I am re-evaluating the way  I study Chinese as I read Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language and never Forget It by Gabriel Wyner. Here are two specific ways in which this book has changed my methods so far:

  1. “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

This statement is Wyner’s simple summary of Karl Hebb’s theory of how the function of neurons contributes to the learning process. His point is that studying a language will be more effective if we are able to activate regions throughout our brains when memorizing new words phrases and concepts.  

What I used to do:  Write the new characters I learned over and over, saying them and reading the definitions.  I would also try to use them in sentences and make flashcards which I would review occasionally. This is how my notebook would look:

“Emigration”- 移民，移民，移民…
 “Trend”-趋势，趋势，趋势，趋势…
“Harmony”- 和睦，和睦，和睦…

What I do now: Using Chinese characters, I do search for images of my new words on the Internet. As I search through the pictures, I say the word over and over. I copy my favorite image for each word or concept into a power point presentation and make it into a slide. I also use specific colors for each character to remind me which of the four tones I need to remember for each character: red for a high level tone, purple for a falling tone, and so on. 

In the process of searching for and selecting an image, and then going back periodically to quiz myself, I make a personal connection with each concept. Here are two examples:

“Wealthy people emigrating from China appears to be a growing trend.”

中国富人移民呈现出增多的趋势。

“Relationships among family members are harmonious.”

家人之间的关系很和睦。

This method doesn't take much more time than my former one, and it’s much more fun, which means I recall the information more readily.

2.“Forgetting is our main enemy.”

How many times have I racked my brain for a word or phrase to use, only to mutter to myself, “I know I've studied that word before!” I was reminded in Fluent Forever that, “If you want to get better at recalling something, you should practice recalling it.”

What I used to do: When my teacher gave me fill-in-the-blanks worksheets, I figured out what words I needed for each blank and filled them in. By the time I met with my tutor and he would quiz me from that sheet, those words would have already left my brain.

What I do now:  When I figure out the words I need, I write them on a notebook page--how to say it, write it, and what it means. Then I immediately quiz myself on those words three times, trying to write them from memory. Finally,  I fill in the blanks of the actual worksheet, but by that time I can usually do it without looking anything up.

These words also go into my Pleco app as flashcards, which means I will review them systematically in “spaced repetition” testing mode for....

 ...as long as I live! 哎哟！