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 words. Not only that, Chinese is along with a tonal language with four different tones, commonly marked with accent marks, additionally unmarked represents the neutral tone. The accent marks are only available unfavorable 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 true. 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 distinctive 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 mother nature herself. 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 isn’t related, the concise explaination 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 combination of I and u. Like every item and fixture unfamiliar, it can cause uncertainty and are worried. Thus, knowing the challenges learners face is the initial step in devising effective learning strategies that directly affect their language satisfaction.
The Strategies Would once 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 could be help future learners in forming a highly effective study procedure. Her study revolves around 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 emails.
The study finds that among leading twenty usually used strategies, eight regarding 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 type is in context.
4. Noting the tone and associating it with pinyin.
5. Observing the character and stroke order.
6. Visualising the mood.
7. Learning the explanation of the character.
8. Associating the character with previously learned nature.
The next six strategies are familiar with increase learners’ understanding for this newly introduced character.
9. Converting the character into native language and finding a similar.
10. Looking in the textbook or dictionary.
11. Checking if the character is used a long time ago.
12. Finding out how to say hello in chinese very good used in conversation.
13. When using the character in sentences orally.
14. Asking how the character could double in words.
However, learning strategies commence to diminish beyond those two learning periods. There are only three strategies played with memorising newly learned nature herself.
15. Saying and writing the character at one time.
16. Saying and picturing the character in your head.
17. Due to the sound, visualising the character shape and meaning.
And presently there only one strategy discovered practising new characters.
18. Making sentences and writing them out.
And new characters are reviewed overall performance two strategies only.
19. Writing the characters many time intervals.
20. Reading over notes, example sentences and the textbook.
Of the twenty strategies mentioned above, four are only to be most significant in increasing learner’s skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing of the characters. A few strategies are:
Writing the characters down
Observing the stroke order
Making connection to a similar character
Saying and writing the smoothness 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. When studying modes are combined, an essential 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 these kind of are learning, and learning retention is at the highest at 90% when students the materials usually are learning as they quite do a product. Simply reading the characters aren’t enough. Learners must associate the sound with the characters, make a connection is not characters come up with them memorable, and practice recalling the newly learned characters.
Study shows that recalling new characters learned improves learning retention and reinforces getting to grips with. One way to practice this can be using an app with regard to example The Intelligent Flashcards. Amounts . flashcard app is suited for the New Practical Chinese Reader textbooks, making it convenient evaluation characters dependent upon chapters. Not only does it show stroke order animation, it one other 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 can also add personal notes on it, the sound file is not available and should be imported through another app.
Another important learning method to incorporate is observing any characters are usually employed in perspective. This can be practiced by observing real-life conversations to supplement the textbook and audio recordings conversation. Usually interesting to notice that individuals studied on the inside abovementioned research were hesitant to adopt the learning strategies recommended by the instructors, such as watching Chinese TV shows or listening Chinese songs. There could be many causes this. Design and style of the shows or songs cannot appeal to the learners.
Use of this program is quite a bit less convenient. Also if the shows become accessed online, rarely real estate agent subtitled in both Chinese and English which would make the shows more employed to beginner learners in having the language. Also, most of this very popular Chinese Television programs fall into the historical genre, which is a favourite among the Chinese, with regard to example The Empress of Cina. However, the language spoken in this particular type of TV show is a bit more complex than the contemporary spoken Chinese.