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Learning Chinese

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Vegemite

Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #15 on: May 09, 2007, 04:09:10 AM »
When buying dictionaries I recommend that you get one that has both Hanzi and Pinyin for each entry, many of the dictionaries I was looking at didn't have this. Also, find one that has a couple of different radical indexes for the Hanzi. My favourite dictionary has both the modern radical stroke order index and a stroke number index. Means if I can't find the radical of a character, I just count the strokes and find it that way.

And this is one of my favourite sites:
http://www.yellowbridge.com/language/
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dragonsaver

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #16 on: January 30, 2008, 05:41:27 PM »
This question is for people that studied a second language before starting to learn Chinese.  I know French, maybe not a lot but enough to get by.  Others learned German or Spanish or English.

When you are trying to think of a Chinese word, do you automatically think of the word in your second language first?  I often think of French words.  Another teacher I work with studied German.  She started speaking German the other day thinking she was speaking Chinese.
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Con ate dog

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #17 on: January 30, 2008, 06:01:50 PM »
All the frickin' time!   pppppppppp My brain divides language into "English" and "other".  C'est plus horrible quand je ne connais pas le mot en Chinois. bibibibibi
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ericthered

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #18 on: January 30, 2008, 10:41:06 PM »
I recommend acquiring the "Integrated Chinese" books, both text book and workbook. The cd's are sold seperately but are well worth investing in. The books come in traditional, simplified and Traditional-simplified character versions. I found the latter to be best.
The Oxford English-Chinese/Chinese-English dictionary which comes with a Dictionary cd you install on your computer is quite good.
For grammar, I bought "Basic Chinese Grammar" and "Intermediate Chinese Grammar". They are immensely good.
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"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde.

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Monkey King

Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #19 on: January 31, 2008, 12:39:57 AM »
Quote from: ericthred
For grammar, I bought "Basic Chinese Grammar" and "Intermediate Chinese Grammar". They are immensely good.

Are those the Po-Ching / Rimmington books by any chance?  If so, how do you use them?  Although I agree they are excellent, I find them just too dense to work through unit by unit, and haven't found a satisfactory way to incorporate them into my day to day study yet, unlike various other various other resources (Dictionary, ChinesePod, etc) which all have their 'place' in my study regime.
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ericthered

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #20 on: January 31, 2008, 01:37:55 AM »
I just go through one unit, reading it a couple of times, then I transcribe the rules. I then transcribe the words on homemade flashcards. I then organize the rules into Main Rule and below that exceptions. Then I practise the words. I read my newly organized rules over and over again until they stick and then I do the exercises. Once you have done about 8 units like that I just find learning the language gets easier.
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"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde.

"It's all oojah cum spiffy". Bertie Wooster.
"The stars are God's daisy chain" Madeleine Bassett.
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contemporarydog

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #21 on: January 31, 2008, 09:16:11 AM »
Deleted - just seen this is an old thread and I had already made the post once :D
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Stil

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #22 on: January 31, 2008, 10:48:08 AM »
Quote from: ericthered on January 31, 2008, 01:37:55 AM
I just go through one unit, reading it a couple of times, then I transcribe the rules. I then transcribe the words on homemade flashcards. I then organize the rules into Main Rule and below that exceptions. Then I practise the words. I read my newly organized rules over and over again until they stick and then I do the exercises. Once you have done about 8 units like that I just find learning the language gets easier.

Wow, that's like studying eh?

I just talk to bad girls, then text messages. It's working out well so far. I have no clue as to the rules but my grammar improves as my listening/reading comprehension improves.
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ericthered

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #23 on: January 31, 2008, 10:51:36 AM »
Stil, that's exactly what I would do were I in China which, if Odin is nice, I will be this time next year. All the bad girls here speak Danish and they're not impressed by my ability to mumble incoherent sentences in their own language, opposed ot the admiration shown by ladies in Nanchang when I, with a big goofy grin, proudly proclaimed "my shoes are black" in Chinese.
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"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde.

"It's all oojah cum spiffy". Bertie Wooster.
"The stars are God's daisy chain" Madeleine Bassett.
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Monkey King

Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #24 on: January 31, 2008, 09:04:59 PM »
Quote
I just go through one unit, reading it a couple of times, then I transcribe the rules. I then transcribe the words on homemade flashcards. I then organize the rules into Main Rule and below that exceptions. Then I practise the words. I read my newly organized rules over and over again until they stick and then I do the exercises. Once you have done about 8 units like that I just find learning the language gets easier.

Heh, I like the use of the word 'just' at the start...bloody hell.  OK, I'll give these books another shot using a similar method...they were actually quite expensive and don't deserve to gather dust on my ever growing pile of barely used Chinese textbooks.
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Con ate dog

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #25 on: January 31, 2008, 09:31:57 PM »
Quote from: Stil on January 31, 2008, 10:48:08 AM
I just talk to bad girls, then text messages. It's working out well so far. I have no clue as to the rules but my grammar improves as my listening/reading comprehension improves.

 llllllllll  So obvious now that I think of it.
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And there is no liar like the indignant man... -Nietszche

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. -William James

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Stil

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #26 on: February 01, 2008, 01:15:21 PM »
er.... i talk to good girls too but that feels more like studying.  uuuuuuuuuu
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ericthered

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #27 on: February 03, 2008, 12:49:29 AM »
Stil, isn't one of the points of learning Chinese to talk to good girls and thus using your verbal skills to convince said girls to be bad?
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"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde.

"It's all oojah cum spiffy". Bertie Wooster.
"The stars are God's daisy chain" Madeleine Bassett.
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Stil

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #28 on: February 04, 2008, 09:21:29 PM »
Well, it's all in the definition of good girl, bsd girl. For me good girl means any of the girls i'm not interested in.
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Lotus Eater

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Re: Learning Chinese
« Reply #29 on: August 01, 2008, 04:35:14 PM »
Peng's Chinese Treasure Chinese Radicals Vol 1 & 11

The easy explanations, and drawings in these little volumes are really helpful for understanding the construction of the characters, showing the logic behind their development ( e.g. 好 = 女+子 Good = woman + child. 休 = 人 + 木 Rest = man + tree).

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