Articles tagged with ‘Immersion’ Page 2
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Learning Chinese words: When quantity beats quality
Any teacher, student or researcher will agree that vocabulary is important, but how should you go about it? What’s the goal? This article argues that a common problem for learners of Chinese is that they spend too much time learning too few words, and that they would be better of aiming for quantity over quality in many cases.
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Chinese is fascinating and exciting, not weird and stupid
Languages are neither negative or positive in themselves; it’s all in the eye of the beholder. But does it matter what you think about Chinese language and culture? Is it harder to learn Mandarin if you think the language is weird and stupid? This article looks closer at this question, and argues that deliberately adopting a positive approach will lead to better and more enjoyable learning.
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Learning to unicycle, learning anatomy and learning Chinese
Is learning Chinese more like learning to unicycle or like learning anatomy? It strongly depends on what we’re talking about more precisely. Some aspects of language learning are skills akin to unicycling, others are more about knowing and understanding.
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Can you learn Chinese faster by making it harder?
Throwing yourself into very challenging situations can be great for language learning, but so can focusing on large volumes of easier content too. So when should you use which approach? This article discusses if you can learn faster by making it harder.
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Comprehension-based listening vs deep end immersion
What works best for improving listening ability, graded content targeted at your specific level or deep-end immersion? The answer is that both approaches are necessary, but which you use depends a lot on practical considerations, as well as how much time and energy you have to invest.
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Learn Chinese faster by leaving your comfort zone
If you want to learn Chinese faster, you have to make sure you leave your comfort zone and challenge yourself as much and as often as you can. There are many things of doing this, including immersing yourself in language above your current level or putting yourself in situations that demand a higher level of performance. Leave your comfort zone!
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Chinese listening practice with 锵锵三人行
锵锵三人行 is one of the few Chinese TV programs I actually like. It’s also one of the best ones for language learners too, mostly because of it’s heavy focus on talking, availability of transcripts and variety of both guests and topics. This should be a key component of any immersion effort, but you probably need to be upper intermediate or above to benefit.
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Why you should learn Chinese in Chinese
It’s helpful to use your native language to learn Chinese, but one of the first things you should do is to convert anything you use often in the learning process into Chinese. This includes common classroom expressions or other phrases used when learning. Advanced students will find challenges in Chinese-only learning materials and dictionaries.
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Three steps to more and better Chinese listening practice
Learning to understand spoken Chinese takes time. This article looks at three strategies for better Chinese listening practice for long-term learning.
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Change your attitude to enjoy life and learn more Chinese
Attitude is one of the key factors when learning a language as well as for life in general. This article is about how a change of perspective can turn negative situations into learning opportunities and become a happier person overall.
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