What's the context?

I have a short attention span. In many of my other classes, my mind tends to wander if the topic being discussed is something I find no interest in, or even if it is, I get distracted easily. Yes, I am one of those students. It isn't that I demand extra attention, I just have a different way of learning things. If a lecture is not engaging to me, I would rather take a few brief notes and re-learn the subject matter on my own. Now, mind you, this isn't so much the case in Chinese, as my interest in the language and history has no (foreseeable) limits. In approaching Chinese, my biggest problem is retaining information, which is why learning the language itself through stories and historical anecdotes bodes well for me. I've found that I remember certain words or phrases better if they are indicators of a bigger picture. I guess you could call it application...or better yet, contextual learning. Now, to find a longer attention span...