Chinese language is an unfamiliar 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 thoughts. Not only that, Chinese is yet another tonal language with four different tones, commonly marked with accent marks, proper unmarked represents the neutral tone. The accent marks are only available when using 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 possible. 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 unique 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 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 would be 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 in an identical way as the alphabetic sounds. There are unfamiliar sounds with regard to u with an umlaut () that sounds like a compounding of I and u. Like as much as possible unfamiliar, it can cause 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 Would once Learn Chinese Characters
Prof Ko-Yin Sung of Chinese Language Study from Utah State university conducted a groundwork amongst non-heritage, non-Asian Truly learners and uncovered interesting results could be help future learners in forming a good study procedure. Her study revolves surrounding 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 in the Chinese emails.
The study finds that among leading twenty most often used strategies, eight from them are springing out of 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 in context.
4. Noting the tone and associating it with pinyin.
5. Observing the character and stroke order.
6. Visualising the character.
7. Learning the explanation of the type.
8. Associating the character with previously learned character.
The next six strategies are often increase learners’ understanding from 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 the actual character already been used a long time ago.
12. Trying to discover how these kinds of used in conversation.
13. When using the character in sentences orally.
14. Asking how the character could double in phrases.
However, learning strategies commence to diminish beyond those two learning periods. There are only three strategies implemented hello in mandarin chinese memorising newly learned avatar.
15. Saying and writing the character at the same time.
16. Saying and picturing the character in your head.
17. With the sound, visualising the character shape and meaning.
And presently there 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 instances.
20. Reading over notes, example sentences and the textbook.
Of the twenty strategies mentioned above, four are simply 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 back as they learned from what they read, 26% from whatever hear, and 30% from what they see. When studying modes are combined, a considerable improvement to learn retention is noted. Learning retention jumped to 50% when seeing and hearing are combined, and even higher at 70% when students say the materials they are learning, and learning retention is at the highest at 90% when students the materials these kinds of are learning simply because they do the one thing. Simply reading the characters aren’t enough. Learners must associate the sound with the characters, make a connection that isn’t characters become worse them memorable, and practice recalling the newly learned characters.
Study signifies that recalling new characters learned improves learning retention and reinforces understanding. One way learn the correct this is actually using an app with regard to example The Intelligent Flashcards. Additionally flashcard app is planned for the New Practical Chinese Reader textbooks, making it convenient evaluation characters dependent upon chapters. Just does it show stroke order animation, it one more accompanied by native speaker sound files, making this app so significantly more convenient that another app regarding example Anki. With Anki, although user could add personal notes on it, the sound file isn’t available and should be imported through another app.
Another important learning strategy to incorporate is observing how a characters tend to be in framework. This can be practiced by observing real-life conversations to complement the textbook and audio tracks conversation. The time interesting to make note of that university students studied on the inside abovementioned research were hesitant to adopt the training strategies recommended by the instructors, such as watching Chinese TV shows or listening Chinese songs. There could be many options for this. The style of the shows or songs usually will not appeal for the learners.
Regarding this program is considerably less convenient. And additionally if the shows might be accessed online, rarely real estate agent subtitled in both both Chinese and English which makes the shows more beneficial to beginner learners in getting the language. Also, most of this very popular Chinese Tv shows fall in the historical genre, which is really a favourite among the Chinese, such as The Empress of Cina. However, the language spoken in this particular type of TV show is much more complex as opposed to a contemporary spoken Chinese.