2. How is your progress?

I’m making some progress! I’ve been working on more complex pronunciation, and it’s definitely getting a bit tougher, but I can see myself improving. I’m also starting to put together basic sentences, which feels like a big step forward.

3. Points to remember from Week 2!

• The tones are everything: I’ve realized how much the meaning of a word can change with just a slight tone difference, so I need to be really careful with them.

• Sentence structure is different: It’s a bit tricky, but I’m getting the hang of the subject-verb-object order in Mandarin.

• Keep practicing: Repeating words and sentences is helping a lot, even if it feels a bit tedious sometimes.

4. Your feelings & thoughts

I’m feeling a mix of excitement and frustration. Learning Mandarin is challenging, especially with the tones, but it’s also really satisfying when I finally get something right. I’m enjoying the process, even if it’s slow going at times.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

I’ve started using simple Mandarin sentences in real life, like asking someone’s name (ni jiao shen me ming xi?) or saying what I like to eat(wo xi huan chi pingguooo). It’s a small thing, but it’s making the language feel more real to me.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

I’m finding it difficult to form sentences in Mandarin. It’s a challenge to get the word order and tones right at the same time. To work on this, I’m breaking down sentences and practicing each part until I feel more comfortable putting it all together.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

Next week, I’m going to focus on thinking in Mandarin more often. I want to get more familiar with the language and hopefully make it a routine. The goal is to start naturally forming sentences in my head, which should help with fluency.

Some pictures and videos are SOON to be uploaded. This video will be about my gong ke and the teacher response.

Muhammad Ikmal Haneef bin Mohd Azlee, A183590, 11/8/2024

How is my progress?

Good progress, better understanding than first week. In the 2nd week, I learn about the food and shopping (price and bargain) in Chinese. For food part, it divided into main food, fruits, meat and vegetables and also drinks. For the shopping part, it divided into colors, sizes, price and bargain. There are quizzes for each section and I managed to get 100% for each quiz (after try for multiple time). Then, I practice with the reading material provided.

Points to remember from week 2!

Main food (shíwù):  jiǎozi (dumpling), chǎofàn (fried rice), chǎomiàn (friend noodle)

Fruits (shuǐguǒ): píngguǒ (apple), xiāngjiāo (banana), chéngzi (orange)

Vegetables (shūcài) and meat (ròu): yú (fish), niúròu (beef), zhūròu (pork)

Drinks (hē): shuǐ (water), kāfēi (coffee), píjiǔ (beer)

Color (yánsè): hóng (red), bái (white), lán (blue), huáng (yellow)

Sizes (chǐcùn): dà (big), xiǎo (small)

Price (jiàgé): yīyuán (1 yuan), wǔshí yuan (50 yuan), sānbǎi yuan (300 yuan)

Bargain (piányí huò): tài guile (too expensive), piányí yīdiǎnr (a little cheaper)

My feelings & thoughts

I feel more confident after completing 2 weeks of the course. I also feel excited to learn new words that related to daily life in mandarin.  Continue to successfully scoring 100% on the quizzes even after multiple attempts also gave me a sense of achievement and motivate me to continue pushing forward.

ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

 Speaking in basic mandarin with friends for some common thing such as asking time (from week 1) or ordering food (from week 2).

Any difficulties/concerns? How did I cope?

Memorization of the new words. To cope with this, I listen to how the instructor said it repeatedly and refer to the pinyin spelling. This also help me to get 100% in the quizzes even after taking it multiple time.

My plan for next week (Week 3)

Completing module 5 and 6, continue good progress of the course and try to always practice what I have learn in the past 2 weeks on module 1-4.

Xièxiè

✨ How is your progress?

I have started learning Korean grammar and constructing simple sentences using specific endings. It is quite challenging, and I am still practicing to use it correctly. I am also practicing writing and typing in Korean because we may need to type for examination purposes in the future. Learning to type in Korean is akin to learning to use a new keyboard, as the Korean alphabet differs from English. For new learners, you essentially have to type each letter individually based on the consonants and vowels. It is difficult, but I am managing. For pronunciation, my teacher says I am doing well, though I need to remember some rules for pronouncing Korean sentences.

✨ Points to remember from week 2!

Practice makes perfect. I discovered that the reason I remember some parts of the material better is that I read and practiced them more thoroughly. The fastest way to master a language is to use and learn it every day. I found that when I stopped learning for several days, I began to forget important points I had learned and had to revise them. Repetition is key to success, and I hope I have the energy to continue.

