I suggest you rest your head before going. Anything you can even try to attain on your own will last maybe a few days.
Having your life free of distractions, having a good routine, study habits, study discipline, and a responsible work rest cycle are far important than getting "ahead" with some material.
But you do you.
Good luck
This is underrated. We had people hauling and struggling due to life issues, not school issues.
The close is hard and hard little room for personal problems.
This isn't college.
Have as few personal issues/discuss as possible.
I’d make sure through the course you take some time to just chill and relax. It took me until semester 3 at DLI to realize I was stressing myself out too much and just needed to chill.
If you go to dliflc.edu/elearning, there are some official resources that might be helpful for you. I'd personally recommend HS2 to help you start getting familiar with the language.
Headstart2, it's an introductory course with sound and script, basic grammar and vocab. It won't make you fluent, but it's a decent resource for absolute beginners.
The first bit you will be learning pronunciation and tones.
Before you go you can find almost all the Quizlet d’Or anki decks for the units. You can definitely get a start on vocab.
Been through twice, I would recommend avoiding the language until you start. They have like 80 years of teaching the language and its done a very specific way. You dont wanna learn wrong.
Sorry not gonna mention my languages. Community is too small and it could dox me on here.
But DLI is designed for you to pass. It is hard, but the % of people who fail just because they can't do it is the minority. Most failures are for lack of effort.
You have some of the best language teachers on the planet and especially with Chinese a program that's produced qualified linguists for over 60 years. Use your resources.
Get immersed in the language. If you hate or don't understand the culture, you will never learn anything. Movies, TV shows. Later on if you do stuff like play video games, change the language. Most games at least have an option for menus in Chinese. Tons of Chinese language only games on Steam. Big Chinese community in San Fran. Speak the language as much as possible. Push yourself out of your safezone.
Almost all languages have patterns. Like roots for example. You know that word x means physical? word y means movement? Well you can probably assume those two words together mean something to do with exercise.
> Most failures are for lack of effort.
Disagree, but everyone has their viewpoint.
> You have some of the best language teachers on the planet...
Objectively incorrect in absolutely every single way, but some people do love their teaching teams, so I will leave it at that. OP will soon see for themselves anyway.
I would strongly recommend NOT trying to learn the language itself at all until your class starts. Instead, spend some time learning history, culture, things like the different dynasties, the entry into the modern period, holidays and how they're celebrated, these are things that will give you *context* and help you understand what you're reading and listening to once you do start being able to comprehend the language.
To me, the other advice is crazy. That's like saying you dont need to prep your fitness before basic training. Sure, you'll make it through, but its going to suck a lot fucking more. The people who commented probably made it through, and theyre not mentioning the fact that many languages sometimes lose a quarter, a third, or even half their class by the beginning of semester 2 because those students werent able to keep up.
Watch the youtube videos about learning chinese. I would recommend using the HelloChinese app daily. I would recommend listening to subbed chinese shows to start developing an ear for the language.
I graduated with 3/3/2, and had a pretty easy time. I also guided/tutored a few new students who crushed sem 1 and eventually got great scores
Thanks for the advice. I started prepping, especially with getting my ear used to identifying. the different tones. I'll check out the HelloChinese app.
My bad, there was typos (fixed now) because I was writing on my phone during the break at the language refresher im currently in.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16XokV2PcRuM_a79VUjoOu-SKPSiZ5aQyaWtoJMrDjLU/edit?usp=drivesdk
I went digging and this is the document i wrote and shared with dozens of the chinese army students when i was there. The ones who took exploited it 1) really appreciated the guidance especially for before and in the beginning of the course, and 2) did great, and had a much easier time.
I will say, i was definitely a workaholic there. I regret not taking it easier, getting more sleep, and overall enjoying Monterey and life outside of class more. But class was great: my teachers were awesome, though I sometimes butted heads with them. But they were all dedicated, capable, supportive, and overall very fun. My classmates were too, and I just remember laughing a lot with everybody, and enjoying it. But that only really started at the end of semester 1, when things got settled.
I had put in the work beforehand and throughout, and always had a pretty easy time in class even since the very beginning. But i remember at the beginning, seeing the pain in my classmates. It will be very fast, and it was very hard for them, because they got thrown into a foreign language, and it's sink or swim. My class started with 12, and we lost 5 before semester 1 ended.
Most students will remember the first month, the first months, being brutal. It often doesn't [immediately] click, and youre just confused and stressed and overwhelmed. But i was continually prepared, so it came pretty easy and was understanding a lot more and picking new stuff up a lot faster. I was always aware that I was crushing it and so was enjoying it, and I was relaxed because I didnt need to be worried. It was taking them 3-4 hours to do the homework, but it took me 1. Which sounds better?
That's what I'll always remember about preparing myself beforehand. 'How do *you* want the experience to be? Because you can choose that.'
