"Platform Period" Theory--what to expect after learning Chinese for some time I wanna talk a little bit about the process of learning language. After learning the basics of Chinese, you may find that your pace begin to slow down and you can't make as fast progress as you did in the beginning any more. This is the point where a lot of people give up because they need to see their progress to motivate themselves. If they don't, they suspect that they are in the frustrating wrong way. But in many cases they aren't, they are just in the what I call “platform period”. See it below. After this period, you will find yourself fly in the air in whatever way you want. Some people may not get into this “platform period” at all(I hope you don't!). Some people may be struck there for a long time. The best way to get over is practice with patience. Hope it helps you know what to expect in the process and prepare yourself well.