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 words. Not only that, Chinese is also a tonal language with four different tones, commonly marked with accent marks, and whenever unmarked represents the neutral tone. The accent marks are only available possess 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 genuine. The third tone sh can mean history or to start or to cause. Last tone sh can mean yes or room or matter. In essence, are usually many similar sounds with assorted meanings. As a matter of fact, a Chinese linguist in the 20th century Zhao Yuanren composed a 10-line classical Chinese poem using only the sound shi.
Next, it isn’t 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 can potentially. 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 same manner as the alphabetic sounds. There are unfamiliar sounds pertaining to instance u with an umlaut () that sounds like a program of I and u. Like as much as possible unfamiliar, it typically causes uncertainty and are worried. Thus, knowing the challenges learners face is the most important step in devising effective learning strategies that directly affect their language accomplishments.
The Strategies Once Learn Chinese Characters
Prof Ko-Yin Sung of Chinese Language Study from Utah State university conducted a research amongst non-heritage, non-Asian Chinese language learners and uncovered interesting results that may help future learners in forming a highly effective study technique. Her study revolves around the most frequently employed Chinese character learning strategies and how those strategies affect the learners’ ability in understanding and producing the sound and the writing of this Chinese personas.
The study finds that among finest twenty most often used strategies, eight of them are springing out of when a personality is first introduced to learners. These include:
1. Repeating the character several times aloud or silently.
2. Writing the character down.
3. Noting how to say hello in chinese 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 character.
7. Experiencing the explanation of the.
8. Associating the character with previously learned character.
The next six strategies are used to increase learners’ understanding from the newly introduced character.
9. Converting the character into native language and finding a similar.
10. Looking in the textbook or dictionary.
11. Checking if fresh character is used early.
12. Discovering this how they are used in conversation.
13. While using character in sentences orally.
14. Asking how the type could be used in phrases.
However, learning strategies start to diminish beyond those two learning concentrations. There are only three strategies implemented in memorising newly learned avatar.
15. Saying and writing the character at duration.
16. Saying and picturing the character in consideration.
17. Given the sound, visualising the character shape and meaning.
And nevertheless only one strategy used in practising new characters.
18. Making sentences and writing them out.
And new characters are reviewed along with two strategies only.
19. Writing the characters many times.
20. Reading over notes, example sentences and the textbook.
Of the twenty strategies mentioned above, four are simply just to be most significant in increasing learner’s skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing of the new characters. Some strategies are:
Writing the characters down
Observing the stroke order
Making association with a similar character
Saying and writing the type repeatedly
Discussion
A research by Stice in 1987 showed that students only retained 10% of how they learned from what they read, 26% from what they hear, and 30% from what they see. When learning 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 yet learning, and learning retention is in the highest at 90% when students say the materials usually are learning though they do a product. Simply reading the characters are not enough. Learners must associate the sound with the characters, make a connection is not characters to make them memorable, and practice recalling the newly learned characters.
Study points too recalling new characters learned improves learning retention and reinforces understanding. One way to practice this will be by using an app for instance The Intelligent Flashcards. This particular flashcard app is planned for the New Practical Chinese Reader textbooks, making it convenient to review characters created from chapters. Also does it show stroke order animation, it is also accompanied by native speaker sound files, making this app bunches of more convenient that another app such as 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 method to incorporate is observing how a characters are widely used in circumstance. This can be practiced by observing real-life conversations to complement the textbook and audio recordings conversation. Usually interesting to that trainees studied in the abovementioned research were not wanting to adopt the learning strategies recommended by the instructors, for instance watching Chinese TV shows or listening Chinese song selections. There could be many reasons why you are this. Design and style of the shows or songs can not appeal to the learners.
To be able to this program is considerably less convenient. And even if the shows might accessed online, rarely is it subtitled in both both Chinese and English which will make the shows more beneficial to beginner learners in getting the language. Also, most on the very popular Chinese Tv fall in the historical genre, which is often a favourite one of several Chinese, regarding The Empress of Asia. However, the language spoken in this type of TV show is a great deal complex compared to a contemporary spoken Chinese.