Today, as the computer is becoming more and more popular, everyday we use very often keyboard and voice input. As a result, most of us has almost forgetten how to write Chinese characters. It can be regarded as a skill, if one can persist in writing by hand 1000 Chinese characters every day. This could be better than to spend time reciting 5 English words every day, I believe. Of course, if you could do both, it would be the best.