Comments on: How to get good grades when studying Chinese

By: How to improve your Mandarin speaking skills with a tutor | Hacking Chinese

How to improve your Mandarin speaking skills with a tutor | Hacking Chinese — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 04:27:57 +0000

[…] I don’t think it’s a very useful approach in general, no matter what your goal is (except for getting a good grade); I’ve even switched schools because of […]

By: 8 reasons to learn to write Chinese characters by hand | Hacking Chinese

8 reasons to learn to write Chinese characters by hand | Hacking Chinese — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 03:24:07 +0000

[…] Getting good grades and getting good at Chinese are both important, but they are not the same thing. […]

By: Cramming vs. Spaced repetition for learning Chinese | Hacking Chinese

Cramming vs. Spaced repetition for learning Chinese | Hacking Chinese — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 13:47:29 +0000

[…] To summarise, cramming is a valid method that works for short-term studying. If you want to pass a course focusing on limited content and grades is everything you care about, cramming does the trick. For more about how to study to get good grades, check How to get good grades when studying Chinese. […]

By: 3 things I wish I had known as an intermediate student of Chinese | Hacking Chinese

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 07:08:50 +0000

[…] It’s important to understand that the discussion about grades in formal education introduces a new set of goals for your learning that might not be aligned with your own goals. If you really care about your grades, you will need to sacrifice otherwise sound strategies that would work in the real world but aren’t suited to your course. I wrote more about getting good grades here: How to get good grades when studying Chinese. […]

By: How to learn Chinese in the long term with intrinsic motivation | Hacking Chinese | Hacking Chinese

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 09:29:11 +0000

[…] not outsource this to your teacher or curriculum designer, even though you need to heed those too, especially if you want good grades. But simply following a course and doing what you’re told won’t cut […]

By: How to best use flashcards to learn Chinese | Hacking Chinese | Hacking Chinese

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 14:46:46 +0000

[…] formal course – If you’re in a course that tests your explicit knowledge of vocabulary and you care about your grades, you should use flashcards. You don’t need to rely on them for everything, but there simply […]

By: The illusion of advanced learning and what to do about it | Hacking Chinese

The illusion of advanced learning and what to do about it | Hacking Chinese — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 21:47:22 +0000

[…] If you really do care about your grades, I’ve written more about how to get better grades here: […]

By: Can ChatGPT pass the HSK? | Hacking Chinese | Hacking Chinese

Can ChatGPT pass the HSK? | Hacking Chinese | Hacking Chinese — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 08:57:33 +0000

[…] How to get good grades when studying Chinese […]

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 04:46:38 +0000

This article appropriately explains the study of Chinese language in Singapore schools.

In Singapore education system, English is the first language. Chinese is the second language. Chinese is offered to students in 2 version: Chinese （华文）and Higher Chinese （高级华文）。

Chinese is the compulsory subject. Every student therefore has to meet the “institutional goal”. They pass the subject so as to meet “institutional requirement”.

Higher Chinese is an optional subject, offered only to competent students who show interest in learning Chinese at higher level. Students who do Higher Chinese must therefore make it their “personal goal” to do well in the subject.

But Chinese proves to be a difficult subject for most students and more than 50% of Singapore students seek help from Chinese tutors. What is interesting is that the demand for Higher Chinese tutor is almost as high as Chinese tutor. It means there some higher Chinese students are so serious about their personal goal that they engage help from external tutor.

By: Olle Linge

Olle Linge — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 04:56:33 +0000

In reply to Jess. I agree, although we should say "tests as they tend to look in language programs". I think it's perfectly possible to design tests that actually focus on what they should, it's just that most teachers either don't know how or are unable to do so for other reasons (lack of time, resources, etc.).