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 approach. Not only that, Chinese is one more tonal language with four different tones, commonly marked with accent marks, and whenever 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 possible. 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, are usually many similar sounds with different 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 is not always possible to guess the pronunciation of a characteristics. The character for wood, for instance, is pronounced mu. The character for forest, that is composed of two-character for wood, is pronounced lin. Although in this example the pronunciation can’t be related, the concept the characters are able to. On the contrary, when the pronunciation can be related due to similar root character, the meanings aren’t 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 everything unfamiliar, it can cause uncertainty and fearfulness. Thus, knowing the challenges learners face is the initial step in devising effective learning strategies that directly affect their language accomplishments.
The Strategies Used to Learn Chinese Characters
Prof Ko-Yin Sung of Chinese Language Study from Utah State university conducted a research amongst non-heritage, non-Asian Truly learners and uncovered interesting results may be help future learners in forming a helpful study tactic. Her study revolves surrounding the most regularly 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 character types.
The study finds that among the top twenty most frequently used strategies, eight pros are related to 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 the is implemented in context.
4. Noting the tone and associating it with pinyin.
5. Observing the character and stroke order.
6. Visualising the mood.
7. Experiencing the explanation of the character.
8. Associating the character with previously learned nature.
The next six strategies are used to 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 the new character is used a long time ago.
12. Discovering this how they are used in conversation.
13. Using the character in sentences orally.
14. Asking how the type could double hello in mandarin chinese lines.
However, learning strategies come to diminish beyond those two learning stages. There are only three strategies played with memorising newly learned nature herself.
15. Saying and writing the character at once.
16. Saying and picturing the character in consideration.
17. Given the sound, visualising the character shape and meaning.
And hard work only one strategy utilized for practising new characters.
18. Making sentences and writing them out.
And new characters are reviewed truly worth two strategies only.
19. Writing the characters many years.
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 the actual characters. The 4 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 whatever hear, and 30% from what they see. When learning modes are combined, an essential 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 they are learning, and learning retention is in the highest at 90% when students the materials they are learning simply because they do a product. Simply reading the characters aren’t enough. Learners must associate the sound with the characters, create a connection the brand new characters become worse them memorable, and practice recalling the newly learned characters.
Study points too recalling new characters learned improves learning retention and reinforces learning. One way learn the correct this is by using an app such as The Intelligent Flashcards. This particular flashcard app is designed for the New Practical Chinese Reader textbooks, making it convenient evaluation characters on such basis as chapters. Also does it show stroke order animation, it furthermore accompanied by native speaker sound files, making this app so much more convenient that another app while Anki. With Anki, although user will add personal notes on it, the sound file is not available and must be imported through another app.
Another important learning method to incorporate is observing the actual characters are widely used in perspective. This can performed by observing real-life conversations to assist the textbook and audio files conversation. Around the globe interesting to make note of that learners studied the particular abovementioned research were often unwilling to adopt the learning strategies recommended by the instructors, such as watching Chinese TV shows or listening Chinese song selections. There could be many reasons that generate this. The style of the shows or songs may not appeal to your learners.
Regarding this program is considerably less convenient. And additionally if the shows become accessed online, rarely draught beer subtitled in either both Chinese and English which would make the shows more employed to beginner learners in receiving the language. Also, most on the very popular Chinese Television programs fall into the historical genre, which is a favourite on the list of Chinese, regarding The Empress of Asia. However, the language spoken in this type of TV show is good deal more complex than the contemporary spoken Chinese.