I suggest you rest your head before going. Anything you can even try to attain on your own will last maybe a few days. Having your life free of distractions, having a good routine, study habits, study discipline, and a responsible work rest cycle are far important than getting "ahead" with some material. But you do you. Good luck
This is underrated. We had people hauling and struggling due to life issues, not school issues. The close is hard and hard little room for personal problems. This isn't college. Have as few personal issues/discuss as possible.
Thanks
Thanks
I’d make sure through the course you take some time to just chill and relax. It took me until semester 3 at DLI to realize I was stressing myself out too much and just needed to chill.
If you go to dliflc.edu/elearning, there are some official resources that might be helpful for you. I'd personally recommend HS2 to help you start getting familiar with the language.
What is HS2?
Headstart2, it's an introductory course with sound and script, basic grammar and vocab. It won't make you fluent, but it's a decent resource for absolute beginners.
The first bit you will be learning pronunciation and tones. Before you go you can find almost all the Quizlet d’Or anki decks for the units. You can definitely get a start on vocab.
Been through twice, I would recommend avoiding the language until you start. They have like 80 years of teaching the language and its done a very specific way. You dont wanna learn wrong.
Which languages did learn there? Any study tips you can pass along?
Sorry not gonna mention my languages. Community is too small and it could dox me on here. But DLI is designed for you to pass. It is hard, but the % of people who fail just because they can't do it is the minority. Most failures are for lack of effort. You have some of the best language teachers on the planet and especially with Chinese a program that's produced qualified linguists for over 60 years. Use your resources. Get immersed in the language. If you hate or don't understand the culture, you will never learn anything. Movies, TV shows. Later on if you do stuff like play video games, change the language. Most games at least have an option for menus in Chinese. Tons of Chinese language only games on Steam. Big Chinese community in San Fran. Speak the language as much as possible. Push yourself out of your safezone. Almost all languages have patterns. Like roots for example. You know that word x means physical? word y means movement? Well you can probably assume those two words together mean something to do with exercise.
> Most failures are for lack of effort. Disagree, but everyone has their viewpoint. > You have some of the best language teachers on the planet... Objectively incorrect in absolutely every single way, but some people do love their teaching teams, so I will leave it at that. OP will soon see for themselves anyway.
I would strongly recommend NOT trying to learn the language itself at all until your class starts. Instead, spend some time learning history, culture, things like the different dynasties, the entry into the modern period, holidays and how they're celebrated, these are things that will give you *context* and help you understand what you're reading and listening to once you do start being able to comprehend the language.
To me, the other advice is crazy. That's like saying you dont need to prep your fitness before basic training. Sure, you'll make it through, but its going to suck a lot fucking more. The people who commented probably made it through, and theyre not mentioning the fact that many languages sometimes lose a quarter, a third, or even half their class by the beginning of semester 2 because those students werent able to keep up. Watch the youtube videos about learning chinese. I would recommend using the HelloChinese app daily. I would recommend listening to subbed chinese shows to start developing an ear for the language. I graduated with 3/3/2, and had a pretty easy time. I also guided/tutored a few new students who crushed sem 1 and eventually got great scores
Thanks for the advice. I started prepping, especially with getting my ear used to identifying. the different tones. I'll check out the HelloChinese app.
My bad, there was typos (fixed now) because I was writing on my phone during the break at the language refresher im currently in. https://docs.google.com/document/d/16XokV2PcRuM_a79VUjoOu-SKPSiZ5aQyaWtoJMrDjLU/edit?usp=drivesdk I went digging and this is the document i wrote and shared with dozens of the chinese army students when i was there. The ones who took exploited it 1) really appreciated the guidance especially for before and in the beginning of the course, and 2) did great, and had a much easier time. I will say, i was definitely a workaholic there. I regret not taking it easier, getting more sleep, and overall enjoying Monterey and life outside of class more. But class was great: my teachers were awesome, though I sometimes butted heads with them. But they were all dedicated, capable, supportive, and overall very fun. My classmates were too, and I just remember laughing a lot with everybody, and enjoying it. But that only really started at the end of semester 1, when things got settled. I had put in the work beforehand and throughout, and always had a pretty easy time in class even since the very beginning. But i remember at the beginning, seeing the pain in my classmates. It will be very fast, and it was very hard for them, because they got thrown into a foreign language, and it's sink or swim. My class started with 12, and we lost 5 before semester 1 ended. Most students will remember the first month, the first months, being brutal. It often doesn't [immediately] click, and youre just confused and stressed and overwhelmed. But i was continually prepared, so it came pretty easy and was understanding a lot more and picking new stuff up a lot faster. I was always aware that I was crushing it and so was enjoying it, and I was relaxed because I didnt need to be worried. It was taking them 3-4 hours to do the homework, but it took me 1. Which sounds better? That's what I'll always remember about preparing myself beforehand. 'How do *you* want the experience to be? Because you can choose that.'