Advice to Higher chinese student!

[Rhapsody]

Sorry but i know that i am going to take a long time to type what i want to say in chinese.

I really want tmy chinese standard to improve tremendously during this holiday. You see in O level, L1R5, if all my five sujects got A1, but a C in HCL, it will be such a letdown! I want to go to my dream junior college; the 2 points that can be deducted is really important as a result.

I will now pour out the diifculties i face whenever i am 'studying' chinese. In chinese cloze passage, there are always quite a number of words that i'm unfamiliar with. So i check the dictionary. Alright, after knowing the meaning, doesn't mean that word will remain in my head since then. I need to memorise them, and i need to visualise this word in my mind to remeber how am i going to write that word. The worse is that, i don;t even know how to use these words although i know meaning. sometiems i may even forget after a while!!

Next, for writing essay. Ok, i have decided that im going to write 报章报道 in the O levels, cos, compared to itehr type of essay qns, i am more familiar with this type of qns.

Ok, for this essay writing, my sentence structure is atrocious. Other than that, i don't know how to express myself well. I need to crack my brain for a perfect sentence. I REALLY HATE IT.

Please people, i really from my the bottom of my heart, really plea ya'll to advice me well. Please take this thread seriously. I really, really desperately, wanted to improve my chinese. I hope you understand me. Deosn't mean i am hidden behind the veil of anonymity,you can just remiss in answering qns.

This is my studying method, always before the exam. I will bust my ass off, and memorise almost the whole essay in those model essay guide. Normally i will sleep for about 1 hour, so as to rememeber their perfect sentences in the model essay and try to memorise as many newspaper report topic as possible. I hated this type of studying method. But my own sentence structure it's atrocious, like i said.

And now during holiday, ok, i write, like many people advised me, read chinese newpaper and write more!

But how can my writing improve when the type of standard during writing is not good. it will just perpetuate to the same problem. Next ok reading, this is frustrating. In my mind, reading to me means that you will appreciate the sentences and learn how they use the words, and so on. I know. But usually when i'm readig, my mind will automatcially switch to 'memorising mode'. And when i turn it on, nothing goes into my head; it becomes an idle reading session.

So how people, please give me really good advices. My teacher can't even give me advices. I really rely on answerers here. And also, please give me steps or whatsoever,don't hestitate to point out my faults; 所谓忠言逆耳.

Tks!!

PS: I always speak perfect chinese with my parents and friends. I can verbally speak perfect chinese but, nah, not so much for writing/ theory.

我是一名中学在籍学生，在学校就读高级华文。名子是好听，但我的华语，尤其是在写作方面和综合填空，程度并不到家。在中三，我的高华成绩是B4， 而明年我是中四要考O水准了。我真的想拿个A1！我愿意付出一切来使我的高华进步啊！！

Edited December 14, 2009 at 02:57 PM by roddy

[chrix]

I encourage you to check out the numerous threads on similar issues in this forum, for instance this one: http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/23430-learning-chinese-a-roller-coaster

[Rhapsody]

:roll:I am a chinese student already, studying in singapore...i just need some advice on how to further imrpove my chinese so as to obtain a good result in sch.

[chrix]

I am a chinese student already, studying in singapore..

That's an important piece of information you should have told us from the beginning

[abcdefg]

I am not an advanced learner, but still have a couple of suggestions for you to consider.

But how can my writing improve when the type of standard during writing is not good. it will just perpetuate to the same problem.

The first is to submit your writing to some native speakers for correction. Lately I’ve been using Lang-8 for this. http://www.lang-8.coom/ It can also be done by submitting them to this forum.

But usually when i'm readig, my mind will automatcially switch to 'memorising mode'. And when i turn it on, nothing goes into my head; it becomes an idle reading session.

Find things you are interested in learning about for fun and read about them mainly for content, not as a language drill. It may not help you on your next exam, but it will pay off in the long run.

I really want tmy chinese standard to improve tremendously during this holiday.

