Hi folks. I'd like to get some idea on your experience on learning and using Chinese. Basically I'm interested in learning other languages but so far I've struggled using traditional study methods. It's like my brain reads and understands something but never want to remember them, so now I'm trying to develop a better solution for myself based on what other people have done. I'd like to get an idea on your experience with these questions:

1. What was your reason for learning Chinese?

2. What do you usually talk about in Chinese?

3. Which is more important to you - reading, writing or speaking?

4. What is the most difficult thing about learning a language?

5. How long did it take you to be at least conversational?

6. What was your most effective way to memorize and understand the language?