✨ Your feelings & thoughts

This week, I felt a bit depressed and stressed. During revision, I realized that I had made quite a few mistakes that I thought were correct. I only understood my mistakes after my teacher pointed them out. It was quite disheartening, but it also motivated me to work harder.

✨ One good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

Spell and read Korean words without reference.

✨ Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

One difficulty is that there are only a total of 8 lessons, and time is running out. It is hard to remember the grammar and its proper usage while still struggling to recognize words. I cope by doing more practice and continually reviewing my notes to build a solid foundation.

✨ Your plan for next week (Week 3)

Next week, we will start learning honorific words, which is entirely new to me. I will also continue practicing speaking with native speakers and fulfilling my daily duties as a student by practicing and revising previous lessons.

How is your progress?

It has been a slow built up for me. This is because I fell sick and was unable to practice as much as I planned to. However, I still manage to compensate my classes and do my revision on days where I felt better. 

Points to remember from week 2!

This week I learned more on grammar and how to form sentences. To expand my vocabulary, chéng lǎoshī also taught me on a few mandarin words that helps translate into our body parts. For example, ěr duǒ (ear), zuǐ bā (mouth), bí zi (nose), and yǎn jīng (eye). These few words are useful for when I would want to practice taking history taking with patients later on. 

Your feelings & thoughts 

I initially felt a bit disheartened as things didn’t go the way I planned for this week due to my health but now I only feel more motivated to pick up the pace and get back stronger for week 3. 

ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

I’ve been mixing mandarin words that I learnt and english words whenever I would talk to my friends or family. Although the sentences may not be grammatically correct, this method helps me to not forget the words I recently learnt and also continuously use it in real life. 

Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

One of the things that I found hard when it comes to learning mandarin is perfecting the tones. I keep mixing up the second and third tone. It became a hassle for when I would want to practice speaking in full sentences to my teacher. To cope with this, I listened to pronunciation videos and podcasts to mimic native speakers. 

Your plan for next week (Week 3)

My plan for next week is to learn basic sentence structures  for simple questions and answers, familiarise myself with mandarin words by reading simple texts from my textbook and also do more worksheets for revision. 

11 August 2024

2. How is your progress?

During Week 2, I have been making good progress in terms of pronunciation of words and tones & vocabulary wise. I also realised that I have becoming more confidence in speaking the language day by day. During this week, the topic that I learnt with Cikgu Hidayah is about my family & my hometown which help me to expand more skills of introducing myself to people that I learnt during Week 1. I also learnt on how to count numbers in Mandarin. More complex vocabulary & questions were also being taught.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

• sequences in writing date: Year-Month-Day

• For example; 31 March 2014 is written as èr líng yī sì nian sānyuè sān shí yī hào

• Jobs in Mandarin: jīnglǐ (manager), yīshēng (doctor) etc

• I learnt on How to construct simple questions such as, where do you live? How old are you? What is your phone number? When is your birthday etc.

4. Your feelings & thoughts

I feel more confident & comfortable with the Language. However, learning this language still not easy as the more we learnt, it will become harder. I am glad that I am still as excited as I was during my first day learning which help me to overcome those challenges.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

I am able to converse in daily simple conversations with my friends.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

I found it difficult to immediately catch up the numbers when spoken. For example, when the teacher asked me what is 1995 in Mandarin? It took me quite some times to think first before giving out the answer. How I cope with this is by doing quiz using YouTube during my 2.5 hours self revision class everyday. I also asked my siblings to randomly asked me numbers to help me practicing.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

My plans are to complete Next chapters & memorise more vocabulary. I also want to converse more in Mandarin in real life.

Matric : A182398

Date : 12/8/2024

2. How Is Your Progress?

My progress in Week 2 has been great. I’ve learned about numbers, telling time, and how to order food, which are all practical skills that have boosted my confidence in using Mandarin.

3. Points to Remember from Week 2

- Numbers: Learning numbers greater than 10 is surprisingly straightforward. For example, 11 is "shíyī" (10 + 1), and this pattern applies to other numbers as well.

- Time: The word "diǎn" is used as a unit for time, so 2 PM is "xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn." I also learned that "liǎng" is used before measuring units instead of "èr."

- Vocabulary: New words like "gōngzuò" (work), "chī" (eat), "wǔfàn" (lunch), and "zǎofàn" (breakfast) have been added to my vocabulary.

4. Your Feelings & Thoughts

I’m feeling more confident in my ability to use Mandarin in everyday situations. Understanding how to express numbers and time has made me feel more connected to the language. Learning how to order food has been fun and practical, giving me a real sense of progress.