Regardless of what you do, that probably isn't going to happen. It takes more than just a few short weeks.

[wushijiao]

I think in general, you need to do a lot of reading in Chinese about complex issues or academic essays everyday (perhaps you could aim for a few hours per day). Over time, you will absorb the writing style, sentence structure and new vocabulary. This is what people like Gato (who were born in China but moved to the US at an early age) did to improve their Chinese levels.

[Rhapsody]

Ok i see... yeah many advised me like this too...but the main thing is i may not have enough time to read.. i am taking my O levels..i hope ya'll know what's that...a very important exam to determine which college you go....

so any short cut?< somehow i really need some short cuts, but will spare some time to read, at e same time..

oh about reading...i have toooones of unfamiliar words which disrupts my reading... so do i check the dicrionary first?

[chrix]

no since this is not a Singaporean forum, most of us don't know what it is, some of us might have heard the term used in Britain though.

Well, for language there aren't short-cuts, it's basically 熟能生巧, anyone who tells you otherwise is a charlatan. However, you can try and make yourself a study plan that allows you to focus on your deficiencies and find the best methods that work for you, if you don't use SRS, you can look into using this kind of software etc., there's a lot of discussion of many issues here, so have a look around. But the bottom line is, no short-cuts.

About reading: everybody is different, you have to find the right way for yourself.

- some people look up all the words they don't know, repeatedly until they know them

- some people type in all or most words they don't know into a SRS program (some will look up the meaning for you)

- some people just read a text and try to understand the words they don't know from context...

[gato]

It's going to be hard to cram given that you have so much ground to cover. But let's say you want to devote the entire winter break to studying Chinese, there is still a lot you can do. I often find concentrated periods of study (cramming, in other words) to be quite productive, more so than if I spent the same number of hours spread over a longer period.

So let's say you have three weeks, I would devote at least 8 hours a day to the subject you are studying.

Among the 8 hours, I would spend at least 6 on reading new materials (such as novels or magazines articles that are somewhat above your current level but still manageable). While reading, I would just underline the words that I don't know and try to guess their meaning through context the first time around and look them up in bunches (say every hour or two). This avoids the disruption of constant lookups. It's also critical that you record these new vocabs into a notebook or a software for later review (flashcards, in other words).

I would spend maybe 1 to 2 hours on vocab review, mostly through flashcards.

With the remaining part of the 8 hours (about 1 to 2 hours), I would practice writing essays. Maybe try to write something every day. Show what you write to someone to critique and correct would also help. You could even post it here or on lang-8.com. There are always a lot of bored people on the internet willing to spare a few minutes. Hehe.

Another thing to note is that many people's difficulty with writing has more to do with not knowing what to write about than style or grammar. Most people find that it's much easier to write about something that they have a strong opinion or know a lot about. Opinion and knowledge comes through experience. It can be gained gradually over time through first-hand experience, or it can also be learned through reading widely. It's hard to make substantial gains over a few weeks, but it's never too late to start.

[skylee]

But usually when i'm readig, my mind will automatcially switch to 'memorising mode'. And when i turn it on, nothing goes into my head; it becomes an idle reading session.

Find things you are interested in learning about for fun and read about them mainly for content, not as a language drill. It may not help you on your next exam, but it will pay off in the long run.

I support this approach. It is also good for learning other languages. I remember I wrote an essay (some homework, 800 words or so, nothing long) in my last year in middle school about how reading something I liked (instead of reading something that was supposed to be good for me) had helped my language studies. When I read what I liked, I read fast and I could finish reading it. I absorbed the use of words and the style without noticing it. But if I made myself read something that I didn't enjoy, progress would be slow and it was no fun.

I think in general, you need to do a lot of reading in Chinese about complex issues or academic essays everyday (perhaps you could aim for a few hours per day).

Complex issues and academic essays are not my cup of tea. Wouldn't work for me. But it might work for other people.

Anyway, reading helps. Read a lot.

And it is only O levels. Take it easy.