I’ve been learning Chinese characters for a couple of years (after I learned Japanese for a while). Reading simplified characters is therefore relatively easy for me, but there is a big gap to my listening and speaking skills, incl. usage of grammar.
What I like most about Chinese Track is really the English-to-Chinese practice, something others (incl. ChinesePod) don’t have enough of even though it is THE key skill I believe. The more is really the better here. I just feel the CT approach is more organized, at least it helped me more.
The other good thing about Chinese Track is the gradual phasing in of Chinese conversation into the lessons. I think you are doing it right. Example: For texts that I would easily understand from its written form (Simplified) but never if spoken, I get a chance to grasp the listening comprehension because you have both the natural and the slowed-down version. Other example: Lower-level lessons may be very easy for me if I read the text, but they are just the right level (short with very common words) to train my listening comprehension.
Bottom-line: I find multiple levels of CT a good fit, depending on the focus I want to place.
