Amazing finish. Way to take the top spot!

Hi Jake, My concern is that I was unfairly being singled out, since my "Epic" performance, was no epic at all, considering it was less than that of another competitor a week before. (8.6 hrs. Oct.25) If my name was in the hat for the selections process, then no harm done.

Wasn't trying to single you out. I was reacting in the moment to the 540-minute number you posted, which I still think is epic. I know you're not alone in posting high numbers, I was just a bit thrown off by your study routine comment and didn't realize that you were talking about before the challenge. Sorry! I was genuinely curious, as a fellow participant in the challenge. I should have asked more specific questions like, what apps are you using, how do you like them, and do you think it is something you could see yourself doing even 2-3 hours a day regularly after the challenge. I realize now that it might not have been viewed that way since I'm also a representative of Skritter. Apologies if my comments were taken in the wrong way. Wasn't trying to play police or gatekeeper. Personally, I think the longest SRS session I've done was like 2-3 hours and by the end, I wanted to quit SRS forever.

@Olle is the challenge runner...I'm just putting up the prizes, and trying to cheer people on :) :) And, as someone who has burned out on studying Chinese before, I was reacting as an individual.

Thanks Jake. Next time we'll both do better!

I don't want to disclose exactly how I decide who is active in a challenge, but you certainly qualify as being active in this one. However, the prizes are distributed randomly, so studying 100 hours doesn't make you more likely to win than someone that studies 50, provided that both are included in the "active participants", of course! The winners will be announced in the video we'll make this week, but I'll be responsible for drawing the names from the virtual hat, as it were!

8.5 hours in a single day?!?! That’s insane

8.5 hours in a single day?!?! That’s insane

Hi Jake. All of my friends and neighbors say the same thing to me ever since I began my "QUEST" to learn Chinese. Before the challenge started, I usually spent 10 - 15 hours a day doing some sort of Chinese. I sleep listening to Chinese, I cancelled my cable tv and hooked upa Chinese box (125 Chinese channels) and subscribe to several U-Tube Chinese videos, not to mention attending 2 Chinese online classes three nights a week and participate in 3 or 4 Chinese Meetup groups for a couple of hours each. So, 8 1/2 hours is not all that a big a deal, but the focus is a killer for my eyes. All that time in front of the computer is rough. Normally, I would take a few hours break and watch some Chinese Cartoons. Don't worry, this is almost over and I can get back to my 10+ hour a day routine :)

Least I forget, I also have a language partner an hour a day 7 days a week :)

Sorry, I need to clarify. I don’t find spending 8.5 hours in TL insane at all. That’s just awesome if you can do it, especially if you don’t live in a place where TL is spoken all around you. In Taiwan and China, for example, nearly even waking minute of TL exposure was easy, these days... not so much. I’m wondering if you legit spent 8.5 hours doing vocabulary related study in a single day. So like, SRS reviews for 8.5 hours. Not reading, listening, or speaking, but SRS or similar vocabulary related studying. That’s the spirit of the challenge after all, so this number just seems totally epic if that is the case. Also, it seems like a poor use of time if this is all spent doing SRS. Language is about much more than just vocabulary in a vacuum. So, if you are doing this regularly, I’d recommend switching it up and checking your results after a month or so. Invest those same hours in extensive reading, extensive listening (active, not passive), extensive writing, etc. and you’ll see super gains comparatively. Also, I understand that this kind of push could be to end the challenge strong. If so, mad props. I’m not trying to judge how one spends time. Just offering some friendly advice as someone who’s spent well over 10,000 hours living with this language. As the saying goes, 活到老學到老，還有三分學不到. Always more to learn, but burnout is a real thing, and it’s important to have healthy, sustainable, balanced goals. Congrats on the massive amount of time invested this month learning Chinese. Sounds like your teacher is seeing progress, too. Wahoo!!!!!

Well done Malaili!!

It's tricky to hit that sweet spot between the excitement of learning new stuff and reviewing old stuff. With the amount of time you're logging, I'm sure you can tackle it though. Looking good!

Even with slow-going, I bet you'll see an awesome return from the amount of time you're investing. Keep up the good work!