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Learning Mandarin Chinese in 7 Weeks

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zilan2367
Newbie
United States
Joined 3798 days ago
27 posts - 29 votes
Speaks: English
Studies: Thai*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 41 of 66
10 July 2014 at 1:28am | IP Logged 
day1 wrote:
Yes, new mandarin course is very, very different from "old" style German course. Try it!

Integrated Chinese happens to be my favorite textbook, and if you're using it then that listening podcast is great for you - the topics in the podcast are introduced in a very similar order. There are tons of supplementary materials for that specific textbook, just search. Also, every major flashcard program will have the vocab.

[Edit]
I have seen students do an intensive Chinese course with that textbook and finish 6 lessons out of 10 in one month, while at the same time having to prepare for a few other exams. You will most definitely be able to do it, if you stick with that textbook and work hard.

Grammar:
http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Referenc e:Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_%283rd_ed%29

Listening:
http://www.language.berkeley.edu/ic/

When do you think I should start flipping through the book?
Right now or in August?
I still haven't finished Integrated Chinese Level 1 Part 1 yet.

Edited by zilan2367 on 10 July 2014 at 3:19am
1 person has voted this message useful



Snowflake
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5958 days ago
1032 posts - 1233 votes 
Studies: Mandarin

 
 Message 42 of 66
10 July 2014 at 3:24am | IP Logged 
我叫 Ben .... is what I'd use when introducing myself to someone, face to face.

我是 Ben .... I would use this when talking on the phone to identify myself to a friend whom I already know. If on the phone with someone who doesn't know me, I'd use the above construction.   我叫 and 我是 are not considered inter-changeable to the native speakers whom I know.

早安 ... be aware that this is not used in mainland China. I've had enough experiences saying this to people from the mainland and getting a cold reception.

Edited by Snowflake on 10 July 2014 at 3:26am
1 person has voted this message useful



leosmith
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6549 days ago
2365 posts - 3804 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Tagalog

 
 Message 43 of 66
10 July 2014 at 8:39am | IP Logged 
zilan2367 wrote:
Since I'm Thai, I have noticed that pronouncing the Chinese words are not difficult at all for
me because Thai and Mandarin are both tonal languages. Many words in Chinese and Thai are pronounced the
same way. If they are not pronounced the same way, the words often rhyme.
For example: in Thai, the number "three" is "sǎm" while in Mandarin it's "sān".

This is a bit of an exaggeration. First, I warn you against trying to use Thai tones to speak Mandarin. I'm not
saying this is your plan, but it's a really common Thai mistake, and these people have forever messed up
pronunciation. Second, there are some very common words in Thai and Mandarin that sound somewhat similar.
But there are not that many.

Regarding learning characters and some of the other questions you had, I just wrote a post that addresses some
of these here.

Edited by leosmith on 10 July 2014 at 9:18am
3 persons have voted this message useful



day1
Groupie
Latvia
Joined 3891 days ago
93 posts - 158 votes 
Speaks: English

 
 Message 44 of 66
10 July 2014 at 9:40am | IP Logged 
zilan2367 wrote:
When do you think I should start flipping through the book?
Right now or in August? I still haven't finished Integrated Chinese Level 1 Part 1 yet.


I believe you should work on finishing Integrated Chinese L1 P1, when ever you have questions, need a break, want to have more vocab on any given topic, only then jump to other resources.

7 weeks is not that much. For being able to save Chinese time during the semester, it makes sense to focus on what you will definitely need during that semester, that is, Integrated Chinese VOCABULARY. Learn to recognize the characters, learn to recognize words when you hear them, learn to write at least half of the words, preferably the most common ones. That will save you most time. On top of that, listening practice (so that you don't feel like an idiot when teacher speaks in class). The rest - lower priority.

I'm not saying that pure vocab is the best way to go for it, but those stupid new words is the most time consuming component of any language study. The rest, it's all about the "oh, OK, I get it" moment and some practice.

[Edit]
Oh, yeah, I had a Vietnamese classmate who applied Vietnamese tones to Mandarin Chinese during self-study, and he ended up unintelligible when speaking.

Edited by day1 on 10 July 2014 at 9:41am
1 person has voted this message useful



shk00design
Triglot
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 4443 days ago
747 posts - 1123 votes 
Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin
Studies: French

 
 Message 45 of 66
11 July 2014 at 6:02am | IP Logged 
Snowflake wrote:
我叫 Ben .... is what I'd use when introducing myself to someone, face to face.

