Learning Strategies

Chapter 1 / Part 4

Learning Strategies

Good learning strategies can make your study of shumianyu more effective. The following are some learning strategies that you may want to keep in mind during your study of shumianyu. More learning strategies, along with activities and exercises, will be given in each chapter to facilitate your learning of that chapter's materials.

1. Apply your knowledge of spoken Chinese in learning shumianyu. Compare shumianyu and spoken Chinese structures and vocabulary.

Shumianyu is best learned by making use of your knowledge of spoken Chinese. For each shumianyu vocabulary word and structure, there is an equivalent in spoken Chinese. Comparing the similarities and differences will help you learn the meaning and formation of shumianyu words and structures and will give you a better understanding of both styles.

2. Pay attention to the situations in which shumianyu words or structures are used.

Knowing the forms and structures of shumianyu is not sufficient. You must also know the context in which they are used. In particular, pay attention to the linguistic, social and cultural use of the language.

3. Read the shumianyu examples (word, sentences, and text) aloud.

Even though shumianyu text is usually written to be read, reading the text aloud will give you a chance to check your comprehension of the text. You might also try having someone fluent in Chinese read the text aloud to you. Shumianyu sentences tend to be long, and a knowledgeable reader will know how to break a long sentence into meaningful chunks.

4. Paraphrase shumianyu words or structures into good spoken Chinese.

You will improve your understanding of shumianyu and your kouyu skills if you can say what a shumianyu passage means in spoken Chinese. For some passage connectors, you should observe how the passages move from one to the next.

5. Read as much as you can.

The more you read, the more familiar shumianyu language will become. Start with simple shumianyu text – a story written with a mixture of narration and dialogue is probably the best choice.

6. Keep working on characters.

While studying shumianyu, keep learning characters and building your vocabulary. It’s all necessary to become truly literate in Chinese.

7. Memorize some set phrases and find opportunities to use them.

It is very helpful at the beginning to memorize some commonly used shumianyu expressions. Make sure that you know the context of these phrases by observing how they are used before you actually use them yourself.

8. Review constantly.

Constant review is extremely critical in studying shumianyu. There are many tools you can use to review. You can keep a short notebook and write down as many words and phrases as possible, or you can do the exercises on the CD-ROM. However, no matter what tools you choose, use them regularly.