Learning to read fluent - is this good option to learn also Chinese?

[sangajtam]

How do you think, if i will read and read general Chinese articles, books for children, stories, books like these from mandarincompanion.com, will it allow me to assimilate knowledge to be able to also speak and communicate in Chinese?

 

Like for example in

http://english.franklang.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=11

 

[Shelley]

I think you will need to have do more than just reading to be able to speak. You will need to listen to language to be able learn the correct sounds for the words. This is just as a minimum.

 

You should get a tutor, enrol in a class, get a text book or some other means of structuring your learning.

 

You could enrol in the edX course that is free here is some information about it http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/50261-edx-basic-mandarin-chinese-course-level-2-starting/

 

There is no easy way to learn chinese, you only get out what you put in. You will have work hard and practice lots, but if you enjoy it, it shouldn't be unpleasant.

 

If you are interested you might like to read my blogs about what I use to learn and how I use them.

 

 

[Lu]

How do you think, if i will read and read general Chinese articles, books for children, stories, books like these from mandarincompanion.com, will it allow me to assimilate knowledge to be able to also speak and communicate in Chinese?

No. Mainly because Chinese characters don't tell you that much about pronunciation. It's common to be able to know the meaning of a character but not its pronunciation, or to know the pronunciation of a word but not how it's written. In addition, pronunciation of Chinese is something you need to learn and practice.

[Frederik451]

I actually think that watching television in chinese is what has helped me the most when it comes to my speaking skills. Because you dont just read the words (with the tone that you think is correct), but instead you hear how they are pronounced by native speakers! 

[sangajtam]

 

 

No. Mainly because Chinese characters don't tell you that much about pronunciation. It's common to be able to know the meaning of a character but not its pronunciation, or to know the pronunciation of a word but not how it's written. In addition, pronunciation of Chinese is something you need to learn and practice. 

I am talking about reading aloud, with correct pronunciation as taking it from for example pleco - checking every character and word.

And later listen correct audio form of those texts, as taken from audio cd or another reliable source. (not automated tts).

And then making adjustment to make my sounding similar.

 

 

But i wanted to know, if  -when i will read many texts in this way - will my mind automatically learn correct structures, combinations of characters (possible bigrams, etc) as its stated in this link?

 

http://english.franklang.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=11

 

Our memory is closely related to what we are feeling at a particular moment; it depends on what condition our inner world is in, how “awake” we are right now (and not, for example, how many times we repeat a certain expression or how many exercises we do).

 

 

 Soon one becomes used to certain forms and the grammar is also learned latently. It is very much like when people who had never studied grammar but were put in a language environment, managed to master the language. I’m not saying this so that you keep away from grammar (it is very interesting and useful). The only point is that you could begin reading such books without being an expert on grammar; rudimentary knowledge would do. This kind of reading can be recommended at the earliest stage. Such books will help you overcome a very crucial barrier: you’ll learn the vocabulary and get accustomed to the logic of the language while saving time and energy.

 

 

Will it all help me to communicate in normal live language with people?

[Shelley]

I still think you will need more than just reading. There are things I believe that you will need explained to you. I strongly suggest you start using a text book along side what you are doing.

 

I think the method you describe may work, but will leave lots of holes in your knowledge and take a long time, If you can be told something and then you learn and practice it the way you describe you will make better and faster progress.

 

Will it all help me to communicate in normal live language with people?

 

This all depends on what you read, classic novels, tang dynasty poetry will not give normal language you can use with people. Even modern materials will give you a limited vocabulary for normal day to day communication.

 

I will say it once more, start a text book course, enrol in an line course or take classes or hire a tutor.

 

Have a look at my learning blog to see how I structure my learning, I don't expect you to follow it but it might open your eyes as to just some of what is available for learning chinese these days. Here is my blog http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/blog/108-my-chinese-learning-blog/

 

 

 

[edelweis]

Will it all help me to communicate in normal live language with people?

Try it and tell us.

 

Seriously, in the beginning I started self study with Assimil's "Chinese with ease", taking care to pronounce each word exactly the same as the mp3 recording. At language corner I was able to communicate with some Chinese people, but they commented that my speech had the flaws of the recording - it was painfully slow and with a heavy Beijing accent. Besides I could only talk about very very basic topics.

Later I continued with mostly reading and SRS, and I was told more than once in the pronunciation thread that I sound unnatural and robotic (especially with successive 4rth tones). But I don't really speak to people, I don't even write, so I have no way of knowing whether my spoken Chinese would be useful in conversation or not...

 

Lastly, it needs to be said that books often don't contain colloquial speech and pleco recordings won't have regional accents.

You will have trouble understanding real people. And especially if you speak a very clear, textbook correct Mandarin, you'll encounter the issue mentioned by others recently - people will assume you are fluent, and will talk to you at full speed instead of slowing down / dumbing down their speech.

I'd suggest complementing your study with watching/parroting movies, TV, etc.

[Lu]

I am talking about reading aloud, with correct pronunciation as taking it from for example pleco - checking every character and word.

And later listen correct audio form of those texts, as taken from audio cd or another reliable source. (not automated tts).

And then making adjustment to make my sounding similar.

That's a different story. Yes, doing all this should help in learning to speak Chinese. But if your goal is to learn to speak Chinese, it's best to use other approaches as well, not just this one.

[sangajtam]

Thanks, can someone tell me if this is good resource to mimic and parrot sound of Chinese words?

I found that its mentioned here:

http://learnlangs.com/Listening-Reading_important_passages.htm

 

 

For anyone interested in multilingual language learning

JW (not only) religious stuff

http://www.jw.org/en/publications/

 

 

and also later here:

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/35901-want-to-listen-to-recordings-of-people-speaking-mandarin-while-reading-the-pinyin-does-this-exist/?p=269054

 

for example:

http://wol.jw.org/cmn-Hant/wol/d/r24/lp-ch/1101978052

 

there is speaker icon, press it and please someone tell me if this is good mandarin pronounciation to learn ?