Ways 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 approach. Not only that, Chinese is additionally tonal language with four different tones, commonly marked with accent marks, proper unmarked represents the neutral tone. The accent marks are only available getting eco-friendly furniture helps 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 a fact. The third tone sh can mean history or to start or to cause. Finally tone sh can mean yes or room or matter. In essence, strategies many similar sounds distinctive 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 design. The character for wood, for instance, is pronounced mu. The character for forest, which is composed of two-character for wood, is pronounced lin. Although in this example the pronunciation cannot be related, the concise explaination the characters may possibly. 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 pertaining to instance u with an umlaut () that sounds like a combination of I and u. Like everything unfamiliar, it typically causes uncertainty and fear. Thus, knowing the challenges learners face is the initial step in devising effective learning strategies that directly affect their language becoming successful.

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 Far east learners and uncovered interesting results that may help future learners in forming an effective study procedure. Her study revolves surrounding the most frequently employed Chinese character learning strategies and how to say hi in chinese those strategies affect the learners’ ability in understanding and producing the sound and the writing of this Chinese personas.

The study finds that among the top twenty most important used strategies, eight pros are most typically associated with 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 character is utilized for context.

4. Noting the tone and associating it with pinyin.

5. Observing the character and stroke order.

6. Visualising the letter.

7. Hearing the explanation of the character.

8. Associating the character with previously learned identity.

The next six strategies are familiar with increase learners’ understanding of the newly introduced character.

9. Converting the character into native language and finding an equivalent.

10. Looking in the textbook or dictionary.

11. Checking if brand new character is used preceding.

12. Learning how these kinds of used in conversation.

13. When using the character in sentences orally.

14. Asking how the smoothness could be used in words.

However, learning strategies start to diminish beyond those two learning concentrations. There are only three strategies used in memorising newly learned nature herself.

15. Saying and writing the character at duration.

16. Saying and picturing the character in your head.

17. Due to the sound, visualising the character shape and meaning.

And tend to be : only one strategy for the practising new characters.

18. Making sentences and writing them out.

And new characters are reviewed with these two strategies only.

19. Writing the characters many occasions when.

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. The 4 strategies are:

Writing the characters down

Observing the stroke order

Making connection to a similar character

Saying and writing the character repeatedly

Discussion

A research by Stice in 1987 showed that students only retained 10% of how they learned from what they read, 26% from whatever hear, and 30% from what they see. While studying modes are combined, a significant improvement to learn retention is noted. Learning retention jumped to 50% when seeing and hearing are combined, and even higher at 70% when students the materials yet learning, and learning retention is in the highest at 90% when students say the materials usually are learning simply because they do something. Simply reading the characters are not enough. Learners must associate the sound with the characters, develop a connection the brand new characters become worse them memorable, and practice recalling the newly learned characters.

Study shows that recalling new characters learned improves learning retention and reinforces understanding the concepts of. One way learn the correct this is by using an app since The Intelligent Flashcards. Amounts . flashcard app is suited for the New Practical Chinese Reader textbooks, making it convenient to review characters on such basis as chapters. Also does it show stroke order animation, it is also accompanied by native speaker sound files, making this app so much more convenient that another app with regard to example Anki. With Anki, although user will add personal notes on it, the sound file isn’t available and must be imported through another app.

Another important learning strategy to incorporate is observing the actual characters are usually employed in situation. This can finished by observing real-life conversations to add to the textbook and audio files conversation. The time interesting to note that trainees studied typically the abovementioned research were unwilling to adopt the educational strategies recommended by the instructors, such as watching Chinese TV shows or listening Chinese songs. There could be many reasons that generate this. The style of the shows or songs could not appeal into the learners.

Regarding this program is quite a bit less convenient. Instances if the shows might be accessed online, rarely a tick subtitled in either both Chinese and English which would make the shows more employed to beginner learners in buying the language. Also, most among the very popular Chinese Tv fall in the historical genre, which is often a favourite on the list of Chinese, with regard to example The Empress of Asia. However, the language spoken in this type of TV show is somewhat more complex compared contemporary spoken Chinese.