Online Chinese learning

Pinyin is now the first hurdle that both children and adults must face in the learning of beginners of Chinese pinyin in Singapore. Here are some key points on how to get started with children learning Pinyin.

How long does it take for children to learn Pinyin?

There are currently several mainstream approaches to how long it takes children to get started: 1. One week; 2. One month; 3. One semester.

Firstly, a one week introduction is feasible, but it is also limited to basic introductions. According to the current mainstream teaching, children can learn up to six simple final and tones, plus some simple initials, within a week.

If it weren’t for hoping that children’s Chinese learning would only stay at the basic level, such an “entry-level” approach would obviously not be enough.

What about that month? If the rhythm is relatively fast, it should be able to complete most of the vowels, but children cannot fully grasp these pinyin in such a short period of time.

Moreover, Pinyin is not independent of other studies of Chinese. How do children get started learning Pinyin? How long will it take? There is only one answer, which is that it will take nearly a semester to truly get started with Pinyin.

In fact, it takes children in China so long to master Pinyin in primary school. However, this does not mean that learning Pinyin alone requires such a long time. We will analyze this in detail in the following text.

Can children only learn Pinyin? Some parents want to know if their children can only learn Pinyin. The answer is no.

Pinyin in Chinese is like phonetic symbols in English, playing a role in assisting pronunciation and correction. Meanwhile, Pinyin cannot replace the use of Chinese.
Some children studying Chinese in China may feel lazy after learning Pinyin. They will use pinyin to replace the writing of unfamiliar or cumbersome characters.

Needless to say, this naturally leads them to lag behind other children in learning Chinese characters. Moreover, when reading, one only looks at pinyin and becomes illiterate when receiving articles without pinyin.

For some adults, their demands are limited to typing. Just learning Pinyin may be enough, and you don’t even have to worry about tone. For children who hope to learn Chinese well, this is obviously not enough. How do children get started learning Pinyin? Obviously, we cannot just learn Pinyin.

Can children learn Chinese without learning Pinyin?

Is it necessary for beginners of Chinese pinyin in Singapore when learning pinyin? If there were teachers in previous private schools who taught reading and correcting pronunciation, even without the concept of pinyin, it would not affect children’s learning of Chinese pronunciation.

The mainstream teaching nowadays generally prioritizes pinyin teaching. Some schools have also improved their teaching processes by not teaching Pinyin in the first month, but allowing children to recognize and read some simple Chinese characters, and gradually using the pronunciation of these characters to bring out Pinyin.

Of course, with a large input of Chinese, one may still be able to learn Chinese well without learning Pinyin. The Cambodian boy who became popular online a few years ago is an example.

This popular boy on the internet has mastered multiple languages at a young age, but his job is only to sell souvenirs to foreign tourists. Under the immersion of multiple languages, he acquired nine languages, including Chinese.

Such examples have also appeared in other languages. Legend has it that Liang Qichao learned Japanese in just one night. Some people may think that Japanese and Chinese have much in common. This statement is true, but it also provides the feasibility of learning a language without studying phonetics.

How do children get started learning Pinyin? The order and method are important.
To learn Pinyin, first learn six simple final. Among them, in terms of pronunciation from a to o, just turn the lips from round to flat. You just need to retract your tongue a little bit from o to e. The other three simple final can also be read through one or two small changes.

Of course, imitating sounds from life or animal calls can help children learn the pronunciation of these vowels more intuitively. For example, when a child wants to eat, they usually open their mouth and say “ah (a)”.

Next is the grouping of initial consonants, which is also learned based on the principle of simplicity before complexity. During this process, review the overall recognition and four tones at any time.

The next step is the most crucial – combining simple Chinese characters and incorporating the specific use of Pinyin in reading. Usually, under the persuasion of a large number of continuous pinyin, children will start to actively or subconsciously memorize character shapes and corresponding pinyin to save effort.

After another period of time, you will find that children can gradually recognize the pronunciation at the sight of the font shape.

Has Pinyin achieved success and retired at this stage? Of course not. Next, we can teach children to use pinyin retrieval to search for unfamiliar characters and words in a dictionary.

With the help of Pinyin, children can significantly improve their reading and literacy abilities, while also gradually starting to combine their own sentences. On the basis of such attempts, children’s oral English will make significant progress in the future.

The above are some methods for beginners of Chinese pinyin in Singapore to learn how to get started during the learning process. I believe that through them, you will have a deeper understanding of children’s learning of Chinese Pinyin, and can flexibly apply some methods to their learning of Pinyin, taking their Chinese learning to the next level.

In modern society, reading is one of the essential skills for individuals. Reading is a key way for children to learn knowledge, as well as an important way for children to develop their thinking and cultivate their temperament.

