More nonsensical character learning claims...

[roddy]

I know, I know, but this one's just too special to ignore...

 

They've even patented it! 

 

"No wonder some foreigners said: the Chinese are diligent and clever because they begin to use chopsticks and learn Chinese in childhood!"

 

Right, who said that? Own up now and we won't take it any further. 

 

"Six years ago in 2007, the CCLL [The Chinese Characters Language Lab, in case you were wondering] launched a quest into Chinese characters, tracing all the way to the source of their forms and structures."

 

Oh man, and I thought we were at the vanguard of such research. These guys started in 2007! Only 4995 years after the invention of Modern Standard Chinese! Such foresight. OneEye, Hofmann, hang your laggardly heads in shame. 

 

"Furthermore, the lab classified and compared the 4,000 commonly used Chinese characters and made an astonishing discovery: the stroke combinations and meanings of all 4,000 characters are closely interwoven with only 30 fundamental characters!"

 

Hang on! Combining that with other recent research findings from the Chineasy Advanced Institute of Radical [geddit?] Physics, we can learn 30 characters, understand 4,000, which is... let me get my calculator out....hang on, switching to scientific mode....mc² Per Cent of all Chinese literature! Renzhe, have you signed up yet?

 

"The world-shaking discovery"

 

That's an unstable little world you have there...

 

"the best approach of mastering Chinese language in a short term is to hypnotize the sense of native language and awake the photographic memory for Chinese characters, thus suppressing the interferences from traditional learning methods like spelling and reading"

 

Oh Imron, can you see where you've gone wrong? As any fule kno, reading is an interference with awakening your photographic memory. Now, look into my eyes...

 

" a 1,000-minute animated video to illustrate how characters evolve and what they imply."

 

Is there an interval. Because I had to knock back a few whiskies to deal with the shaking world and I'm going to need a little toilet break soon...

 

When I'm in a charitable mood I check out the posts in the mod queue for any possibly useful resources. This is what happened this morning...

 

Please, somebody mystery-shop this. You can get $2,500 worth of tutorials free for a week. Presumably they have some kind of time-travel technology for that. 

[Lanchong]

Is there an interval.

Sorry; the money-back guarantee is only valid if you watch the video in one continuous sitting.

[Shelley]

I am intrigued by the title.

 

Also I don't understand the use of the word underlined below.

 

"The world-shaking discovery opens up a shortcut to fast learning of Chinese characters: the best approach of mastering Chinese language in a short term is to hypnotize the sense of native language and awake the photographic memory for Chinese characters,"

 

The title is really weird "Hypnotic and Awaking" is a bit of an oxymoron as far as I can see.

 

I had to get the calculator out to work out 1.000 minutes is 16.67 hours, definitely will need toilet breaks, sleep breaks oh yes and life breaks

 

The general level of English is ok but there are some mistakes a 10 year old wouldn't make. This is important IMHO because it good if they have the ability to explain things in English.

 

I am hesitant of mystery shopping this because I don't feel qualified to give a good solid report on it, but I agree it would be good for someone to take up the free offer which also seems weirdly worded.Is it $2500.00 worth of lessons to use up in one week? or is the offer $2500.00 of tutorial available for one week? or is one weeks tutorial £2500.00 and is available for free?

 

It will interesting to find out what its all about.

 

Good find roddy

[ChTTay]

That site is unbelievable. I wonder if they actually expect to make any money using this site or rather... I wonder how they can expect to?! Do they really think anyone will react like Roddy has but... For real.

Crazy.

More importantly... Roddy, What will it take for me to get a mention in one of your ranty blog posts? I am going to rejoin with an easier username to remember!!!

[Shelley]

Can't you just change your username in your profile?

 

I went and tried the game listed at the bottom of that webpage.

 

It was rubbish, the idea might have been ok but it didn't work.

 

There was no explanation how to play but it looked pretty self explanatory, but it didn't seem to do anything, unless it doesn't work if you don't sign in/register, again they didn't make that clear

 

The game is here http://www.chinamate.net/game/index.html

 

I have spent some more time browsing the sight and i want to take back my comments about their English. Its not ok 

 

I know its a Chinese learning site and not English but getting their English interface with world correct is important IMHO.

[zhouhaochen]

They are willing to share the love with others

 

Licensees

Chinese schools or language schools all over world.

[Ruben von Zwack]

A 1000 minute animated video is psychological warfare, no?

[Hofmann]

Maybe they just want page views.