Hi all,

*scroll to the bottom to view "TL,DR"*

I hope Skrittering is going well. I am musing on a couple questions: what methods are you using to study Chinese? I am going to guess Skritter is thrown into your study schedule somewhere, but what else do you use? How long do you study per day? Do you work a full time job while studying?

Perhaps I am too structured, but I've discovered Skritter is my only study method (aside from conversiing with my gf). I try to listen to Chinese pod whenever I hit the gym, and I've also tried to make use of Flashcards to improve my reading. Sometimes I'll write English and Chinese Facebook status updates, and I'll also post one entry on Lang 8 (although I've been slacking as of late). I've found that my speaking is my strongest trait, mostly thanks to my gf. My writing and reading are pree 差 at the moment-- perhaps I need to alleviate more studying to those areas?

As for resources I have 5GB or (borrowed.,..) Chinese pod, and the whole Practical Audio Visual Chinese series from Taiwan. I'm currently reading through book 3 (the dialogue is pretty entetaining tbh)... AND IF YOU READ THIS FAR i WILL GIVE YOU SOME OREO COOKIE ICE CREAM!

TL,DR: what's your study schedule? What programs/resources do you use? How many hours do you study a day? Do you work (full time/part time)?

I have a full-time job plus freelance work.

Typically I do 30 minutes to 1 hour of Skritter a day, usually either on the bus or subway or during slow times at work.

Then, 15 to 30 minutes of watching Chinese TV -- usually cartoons or nature documentaries on youku or youtube. And 30 to 45 minutes of reading, either extensive reading where I try not to do too much dictionary lookup or intensive reading where I add the unknown words to Skritter afterwards. These days I'm mostly reading children's novels, but sometimes I read picture books, manga, or adult fantasy novels.

Sometimes I talk with my Chinese coworkers in Chinese, but that's not a scheduled thing.

I'm a full time university student.
While on China I improved my speaking the same way as you did, talking with my gf. Here in Mexico city I take private lessons twice a week, study some chinesepod now and then and study 2 textbook lessons a week (Beida's Boya and BLCU'S Road to Success).
But as you, I notice the I spent the most time on skritter.

*I think I spend around 1 hour a day in total, more now on vacations.