Recent articles about how to learn Mandarin Page 55
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The Chinese-Chinese dictionary survival guide
This article is about using Chinese-Chinese dictionaries, both from a personal point of view and in a more general sense. The goal is to provide tips and tricks for using Chinese-Chinese dictionaries, traps to avoid and other things that will be helpful for learners who intend to move from English-Chinese to Chinese-Chinese.
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Enjoying the journey while focusing on the destination
Everybody has different reasons for studying Chinese, but whatever the final goal is, it is important to make the journey interesting as well. Enjoying studying isn’t simply a cliché, it’s quite necessary if you want to invest the time needed to master a language. This article discusses the journey, the destination and the relationship between them. To put it briefly: don’t forget to look at the view.
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Learning Chinese the holistic way: Integrating knowledge
Holistic learning is about integrating what you learn into a web of things you already know and thus making it much easier to learn and remember. This is in contrast with traditional education methods which often emphasise isolated facts and don’t make proper use of what learners already know.
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Achieving the impossible by being inspired
Teaching and inspiring are two closely related things. If you can see all superiors as sources of inspiration and knowledge, you will advance faster than if you view them as rivals or opponents. Similarly, realise that you have your own strong sides that inspire other people. Don’t hesitate to teach others if they want to be taught. Inspiration is cyclic in its nature and should flow freely in all directions.
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How to find more time to practise Chinese listening
Listening is probably the most important skill when learning Chinese, and the more you practise, the better. In order to listen as much as you should, you need to stop thinking about listening as a study activity and start thinking about it as a part of life!
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Growing up in Chinese as a foreign adult
Learning Chinese is in many ways like becoming a child again. That has it’s advantages, but it can also be incredibly frustrating at times. As usual, being aware of the problem is the first step towards solving it. Unfortunately, the only way to handle this particular problem is to adopt a healthy attitude towards it.
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How to make Chinese easier by using mnemonics and memory techniques
Mnemonics are clever memory techniques that can be used to memorise everything from decks of cards to speeches, but how do you use them to learn Chinese?
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Chinese vocabulary in your pocket
Having vocabulary with you so that you can study anywhere isn’t merely a handy trick, it’s essential. You don’t want to waste high quality time at home in front of your computer doing something you might as well do in the super market queue or while waiting for the bus. Study the right things at the right time!
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Memorising dictionaries to boost Chinese reading ability
Memorising a dictionary is of course not an optimal way of learning vocabulary, but I do think it’s good to use frequency lists (such as dictionaries listing the most common characters) to plug holes in your foundation and make it stronger.
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Escaping the convenience trap to learn more Chinese
We like to spend time doing what we’re already good at, which might be a good thing if we’re aiming for excellence in a very narrow field. However, learning a language is not so narrow and requires us ta learn a variety of skills. In this article, I explore the tendency to focus on what we’re already good at and some of it’s negative consequences. I also propose some hands-on tips to escape the convenience trap.
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