Supplementary Text Books

I don’t use supplementary text books often enough. I do have a very good Basic Chinese A Grammar and Workbook published by Routledge.  Click on the picture to find out more details.

Basic Chinese A Grammar and Workbook

It is only now that I am beginning to appreciate some of the intricacies of Mandarin Grammar. To be really honest I at my level I find some of the Chinese Grammar too good to be true. Of course I am comparing it to German Grammar, Japanese Grammar and English Grammar. It may just be my level of Chinese, but I am really finding it easy…too easy. Each chapter of Basic Chinese A Grammar and Workbook has very simple easy to understand explanations and a then a series of exercises to test your understanding.  Of course answers at the back to check. Perhaps one of the reasons I don’t use it much is that it seems a bit low-tech too. I tend to use online dictionaries, Chinese teaching and learning websites and Youtube for explanations and to deepen understanding. However as I am always looking for ways to improve my learning techniques I am going to make an effort to use my grammar book more often over the next month.

Flash Cards Part II

My previous brief mention of Quizlet did not really do justice to all that can be done on the website.  This site makes flashcards fun.  Most of the activities are offered for free.  You can create a set of electronic double sided flashcards. I have created sets in various combinations; English / Pinyin, English / Hanzi, Hanzi / Pinyin, etcetera. The interface for making these is very simple and intuitive. You can drag and drop from lists and import complete sets from other applications such as Excel or Word. 

One of the best features of is that Quizlet will read the card to you. This is really important for aural learners.  More importantly it is an excellent tool for Mandarin learners as tones are so important. Quizlet doesn’t always read the tone correctly, but it is mostly accurate. 

Below the cards are a number of activities to where Quizlet will test you. These are Speller, Learn and Test.  I tend to use the Quizlet Test feature. It will generate a random test which can be customized with these features; Written, Matching, Multiple Choice and True/False questions. There are even more choices for customization of your test below this.  After taking the test it will automatically add up your score and give you a percentage and grade.  You can retake the test or generate a new one. More learning tools include two types of games Scatter and Space Race. I have tried these, but much prefer the Test feature. 

Finally Quizlet is cross platform. It works very well on my Windows PC and my iPod and iPad. So anywhere where there is a wireless connection I can access Quizlet. I think every serious learner should use Quizlet to learn Mandarin. 

Below is a set of NPRC Lesson 11 flashcards that I created, same set of cards in with the Learn activity and the Scatter game.  Try them and see what you think. 

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards | Study mandarin flash cards

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards | Study mandarin flash cards

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards | Study mandarin flash cards

Hanzi Practice Sheets

I find learning Hanzi quite enjoyable. For me I do not find it particularly difficult. I expect it comes from learning Japanese Kanji for many years. So learning new Hanzi does not bother me. The rules of writing Hanzi top to bottom, left to right and fill boxes before closing them is something that comes naturally to me now. I have several sources of Hanzi practice sheets; Hanyu.com has stroke order animations and sound files for New Practical Chinese Reader (NPCR), a site called New Trier has downloadable sets of NPCR 1 and NPCR 2 practice writing sheets  and lastly there is Hanlexon. I like Hanlexon resources as the site will allow you to customize your own Hanzi character practice sheet. I found this site very useful before my last exam.

I don’t really have one set method for learning Hanzi. I use pen and pencil to fill out practice sheets. I occasionally use my iPad with a drawing App. I tend to rote learn while listening to music. I do try to make links and connections with previously learned Hanzi. I do use a lot of Mnemonics which I shall write about in detail in a future post.

Flash Cards

I have always been a big fan of flashcards. For me they are a great way to learn vocabulary and sentences. For my current text book I have a few options.  The HSK Flashcard website has sets of flashcards for New Practical Chinese Reader, Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì, Integrated Chinese and other texts. The cards are in a variety of formats such as; Excel, PDF, Pleco, etcetera. I had a set for NPCR 1 printed and use them fairly regularly.

I also use several Apps for iPad and iPod. However, my favourite flashcard website is Quizlet. This website has many premade flashcards on a very wide variety of topics and languages.  You can make your own custom set and add images. One of the best features is that it will read the virtual card to you. It works very well for reading 汉字 and pinyin.  I have modified several sets for my own learning.  But wait there is more. There are several games for studying and you can generate tests. So overall it is a great way to learn and test your skills. Quizlet works very well on PC and iPad. 

Between Semesters

Right now university is between semesters. I expect most students and lecturers are enjoying the winter break. I however, decided to keep learning Mandarin. Right now I have just finished lesson 11 in the New Practical Chinese Reader, Textbook Vol. 1 text that we use. I plan to move on to chapter 12 and 13 before the semester begins. As my course of study is distance and online learning there is an incentive for me to keep learning during my holidays. It makes up for the times I get too lazy  busy at work to do as much as I need to do during the semester. So I am going to keep going with my learn ahead study method. I know of at least one of my fellow students who is also studying Mandarin during the break. Her idea was to go back and translate the vocabulary and sentences for the first 10 chapters. Her plan is to translate from Chinese to English and then back to Chinese. Admirable and ambitious and I wish her well.

This would not suite me as a study method. I would soon get very bored trying to learn every word and sentence that we have already covered. It is unrealistic that students should be expected to learn every single word and sentence of the text.  I tend to be more eclectic in my learning I do not feel the need to learn words that I may not use (now or in the future) or sentences that I would have no need. Believe me there are a lot of them (well IMHO) in the text. So if you find yourself learning foreign languages choose carefully from vocab lists things that you think you will use. Pick and choose what you need from lists.  You will soon get a feel for what is core and what is supplementary in the lists of voc.  

Livemocha

Late last year and early this year, before my UNE studies commenced, I did some units with Livemocha. It is an interesting way to learn language. The methodology is a type of immersion. Grammar is not formally taught and your submissions and practices are rated and moderated by native speakers. In return you are asked to do the same and in my case I marked and offered help to students learning English. It is very much a social networking site with a purpose. Most of the units of work are free. Though there are schemes for a different tier of learning for paid subscription. During the few months that I learned Mandarin with Livemocha I enjoyed the learning modules.