RETAIN

Thank you so much! Hm I would say Mandarin Chinese is used in NY, but Cantonese more so, specifically with the older generation. The neighborhood next to mine in Brooklyn is predominantly Chinese, as in all the stores are Chinese owned and all the people living there are of Chinese descent, and my campus is right next to Canal Street AKA Chinatown.

Self Study: Hm, not shamelessly self promote but my masterpost in learning Mandarin is super helpful. I can vouch for it. 

But ah when I was taking my classes what really helped me out was repeatedly writing characters over and over again, which really helped me memorize how to write them. Set yourself up with a goal to learn 10 characters a week maybe and just repeatedly write them over and over and over again. 

Also, something I learned in my last class that I wish i knew in my earlier classes was the magic that is QUIZLET!!! Not as regular flashcards though!!!! Put in the Chinese characters as a flashcard and use the audio button to listen to it! This REALLY helped me out with my listening skills. I would put about two dozen characters in the flashcards and put it in the “slideshow” mode where it just continuously reads aloud whatever is in the flashcard while showing the characters ahhhhh this helped me so much during my final exam I would put in sentences and questions in the flashcards just to listen to them to prep for my oral exam!