Say Huà with Abigail

I’m not too big on the idea of New Year’s resolutions; however, I do like to take the time to set goals for myself.

June, for me, marks the halfway point in the year and is a good time to check in with myself; see how I’m feeling, how much energy I’ve got left in the tank, and how I want to go forward for the rest of the year. By the time it’s June, I can easily gauge how I’m doing and how I’ll continue. So, it’s time for a little review of my progress and what my goals are looking like.

Here are my goals for 2025:

Learning Mandarin

• Take the HSK 2 exam
• Finish learning the HSK 3 content
• Complete the HSK 3 Workbook
• Take the HSK 3 exam
• Start watching C-Dramas to practise listening comprehension
• Complete HSK 4 – Part 1

Learning French

• Start using beginner French learning resources to find gaps in my knowledge
• List topics that I need to relearn to get to a solid A1 level
• Begin revising basic French grammar
• Try to speak French at least weekly for 5 minutes

It’s halfway through the year, and I’ve not been able to move with as much energy as I thought I might have had at this point of the year. So at the beginning of June, I’m not quite at the halfway point for my goals. However, I can still tick off some of the points on my language lists.

Mandarin

I finally took my HSK 2 exam in May. This is something I had been putting off due to what I think was fear and limited availability. Preparing for the exam wasn’t too bad, considering I was more than halfway through HSK 3 at the time. The actual exam wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be, but it did show me that I need to spend more time on my listening skills. After the exam, I started watching my first C-Drama which I promptly finished and I have moved onto my second. I was pleasantly surprised by how many short phrases I understood in real time and I have even picked up a few new sayings too.

I’m due to complete the content for HSK 3 by the end of June and am working through the workbook at a slower pace than the textbook, which gives me time to revise what I’ve learnt. This method works for me, though you might find it better to go through both at the same pace. Once I’ve completed the workbook, I’ll then book the HSK 3 exam and spend the time leading up to it to revise new characters and practising writing Hanzis, since this will be my first exam with a written component.

French

As for French, I took to the internet to better understand what counts as A1 so I could identify what I still need to work on to honestly say, “Yeah, I speak French.” I found a couple of study guides listing core A1 topics and decided to go with Learn to French’s A1 French Study Guide. It was one of the more comprehensive ones I came across and covered things I wouldn’t have even thought to include.

Using that guide as a checklist, I’ve started tackling my weaker areas first and will save my stronger ones for a lighter review towards the end of the year. I’m not fully comfortable having short conversations yet, but I can introduce myself, talk about my day and routine, and ask for or give directions.ett

For June, my main focus will be verbs, conjugations, and maybe a little bit of tense work.