

[Bob Carasik]

I went through something roughly similar, BLCU's "301 Juzi", in four weeks, at Konall Cultural Institute in Shijiazhuang last Spring. It felt great but I didn't retain it all that well. I'm back in the US, taking a university extension course which took me through the last 1/2 of NPCR 1 last Fall (largely review), and will cover the first 1/2 of NPCR 2 this winter, starting into new territory. I have a conversation tutor once a week, and I'm making OK progress. But if I had only one month I'd have rather had more intensive conversation and less focus on the book learning.

[reallych1932]

I did it in less than a month I think--

But i was jusgt learning the characters (at this time my written Chinese was way behind my spoken)

My advice is to learn to read all the characters on a first reading of the book--

Put them into mnemosyne

Later learn to write them

and keep on reviewing

Good luck

[wrbt]

What's that book 10 chapters of mainly one big dialog and a couple smaller listening/reading passages? That's a chapter every three days, it would be a balls-to-the-wall pace but definitely doable if you're okay with the time commitment.

I'd have the same reservations about retention as others have mentioned though... especially in the first year of study when you're getting most of the common grammar patterns thrown your way. Hell I'd recommend people duplicate 1st and 2nd year books with different series to get a nice foundation, like do NPCR along with something like David and Helen or Shifting Tides.

[Scoobyqueen]

6 years just to reach HSK level 6.

There appears to be no correlation with NPCR and HSK exam scores. You would have to use other material to get that grade (consider for example the listening part which contains colloquialisms - often Beijing slang).

Edited July 7, 2009 at 11:52 AM by Scoobyqueen

[wrbt]

I had always assumed those books were meant for a semester anyway, not a year. As in:

First year

CHI 101 - NPCR-1

CHI 102 - NPCR-2

Second year

CHI 201 - NPCR-3

CHI 202 - NPCR-4

Third year

CHI 301 - NPCR-5

CHI 302 - ?

[chinahandinfo]

I think if you're studying IN China then one textbook per month is what you should be aiming for, even studying by yourself. If your taking one-to-one classes and living IN country you shouldn't have any problems completing a textbook each month then putting what you learn into practice on the ''streets'' to really reinforce it.

[atitarev]

I think if you're studying IN China then one textbook per month is what you should be aiming for, even studying by yourself. If your taking one-to-one classes and living IN country you shouldn't have any problems completing a textbook each month then putting what you learn into practice on the ''streets'' to really reinforce it.

Yeah, that's one good working approach. Some people prefer larger volumes of materials rather than trying to memorise and do a lot of reviews of what they study. If you use the first method, the most important and frequent words, expressions and patterns will be memorised.

[wrbt]

I agree atitarev.

When I started out I was big on going back to review and getting frustrated that I'd forgotten older vocab. These days I just keep on plowing thru new materials, and the useful stuff will eventually stick.

[renzhe]

What I found helpful was to work through two or more textbooks in parallel.

You get your volume and more language variety, but you don't end up speeding way past your level too quickly.

[atitarev]

I use a formal textbook for a more thorough studies and a reading book for more exposure, vocabulary building. Yes, learning Chinese takes time.

I find myself reluctant to do exercises, especially from Chinese to English when there is no answer to check against. I should use the technique of "shadowing", which is extremely useful for getting natural accent and memorising sentences in full but a bit tiring. Although I said, going through a lot of stuff quickly is one good approach. It is important to slow down sometimes and do very thorough exercises. I studied volume 3 quite thoroughly with reviews far between, although, as I said I didn't do all exercises and skipped Hanzi tasks entirely. I am taking time with volume 4, managing to read/listen to some short stories between lessons. I kind of enjoy coming back to the textbook where most stuff is explained for you and get some grammar points / patterns (grammar is not heavy at all in volume 4).

Anyway, 3 more lessons, and I finally start volume 5. As for the speed, I think one month for one volume is realistic - that was my go at vol. 3 and that was rather thorough - main texts, vocab, additional texts, grammar, listening (at least 3 times) and at least one review per lesson. I read through all exercises in the main text. I was happy with the passive retention but achieved more when I used the book in our Chinese class.

[wrbt]

I emphasized the listening a little more, as that's my main goal with reading comprehension a contributing means to that end. Walking about 45 minutes every morning is a great opportunity to work thru the listening components/

Some exercises I can appreciate but a lot of the ones you find in books (rearrange the sentence type) I believe time might be better spent just reading different material.

I like renzhe and atti's suggestion too, and I've done that with two books of different purpose... like one that emphasizes literature like the abridged "Family" novel while at the same time going thru China Scene or something similar that's heavier on colloquialisms and speaking.

It's fascinating to hear others' study techniques and how each refines as they go along to suit their personality and goals.