Tools to read more efficiently

[imron]

11 hours ago, TimAstier said:

I'm trying to find some advice about how to read more efficiently.

If you'll forgive me for tooting my own horn, you should check out Chinese Text Analyser.  It keeps track of your known vocabulary and lets you extract unknown words sorted by frequency for learning (or pre-learning).  High-frequency unknown words from the text you are reading are likely to give you the biggest increase in understanding for your effort.

 

[Split from here by Lu]

[TimAstier]

@imron Thanks for sharing this! I'm rather new here but I've been following Chinese Text Analyser since the beginning :o

I've read the discussion about it a few months ago but haven't tried it yet, I supposed I should give it a go!

 

Actually I created a similar text-parser for another purpose: creating a sequence of lessons and enforce a limited number of new characters/words per lesson, among other things.

Being able to parse study text and save vocabulary is definitely the way to go for learners (this would be amazing in a web app!)

I was not thinking about using this for books as you can't really copy/paste from a book to a text analyser. But that should work if I can find a digital version.

[imron]

1 hour ago, TimAstier said:

But that should work if I can find a digital version.

It's usually quite easy to find a digital version (though some digital versions are better quality than others).  I know for sure that they exist for 三体.  The thing that CTA has over most other similar tools is that it can process the full text of novel in under a second.

 

1 hour ago, TimAstier said:

Being able to parse study text and save vocabulary is definitely the way to go for learners (this would be amazing in a web app!)

I think LingQ does something like this, but I've not used it myself.

[Luxi]

1 hour ago, TimAstier said:

(this would be amazing in a web app!)

 

One of Purple Culture's Chinese Tools, Vocabulary List Generator comes close and then some:

https://www.purpleculture.net/vocabulary-list-generator/

It's free, but I think subscribers can save the list online. Otherwise the list can be exported as csv, Excel  or pdf files.

[TimAstier]

6 minutes ago, imron said:

The thing that CTA has over most other similar tools is that it can process the full text of novel in under a second.

Well that's pretty quick for sure!

 

6 minutes ago, imron said:

I think LingQ does something like this, but I've not used it myself.

Didn't know about this project. Seems really well executed.

 

3 minutes ago, Luxi said:

One of Purple Culture's Chinese Tools, Vocabulary List Generator comes close and then some:

Didn't know about that one either. If those things exist already, let's not reinvent the wheel!

[陆咔思]

I've just posted a thread on my Android app DuShu - Read and Learn Chinese which is made just for doing this.

 

While it can also create vocab lists like the tools listed above, it's main focus is on supporting you while you read. It'll add Pinyin for characters you don't know yet, underlines indicating which characters form words and tone colors. The app also keeps track of which characters & words you know. It can read .txt, .html or .epub files, or read copied text from the clipboard. You can also listen to texts via Google text-to-speech, and see Google translations. The app is highly configurable, allowing you to easily switch on or off any support to make sure you get all the support you need but not more than necessary.

 

Click the links above for a more detailed description.

[Luxi]

All these apps are a great help. I like using them if I'm reading an article with vocabulary that I believe is going to be useful ...but for reading literature? I have my doubts. Reading Chinese literature is one of the main reasons why I study Chinese, I really want to enjoy reading. Spending hours sorting vocabulary lists and flashcards isn't my idea of enjoying a novel. Not only I'd lose track, but in most cases I'd end up with vocabulary that is quite useless in day to day life or in my work. That, assuming my memory was good enough to remember anything much out of those lists and flashcards - which it isn't. I'd advise anybody at or above HSK5 level who is interested in reading, to forget about lists and cards and concentrate on reading.

 

In the pre-digital Chinese days, I was taught to spend time trying to figure out what the text was saying, unravelling the sentences, understanding the grammar and trying to guess the meaning of unknown words...and then, only then, go to the dictionaries. Many of the classes I attended were doing just that. The reading material most often used were articles from the 人民日报, written in deplorable 'officialese'. Although the class reading was uninspiring, I still find this method is the only one that really helps me to read Chinese and enjoy it.  The more I read this way, the easier it becomes to tackle the next book.These days, with pop-up dictionaries to help me along the reading, I don't even have to go back and search to check that I understood the text right. I do most of the reading on-screen, using pop-up dictionaries when I really need to but I try to force myself to guess first.

 

Depending on what I'm reading, I use Chinese Text Analyser, or on-line dictionaries like Wenlin or Yellowbridge, or the Pleco clipboard reader for text that I'd like to work in more detail. I've also found that searching Baidu is great for words or expressions that I can't quite figure out, so very often they're already been queried by Chinese readers.    

I  also very much enjoy listening to the audio book as well, it's amazing how many good quality readings are freely available. The listening is very useful if one lives outside a Chinese-speaking environment.