What an interesting twist....usually teachers are blamed...

Australian Education Minister Peter Garrett had this to say about Asian Languages during an television interview;
"...we don't have a driving culture in this country .....which is saying from a parental point of view we want our kids to be in these schools learning these Asian languages."
What an interesting twist....usually teachers are blamed...
Highlights of the newspaper article include;

• Rates of Asian Language study is in a "state of freefall and collapse".
• The government spent $60 million to boost the uptake of Asian Languages

However, there has been a decline
This old chestnut was mentioned again....

• 5.8 % of year 12 students accross Australia are studying Asian Languages
• Only 300 of these are of a non-Chinese background
• Even fewer study Bahasa Indonesian

......and the solution is (drum role here).........our Ozzie Government has convened a working group of business and academic leaders to examin the issue...

They will consider making Chinese Mandarin part of the Australian National Curriculum (this means it would have an compulsory aspect)...this could be very unpopular with the following groups;

• Parents
• Principals
• non-LOTE teachers
• Students

However, apart from these players we should be fine.

Yep that will work.
So no suprises there.
Parents blamed for Asian study fall

Skritter + Wacom Tablet = Faster Hanzi Learning

Just over a month ago I bought two new Chinese learning resources. These are a subscription to Skritter and a Wacom Touch Tablet.

   += Faster Hanzi Learning

Things I like about learning with Skritter:

• Keeps me interested and motivated 
• Allows me to track progress and time spent learning 
• Makes learning Hanzi enjoyable 
• Allows me to focus on words I need or want to learn 
• Integrates with MDBG allows lookups and adding 
• Allows me to add new words from websites with one click 
• Helps me revise 
• Gives a sense of satisfaction and achievement 
• Has ready made sets of vocabulary for NPCR texts 
• Can work on computer or iPad 
• iPad App allows offline practice and syncs when connected Am able to use my Wacom tablet to write hanzi with a pen
• Plus many more reasons to use Skritter

The Wacom tablet allows me to write hanzi with a tablet pen. I feel that this to be better than writing with a mouse. I can also use the tablet to write hanzi in Evernote, Windows journal, Photoshop and other programmes that use ‘Ink’ input.


The only disadvantage the tablet is quite sensitive and I feel it makes my hanzi 不好看Bù hǎokàn (unattractive) Looking at my sample tablet written hanzi below I think you will agree. 

我的汉字不好看。Wǒ de hànzì bù hǎokàn. 

Still it gives me satisfaction to be able to use technology to learn and practice hanzi.


I am interested to know how others are using Skritter. It is has many features and I am not sure that I have found them or use them all yet. I know that Skritter is a very popular hanzi learning tool. I wonder how many people are using it?


It would be good to know if anyone else is using a tablet to hand write hanzi on computers.


Does anyone use iPads for hand writing hanzi? I have not been able to find a satisfactory App to do this properly.

Foreign languages to be compulsory from age seven - Telegraph

Meanwhile in England...

The trend to teach languages from an early age is news in England. Article also cites the declining uptake of languages in primary schools and high schools. A negative trend we also have in Oz.

Highlights from the two articles include;

"Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, will say that subjects such as French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, Latin or Greek will be made a compulsory part of the primary school timetable for the first time."

Foreign languages to be compulsory from age seven 


Michael Gove, the Education Secretary wants;

"...a foreign language compulsory for pupils from the age of seven."

"...under his plans, primary schools could offer lessons in Mandarin..."

Children will learn to recite poems by heart from age of 5

Chinese course to be offered at JWCC

Chinese course to be offered at JWCC

Meanwhile in Illinois...

A community college in Quincy, Illinois, USA is to begin offering Mandarin Chinese classes. Sounds like a very serious course of study.

"By the end of the course, students are expected to have the elementary ability to converse, read and write on selected topics of daily life, know the differences between the two Chinese writing systems, recognize 200 simplified Chinese characters, master Chinese phonics and tones of the language and build knowledge of traditional and modern Chinese culture, including proper Chinese business etiquette."

"The benefits of learning Mandarin Chinese are significant, especially in the increasingly competitive business world," JWCC instructor Cindy Wu Williams said.  "At this time, there is perhaps no other more important or complex relationship in the world than that between the United States and China. A second language can open up additional career options in a variety of industries."

新实用汉语课本 New Practical Chinese Reader 3

I have just started a new text book 新实用汉语课本 New Practical Chinese Reader 3. This is a sort of milestone in my learning. I think this is the last in the series that my University uses. Having started learning the first lesson there doesn't seem to be the sudden rise in difficulty that I found between the first and second text. Perhaps I have just become used to the methodology in the texts.



New Practical Chinese Reader: Textbook Vol.3

I really have only one crtiticism of these series of text books. I think that sometimes the books are not very practical. Vocabulary and conversations in the set text about Beijing opera, Shaoxing opera and classical novels I personally do not find very practical. I suppose that last sentence makes me sound like a Philistine, however I do not think I will have many opportunities to use 红楼梦 Dream of the Red Chamber (first completed edition 1791) by Cao Xueqin, one of the four great novels. Despite this the text is mostly practical and challenging enough to make learning Chinese interesting.

Preschoolers to learn second language under Tony Abbott and the Coalition | The Courier-Mail

I will believe this when I see it. Some big pre-election promises from our opposition government.

• Plan for every preschool child to learn a foreign language
• 40 per cent of Year 12 students to study second language

However there are no specifics of how this will be done. 

The rest of the article is the rehash of the current 'doom and gloom' of the current state of our language learning across Australia. 

Read more here --> Preschoolers to learn second language under Tony Abbott and the Coalition

Another article, which quotes language experts, reports that;

• $2bn needed to achieve Abbott’s language vision
• Language experts have applauded Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s pledge 
• Mr Abbott vowed to increase the number of Year 12 students studying a language other than English to 40% 
• Mr Abbott said he would also promote Asian languages from pre-school in a bid to improve the opportunities of Australians in the region 
• “His aspiration to have "40% of high school students learning another language” is absolutely achievable

$2bn needed to achieve Abbott’s language vision

Mandarin becoming the language to study

Meanwhile in New Zealand.

"The time is fast approaching when schools will chose to offer Mandarin instead of more traditional languages such as French, Latin or German."

There is an interest by some schools to teach students Mandarin.



When will Australian Schools start doing this?


Mandarin becoming the language to study - National - NZ Herald News

Return to China after ten years

For the next three weeks I shall be in Xian. I will be doing a three week intensive Chinese language course at Shanxi Normal University.  I have been looking forward to this for the past six months. Fortunately I will not be going alone as there are other students from my university going.

Last October marked ten years since I came back from China.  I taught English for just over a year at a college in Harbin. I am looking forward to seeing China again.


View Larger Map

Hyderabad, India - Chinese in School Now

Meanwhile in Hyderabad, India

Business Line : Industry & Economy / Economy : Chinese in school now