5. ONE Good Thing You Can Practice Now

I can confidently say the time in Mandarin! This is a skill I can practice regularly, and it’s rewarding to see how quickly I’ve picked it up.

6. Any Difficulties/Concerns? How Did You Cope?

One challenge was remembering to use "liǎng" instead of "èr" before measuring units like "diǎn" for time. It took some practice, but I coped by repeatedly practicing sentences involving time and using Pleco to reinforce the correct usage. I am also still strugling with the tones at the moment.

7. Your Plan for Next Week (Week 3)

For Week 3, I plan to focus on learning words like meat, fish, colors, sizes and prices! I’ll also continue to build on my existing vocabulary and practice forming more complex sentences. My goal is to be able to navigate simple conversations and ask questions more confidently by the end of the week.

Nur Qistina Aryssa Bt Mohd Apandi 

A187859

13th August 2024

2. How is your progress?

My Mandarin learning journey has been quite enjoyable so far. I've found myself fully engaged during class, actively participating in activities, and making consistent progress. This week, I expanded my vocabulary with essential time-related and office-related phrases, while also deepening my understanding of sentence structure.

Unfortunately, a busy schedule disrupted my Duolingo streak on Friday, but I've managed to rebuild it to four days.Through the app, I've been exploring food, places, and the complexities of Hanzi. While mastering the writing system is undoubtedly challenging, I'm determined to persevere through the numerous strokes and precise formations.

To supplement my learning, I've been practicing Mandarin conversation with my mother, who possesses basic language skills. Lastly, I did well in my assignment for week 2 provided by my tutor. I got 19/25.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

In forming sentences,
Subject + Verb + (Noun) + 了吗?  (le ma?)

4. Your feelings & thoughts 

I am incredibly enthusiastic about completing my Mandarin course, even though I know it won't be easy. I believe that consistent daily practice, combined with the fun and engaging content available on platforms like YouTube and Duolingo,will make the learning process significantly more enjoyable and rewarding.

I'm confident that by immersing myself in the language through a variety of materials, I can overcome any challenges and achieve my goal of fluency in Mandarin.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now?

I've been making a consistent effort to practice speaking Mandarin with my mother on a daily basis. While it's been a valuable experience, I've noticed that I often find myself slipping into Malay, particularly when I encounter difficulties expressing myself in Mandarin. Although I understand that mixing languages isn't ideal for language acquisition, I believe it's a natural part of the learning process and a testament to my willingness to communicate.

6. Any difficulties / concerns? How did you cope?

I am still having trouble being fast to count yet. Numbers are important because it is also used for numbers, house numbers and a lot more. Therefore, I sang children’s mandarin song for numbers to familiarize with numbers in mandarin more. 

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

I am committed to sustaining my Duolingo streak and engaging in daily Mandarin practice without fail. To enhance my language proficiency, I will focus on improving my accuracy when handling numbers. Additionally, I aim to develop the ability to participate in fast-paced Mandarin conversations with greater fluency and confidence.

Matrics Number : A188514

Date : 15 August 2024

2. How is your progress?

   For the second week, we were continue our class in Thai language. Before starting the class for the second week, I was able to practice speaking with my teaching on how to introduce myself in Thai. It is very exciting experience since I was able to introduce myself in Thai fluently. For the second week, we were continue our class by learning about number in Thai language. We were learned a basic number in Thai. Interesting fact that I learned is, when Thai people laugh in social media, they will use 5 since 5 in Thai is ha, so 5555 means hahahaha in Thai. Not only that, I learned more new words in Thai language

3. Point to remember from week 2

Since it is already week 2, it is more advanced from the past 1 week. There is a lot of things to remember such as fruit and vegetables. I do active learning where I practice remembering all those words by holding fruits and say it in Thai language. For example orange in Thai is som, apple in Thai is appen.

4. Your feeling and thought

   Since it is the second week of learning Thai language, a lot of words are not familiar and not common for Malaysian. I find it a bit hard for me but I must put more hard work so that I can excel in my language learning. In the second week, I had a mix feeling because I felt happy and satisfied because I was able to speak and understand basic Thai language in just a short period. For example, people always use nam pla when they Thai food, when I learned Thai language, I knew that nam means water, pla means fish. In the meantime I also felt a bit sad because sometimes I felt it is hard for me to remember all those words and I kept forgetting it.

