Re-Learning Chinese (the second time)

[jinjin]

I, like most bratty Chinese-Americans, screamed and kicked when dragged to Chinese School every Sunday for 16 years where I was deprived the chance to be a girl scout or go swimming with friends.

Any solutions to re-learning Chinese? the problem I have is that many of the software/books are tediously slow and assume NO familiarity with Chinese. I took Chinese I in undergrad but it was too slow and easy that I was bumped up to Chinese II, but I was way far behind in Chinese II b/c I was basically illiterate and couldn't keep up with the writing portion even though I was speaking at a more advanced level. Has anyone else had this problem?

Anyway, I'm rambling--has anyone found an approach that works for them? I was thinking about trying Rosetta stone but it seems to be more geared towards speaking mandarin than writing...I'm hoping there has to be a network or a "support group" for people like me (indeed most of my Chinese-American friends speak a little but don't read at all).

[roddy]

Seems like the main thing you want to do is a) get your character reading back, and B) raise your speaking level to cover non-everyday stuff.

For characters, spending some time with interesting reading material (no point in something boring, you'll get bored ) and a dictionary will help bring a lot of stuff back. Combine that with some flashcard work (try a search for Plecodict, SuperMemo, ZDT) and I think you should be most of the way there. It'll depend how well you actually learnt to read first time round, I think. If you were actually once competent it should all still be in there at some level, and just need to be reawakened. If it was just crammed in for exams and then forgotten, you might need to lean more heavily towards the flashcard learning.

Getting your speaking level up is probably going to require a tutor, or a decent language exchange partner, or at least an effort to discuss more in-depth topics with whoever you speak Chinese to normally.

There are reading / writing specific textbooks, but the ones I know are all simplified and generally harder to get hold of in the US.

[gato]

I have a similar background and posted on this topic before. The fastest way, I find, is the brute force method, which is to learn the mostly used characters with flashcards (two software packages, PlecoDict and Wenlin, have been very helpful). There is no way around putting in the time (i.e. hundreds, if not thousands, of hours). Most people don't have the motivation to put in the hours necessary and therefore find it hard to make it past the beginner stage. But if you do, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by your progress.

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/7389-learning-chinese-for-abcs&highlight=characters

learning chinese for ABCs

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/8325-educational-advice-for-frustrated-student&highlight=grammar

educational advice for frustrated student

[kudra]

Why don't you email some professors at Columbia for example.

They have dual track course, one for "heritage" learners like you.

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ealac/courses.html

For example, in the course description of the 2 tracks

Elementary Chinese (Level 1)

N-Sections: For students with zero or limited background in Chinese.

W-Sections: For students of Chinese heritage or advanced beginners with Mandarin speaking ability but minimal reading and writing skills.

Note: Advanced beginners or heritage students who can speak Mandarin will NOT be accepted into the N sections.

OK you don't have to email them, here is a link that will show the texts used in the W

sections.

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ealac/chinese/courses.htm

1st year: A First Reader for Advanced Beginners (by Columbia staff, Columbia University Press 2003)

vol 1

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/catalog/data/023112/0231125550.HTM

vol 2

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/catalog/data/023112/0231125577.HTM

If you go this route, and even if you don't, keep us posted.

Edit: Actually these are the same books as in the post below, just the name on the course web site says A First Reader instead of Primer.

[Shadowdh]

There are also a couple of books that I find are very good (not that I am Chinese but as an advanced beginner (well more or less... a bit more of the less probably) I find them great for learning how to read..).. these two are in the simplified character but as they have "simplified version" on the front and a couple of traditional characters instead of the simplified inside there must be a traditional version about...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0231125577/qid=1151650007/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_0_1/202-7022215-7504642

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0231125550/qid=1151650007/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_0_3/202-7022215-7504642

[Lu]

There's a book named 'Oh, China' (link to a description) written especially for people like you, who already can speak but can't write. Maybe you can try that.

[jinjin]

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions! I clicked on the links and am excited to begin the "relearning" process. I also had no idea the book Oh China existed! I'll will definitely keep everyone updated on which materials I have used and my progress. Thanks again!

[gamerfu]

jinjin, when you took your undergrad, was it at Univeristy of Washington?

Heritage or Non-Heritage?

I will be starting Chinese Non-Heritage this Fall. I need suggestions, if you have any, please.

[Ag3nt]

JinJin, I totally know what you mean! I'm going into highschool right now and I already regret not paying more attention in Chinese school (in my defense, it was on a saturday afternoon!). Of course, my parents keep telling me how important it is to be fluent in Chinese for the future, as well as being able to communicate more effectively with my relatives, which I want to do! It's just nice to know that there are other people out there like me.

[ivanleafs]

Heh,

Most CBCs I know fit in the same boat. Except in my case I was kicking and screaming and being sent to Cantonese chinese school. Now many many years later I speak Cantonese, but only on everyday stuff. And I regret not paying attention or doing any practice over the years and now playing a desperate game of catch up, AND learning Mandarin.

Oh the remorse of the banana...

[nobleturtle]

hi everyone, this is my first post here.

i'm an american-born chinese who picked up mandarin from mom and dad as a kid, so i'm pretty proficient in conversational mandarin, although my vocab is not at all spectacular, and i definitely have a weird accent.

but i never learned to read or write as a kid. at age 23 now, i am interested in learning, and i have a few questions:

1) are there any books or approaches that you would recommend for someone who can speak mandarin, but cannot read/write at all? i am interested in self-study techniques - no classes preferably. and i go to school away from mom and dad, so i cannot expect tutoring from either of them.

2) must i learn to read and write simultaneously? i anticipate there could be some kind of synergistic effect to learning both at the same time, though i confess that i am much more concerned with learning to read more than i am concerned with learning to write. i think it would be wonderful to be able to eventually read the newspaper or an easy book - i'm thinking this would also lend my spoken mandarin some more sophistication.

3) anything else i should know? caveats, etc?

thanks for any help that anyone can offer.

[Xiao Kui]

Noblest of turtles,

Please check out this thread

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/9243-re-learning-chinese-the-second-time&highlight=advanced+learners+columbia

Some good links for "heritage learners" or "advanced learners" of Chinese such as yourself. Good luck!

[roddy]

Please check out this thread

Have merged the two.

[nobleturtle]

great, thanks, i will check it out.

[Ag3nt]

Hmm I like Reading and Writing Chinese. There are simplified and traditional character versions, and I think the books are pretty good for acquiring new vocabulary. Here's a look at the Traditional character edition: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804832064/104-3160762-1652704?v=glance&n=283155

[tlevine]

In China I found a lot of childrens books with Chinese characters on one line and pinyin on the next. I don't think too many of these are sold in the US though. Also, there are some websites that can convert plain Chinese text into this format. I read about them (I think on this forum), but I don't remember the websites' names.