我是 Ben .... I would use this when talking on the phone to identify myself to a friend whom I already
know. If on the phone with someone who doesn't know me, I'd use the above construction. 我叫 and 我
是 are not considered inter-changeable to the native speakers whom I know.

早安 ... be aware that this is not used in mainland China. I've had enough experiences saying this to
people from the mainland and getting a cold reception.


I'm not an expert in the Chinese language.
1. As to my understanding there is a difference between 我叫 and 我是 and it has nothing to do with
talking face-to-face or on the phone. Both are informal introductions and can be used to introduce
yourself. Therefore 我叫 Michael and 我是 Michael can be used interchangeably. However...
我叫 (I am call) can only be used before a name (I'm call Michael)
我是 (I am) can also be used before your nationality or your profession such as 我是美国人 (I'm
American) or 我是经理 (I'm the manager). If you want further explanation, consult the link below:
我是 vs. 我叫 what is the difference?

2. 早安 is commonly used in places like Taiwan & Singapore. You say that it is not used in Mainland
China? Obviously people have to greet each other in China so I looked that up and came up with the
answer: they either use the simplified version 早 or 早上好. The online dictionary only gave the same
definition as "Good morning!" for all 3 without any explanation for the difference. According to a link I
came across on the Internet, 早安 is probably a common way of saying "Good morning!" before the
Chinese revolution in 1949 when the KMT government under Chiang Kai-shek was still running the
Mainland.
Any difference between 早安 and 早上好?

There is a TV show in Hong Kong call: 香港早晨 (Good morning Hong Kong). 早晨 according to my
dictionary means "early morning" but in HK it is used as "Good morning!" for the Cantonese-speaking
crowd. It's the HK equivalent of ABC's "Good Morning America". In my area there is a Mandarin radio
show in the morning call: 早安多倫多 (Good morning Toronto). Nobody seemed to mind the use of 早安
for the name of a radio program in Canada that is common Taiwan but not use in China.

There is always something new to be learned. Thanks for your comments...

Edited by shk00design on 11 July 2014 at 6:19am
2 persons have voted this message useful



Snowflake
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5958 days ago
1032 posts - 1233 votes 
Studies: Mandarin

 
 Message 46 of 66
11 July 2014 at 7:04pm | IP Logged 
LOL, it seems the people I encounter have different habits.

Edited by Snowflake on 11 July 2014 at 7:06pm
1 person has voted this message useful



zilan2367
Newbie
United States
Joined 3798 days ago
27 posts - 29 votes
Speaks: English
Studies: Thai*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 47 of 66
12 July 2014 at 6:27am | IP Logged 
day1 wrote:

I believe you should work on finishing Integrated Chinese L1 P1, when ever you have questions, need a break, want to have more vocab on any given topic, only then jump to other resources.

7 weeks is not that much. For being able to save Chinese time during the semester, it makes sense to focus on what you will definitely need during that semester, that is, Integrated Chinese VOCABULARY. Learn to recognize the characters, learn to recognize words when you hear them, learn to write at least half of the words, preferably the most common ones. That will save you most time. On top of that, listening practice (so that you don't feel like an idiot when teacher speaks in class). The rest - lower priority.

I'm not saying that pure vocab is the best way to go for it, but those stupid new words is the most time consuming component of any language study. The rest, it's all about the "oh, OK, I get it" moment and some practice.

[Edit]
Oh, yeah, I had a Vietnamese classmate who applied Vietnamese tones to Mandarin Chinese during self-study, and he ended up unintelligible when speaking.

I'm trying to make Anki cards out of each character and I'm pulling examples from the sentences in the textbook. I tend to forget things if I don't put them in Anki.
Do you think this is a good idea to make Anki cards out of all the characters or is there a shared deck on ankiweb that I don't know about?
Also, I'm not going to speak Mandarin with a Thai accent. I'm just noting the similarities between the two languages.
1 person has voted this message useful



rdearman
Senior Member
United Kingdom
rdearman.orgRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5235 days ago
881 posts - 1812 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Italian, French, Mandarin

 
 Message 48 of 66
12 July 2014 at 10:59am | IP Logged 
Quote:
or is there a shared deck on ankiweb that I don't know about?


There is one called Mastering Chinese Characters in fact this is the first in a series of 10 which you might find useful.



2 persons have voted this message useful



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