Learning through memorization

[jasoninchina]

Recently, I've been thinking about the usefulness of memorization (then internalization) of Chinese material. Anything from sentences in a textbook to chapters out of a novel. For example, memorizing a phrase such as 上海比北京大吧？Then internalizing its meaning and adapting it to use in various circumstances. Has anyone done this on a grand scale? What materials have you used? Textbooks? Novels? Specific dialogue from a movie or other conversation?

This is my first post, so I am quite new to this forum. Please excuse me if this issue has been addressed previously.

[rezaf]

Yes, the first year that I started Chinese I memorized almost all the texts in my books. It helped me a little bit but I couldn't continue it in my second year because the texts were much longer and much more difficult to memorise. Also almost a year ago I memorized half of the dialogues of a vocabulary book. All in all memorizing is good but after some time you might get bored and frustrated. Personally after these experiences I don't really like memorizing random dialogues in the textbooks, now I am memorizing useful words and expressions(with examples) from a dictionary and I have been progressing slowly and steadily for quite a few months. Since the words are categorized according to the alphabet it is easier to review them and this way I know where I am and where I am going to.

[character]

Great question. Memorization is important in learning Chinese, and you're on the right track WRT memorizing phrases. Also memorize sentence patterns so you can plug in different words when needed.

When you learn a character, go ahead and learn how to write it and at least one way it is pronounced, tone and all. When you learn a word, learn how it is pronounced, including any tone changes from the separate characters.

I'm not sure of the value of memorizing written works, unless you find that helps you study. The important thing is to be able to recall words, phrases, and sentence patterns which allow you to interact without having to think long and hard.