The right way to Learn Chinese Characters Simply and Efficiently
Chinese language is a new territory for many whose first language use an alphabetic system such as English. Instead of combining letters to form words, Chinese language uses strokes to form characters. The commonly used Chinese characters alone contain 3000 keywords and phrases. Not only that, Chinese is also a tonal language with four different tones, commonly marked with accent marks, additionally unmarked represents the neutral tone. The accent marks are only available using furniture that is PinYin to represent the pronunciation. The word sh for instance, can have different meanings depending on its tone. The first tone sh can mean poetry or wet or teacher. The second tone sh can mean ten or time or valid. The third tone sh can mean history or to start or to cause. Lastly tone sh can mean yes or room or matter. In essence, strategies many similar sounds with various meanings. As a few fact, a Chinese linguist in the 20th century Zhao Yuanren composed a 10-line classical Chinese poem using only the sound shi.
Next, it is not always possible to guess the pronunciation of a mother nature herself. The character for wood, for instance, is pronounced mu. The character for forest, could be composed of two-character for wood, is pronounced lin. Although in this example the pronunciation can not related, the concept the characters are able to. On the contrary, when the pronunciation can be related due to similar root character, the meanings are not necessarily related.
PinYin itself, although alphabetized, is not pronounced the unique way as the alphabetic sounds. There are unfamiliar sounds because u with an umlaut () that sounds like a plan of I and u. Like all things unfamiliar, it might lead to uncertainty and fear. Thus, knowing the challenges learners face is the initial step in devising effective learning strategies that directly affect their language achievement.
The Strategies Once Learn Chinese Characters
Prof Ko-Yin Sung of Chinese Language Study from Utah State university conducted a groundwork amongst non-heritage, non-Asian Chinese language learners and uncovered interesting results could be help future learners in forming a helpful study technique. Her study revolves around the most used Chinese character learning strategies and how those strategies affect the learners’ ability in understanding and producing the sound and the writing of this Chinese emails.
The study finds that among finest twenty usually used strategies, eight of them are related to when a character is first introduced to learners. These include:
1. Repeating the character several times aloud or silently.
2. Writing the character down.
3. Noting how the smoothness is in context.
4. Noting the tone and associating it with pinyin.
5. Observing the character and stroke order.
6. Visualising the mood.
7. Hearing the explanation of the smoothness.
8. Associating the character with previously learned character.
The next six strategies are used to increase learners’ understanding for this newly introduced character.
9. Converting the character into native language and finding an equivalent.
10. Looking in the textbook or dictionary.
11. Checking if the actual character is used preceding.
12. Trying to discover how to say hi in chinese they are used in conversation.
13. Making use of the character in sentences by mouth.
14. Asking how the smoothness could provide in words.
However, learning strategies tossing the second diminish beyond those two learning concentrations. There are only three strategies used in memorising newly learned character.
15. Saying and writing the character at the same time frame.
16. Saying and picturing the character in your head.
17. Given the sound, visualising the character shape and meaning.
And there is only one strategy utilized for practising new characters.
18. Making sentences and writing them out.
And new characters are reviewed brand-new types of two strategies only.
19. Writing the characters many instances.
20. Reading over notes, example sentences and the textbook.
Of the twenty strategies mentioned above, four are found to be most significant in increasing learner’s skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing of fresh characters. Some strategies are:
Writing the characters down
Observing the stroke order
Making connection to a similar character
Saying and writing the type repeatedly
Discussion
A research by Stice in 1987 showed that students only retained 10% of what they learned from what they read, 26% from what they hear, and 30% from what they see. While studying modes are combined, a significant improvement in mastering retention is noted. Learning retention jumped to 50% when seeing and hearing are combined, and even higher at 70% when students repeat the materials they are learning, and learning retention is in the highest at 90% when students the materials usually are learning as they quite simply do anything. Simply reading the characters aren’t enough. Learners must associate the sound with the characters, create a connection that isn’t characters to make them memorable, and practice recalling the newly learned characters.
Study points too recalling new characters learned improves learning retention and reinforces getting to grips with. One way learn the correct this is by using an app for instance The Intelligent Flashcards. Additionally flashcard app is manufactured for the New Practical Chinese Reader textbooks, making it convenient to review characters dependent upon chapters. Simply does it show stroke order animation, it furthermore accompanied by native speaker sound files, making this app so significantly more convenient that another app with regard to example Anki. With Anki, although user may add personal notes on it, the sound file is not available and must be imported through another app.
Another important learning approach to incorporate is observing how a characters tend to be in perspective. This can finished by observing real-life conversations to grow the textbook and audio files conversation. The time interesting to note that individuals studied typically the abovementioned research were not wanting to adopt the educational strategies recommended by the instructors, for instance watching Chinese TV shows or listening Chinese movies. There could be many reasons why you are this. Design and style of the shows or songs cannot appeal to the learners.
Regarding this program is considerably less convenient. Or if the shows could be accessed online, rarely are they subtitled in both both Chinese and English which will make the shows more helpful to beginner learners in receiving the language. Also, most among the very popular Chinese Tv fall into the historical genre, which can be a favourite one of several Chinese, with regard to The Empress of China’s websites. However, the language spoken in this particular type of TV show is a bit more complex than the contemporary spoken Chinese.