5. One good thing from what you did that you can practice now.

   Learning fruits, vegetable and foods in Thai helps me understand most of the word in Thai restaurant. When they wrote menu in normal alphabet but with Thai name, such as prik nam pla, which is fish sauce with chilies. By knowing those words, I can use in Thai restaurant easily.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope

Since it is already in week 2, there is a lot of words to be remember before the upcoming class. I find it difficult since I was only have 2 hours classes per week. I did my exercise on Ling, which is apps that teach Thai language by providing exercise and example for the subscribers. Not only that, I watch Thai movie named Bad Genius for me to be more familiar with the Thai language.

7. Your plan for the next week

   I plan to have online chatting session with my Thai friend, Adeesak to learn and practice speaking Thai language so that I can speak correctly

Name : Ramadhani Dyah Kinanti

Matric No. : A179298

Date : 19/8/2024

~ How is your progress? ~

This week is my second week in learning Japanese! I do think that i’ve been improving in memorizing my Katakana (the japanese alphabet). It’s hard to memorize since there are a few alphabets that look similar such as ン and ソ or シ and ツ. But regardless, the grammar is still manageable to understand, i’ve learned about the possesion and location grammar. Such as ここwhich stands for ‘here’, そこ ‘there’, and あそこwhich is ‘over there’.

We also have a talking practice session every classes, so i get to make sentences from the grammar that i’ve learn and practice it with my fellow language learning mates in the group!

~ Points to remember from week 2! ~

To differentiate each alphabet, just make a distinct sign or unique shape, it will be easier to remember.

If a thing is closer to you, it will be ここ, if it’s further to you but closer to the subject you are talking to then use そこ. If the thing that you point to it’s further away from you and the subject, use あそこ.

~ Your feelings & thoughts ~

To compare it with week 1, i definitely have more confident in terms of talking and pronouncing the words and sentences in japanese

~ ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now! ~

One good thing is definitely to practice talking when learning languages. That’s how you will easily get used to the language and you will be more fluent in pronouncing and speaking the language.

~ Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope? ~

As I’ve mentioned in the progress, katakana is hard to remember due to the similarities in shape. So i just decide a unique point in each alphabet to remember it easier.

Your plan for next week (Week 3)

I’m planning to make a katakana flash card so i can quiz my self, this will be my effort to further learn katakana!

Matrics : A185598

Date : 1/7/2024

1. How is your progress ?

This week in my Mandarin class has been both enriching and enlightening, as I focused on key aspects of communication: addressing people, asking for names, and greetings.One of the primary lessons this week involved understanding the various ways to address individuals in Mandarin. Addressing people correctly is crucial in Chinese culture, as it reflects respect and familiarity. In formal contexts, using titles is common. This week, I practiced identifying appropriate titles based on social context, which helped me realize the importance of hierarchy and respect in Chinese interactions.

Another critical area of focus was learning how to ask for someone’s name in Mandarin. I discovered that a polite inquiry can set a positive tone for the conversation.

Greetings are a fundamental part of communication, and this week I delved into various ways to greet people in Mandarin. I learned that greetings can vary based on time of day and context. For instance, saying “早上好” (zǎoshang hǎo, meaning "good morning") in the morning, “下午好” (xiàwǔ hǎo, meaning "good afternoon") in the afternoon, and “晚上好” (wǎnshang hǎo, meaning "good evening") in the evening.

Points to remember from week 2.

For instance, addressing someone as “老师” (lǎoshī, meaning "teacher") or “经理” (jīnglǐ, meaning "manager") conveys respect for their position.

Phrases like “请问您叫什么名字？” (qǐngwèn nín jiào shénme míngzì?) meaning “May I ask what your name is?”

For instance, saying “早上好” (zǎoshang hǎo, meaning "good morning") in the morning, “下午好” (xiàwǔ hǎo, meaning "good afternoon") in the afternoon, and “晚上好” (wǎnshang hǎo, meaning "good evening") in the evening.

3.Feelings and Thoughts

I felt a growing sense of confidence as I delved into Mandarin.The encouragement from my teacher has significantly contributed to my confidence. My teacher creates an open environment where questions are welcomed, and mistakes are seen as learning opportunities.

While my confidence in speaking has grown, I have encountered significant struggles with writing Chinese characters.Unlike alphabetic languages, Chinese is composed of thousands of characters, each with its own unique structure and meaning.The complexity of stroke order and the need for precision can be overwhelming. I often find myself mixing up strokes or forgetting how to write certain characters, which can be frustrating.

4.Any difficulties and concerns. How did you cope?

as I have mentioned last week it was hard for me to pronounce different tones,i am still trying my best to differentiate tones and pronounce it correctly.

Your plan for next week (week 3).

I am planning to complete my homework and want to revise my first week learning materials.