Articles in the ‘Science and research’ category
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Beyond tīng bu dǒng, part 4: Learning to process spoken Mandarin quickly and effortlessly
Our ability to consciously process spoken Mandarin is limited; the only way forward is to listen so much that processing becomes automated.
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Beyond tīng bu dǒng, part 3: Using what you already know to aid listening comprehension in Chinese
Listening comprehension is not only about extracting information from the spoken Mandarin you hear, it’s also about applying what you already know and expect.
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Beyond tīng bu dǒng, part 2: From sound to meaning in Mandarin
Listening comprehension in Mandarin is complex, and the more I learn about it, the more amazing it seems that we’re able to understand anything at all.
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Beyond tīng bu dǒng, part 1: A guide to Chinese listening comprehension
Listening comprehension is essential when learning Chinese, but if we want to improve, we need to move beyond tīng bu dǒng and identify what the problem really is.
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How to become fluent in Chinese
Being fluent in Chinese is more about being good at applying what you know, rather than knowing everything. Many students focus too much on learning new things, and neglect mastering what they’ve already learnt.
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Analyse and balance your Chinese learning with Paul Nation’s four strands
When learning Chinese, it’s hard to make sure you’re doing the right things. Paul Nation’s four strands allow you analyse and balance your learning!
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The building blocks of Chinese, part 6: Learning and remembering compound words
Compound words in Chinese can look confusing at first, but once you see the patterns, learning and remembering them becomes much easier.
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The building blocks of Chinese, part 5: Making sense of Chinese words
How many characters do you need to know to be able to read Chinese? The truth is that characters only provide a foundation, so regardless of how many you know, you won’t be able to read much unless you also know many words.
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6 challenges students face when learning to read Chinese and how to overcome them
Learning to read Chinese comes with several challenges, some of them unique to Chinese. What are these challenges, what do they mean for you as a student and how can you overcome them?
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Chinese language learning in the twenty-first century: Towards a digital ecosystem?
Digital resources have made learning Chinese considerably easier than it used to be, but another problem has appeared: How can we make sense of and navigate the vast number of resources and find what’s best for us?
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