In the framework map of 21st century student learning proposed by UNESCO, reading and communication occupy a central position in the seven major learning areas. Therefore, parents are looking forward to their children learning to read as soon as possible. It can be seen that learning Chinese for children with reading disabilities.

However, in reality, many children around the world are unable to read normally. Some parents feel that their children are unable to concentrate and feel that they are ‘ADHD’, without realizing that their learning disabilities may be another situation.

Under normal educational conditions, most children can learn to read normally. However, although reading is so important for children’s development, some children are unable to successfully acquire reading.

According to research data statistics, there are approximately 5-10% of children in English, Chinese, Japanese, and other writing systems who have normal intelligence and equal access to education. However, their reading performance still lags far behind that of their peers – this group of children is referred to as dyslexia.

Firstly, children with reading disabilities do not have intellectual problems, and some children with reading disabilities are even very intelligent.

If the problem of reading disabilities can be detected in a timely manner and receive special education, they may overcome reading and writing problems, fully tap their potential, and even become creative talents in various fields. Therefore, sometimes we refer to children with reading disabilities as “smart and stupid children”.

Secondly, dyslexia is a developmental disorder that afflicts individuals diagnosed with dyslexia throughout their lives. Throughout primary and secondary schools and into adulthood, they face difficulties in word recognition, understanding, and dictation. So don’t expect reading disorders to naturally heal. Early detection and intervention are crucial for overcoming reading disorders.

Once again, reading disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are two different problems, and these two abnormalities can exist separately or simultaneously. Although the prevalence of reading disorders caused by ADHD is as high as 20% -40%, reading disorders and reading difficulties caused by ADHD are two different abnormal phenomena. It is important to distinguish between these two issues because the intervention methods are also different.

Finally, dyslexia has familial inheritance. Research has shown that in identical twins, if one person suffers from dyslexia, the probability of the other person suffering from dyslexia is as high as 68%.

If one of the parents or direct siblings suffers from dyslexia, the probability of the individual suffering from dyslexia is about 50%. This can serve as one of the signals for early recognition of children with reading disabilities.

For children with a Chinese background learning to read, the first threshold is the decoding of Chinese characters, which is to establish the connection between the shape, pronunciation, and meaning of Chinese characters.

On the road to becoming a fluent reader, the first stumbling block that Chinese dyslexic children encounter is memorizing the shape of Chinese characters and writing them.

A large number of studies have consistently shown that children with Chinese reading disabilities have difficulties in processing Chinese characters. They often have slow and limited literacy, often make mistakes in writing, and have difficulty remembering Chinese character shapes.

Therefore, in order to firmly grasp the writing method of Chinese characters, Chinese children often spend a lot of time copying Chinese characters.

A stroke by stroke transcription can help children finely visually process the shape of each Chinese character, like building LEGO blocks, combining different strokes according to a certain spatial structure, and neatly and harmoniously “building” them in the meter character grid.

This is not an inefficient and clumsy method. On the contrary, copying is an effective means for both literacy and writing. It can not only help children establish a solid representation of character shapes in their brains, but also help them write Chinese characters more accurately.

The structure of Chinese characters is complex. According to spatial relationships, Chinese characters can be further divided into individual characters, upper and lower structures, left and right structures, and bounding structures.

Due to the visual complexity of Chinese character composition and the spatial diversity of Chinese character structure, mastering orthographic skills is relatively difficult for Chinese children. Research has also shown that orthographic defects are the core defects of Chinese reading disorders.

The study of reading disorders has a history of over a hundred years in the West, and has been relatively comprehensive in terms of assessment, intervention, and policy support for reading disorders.

Singapore, China, has also taken a step forward in this regard. Currently, it has developed a reading disability behavior scale and diagnostic tests, designed Chinese reading and writing courses for kindergartens and primary and secondary schools, and developed corresponding textbooks.

Relevant training has been provided to education administrators and Chinese teachers in primary and secondary schools throughout Hong Kong.

In addition, they also adopted a three-level response intervention model to replace traditional methods for intervention in children with reading disabilities, achieving good intervention results. The importance of learning Chinese for children with reading disabilities is gradually becoming more prominent.

Due to the late start of research on reading disorders in mainland China and the main focus being on basic research, the applied research on the diagnosis and intervention of reading disorders is still relatively weak. The public’s understanding of reading disabilities is even more limited.

In recent years, more and more scholars have begun to pay attention to the popularization of common knowledge about reading disorders, which has led to a more scientific understanding of reading disorders among the public. However, there is still a long way to go in the development of intervention and diagnostic tools for reading disorders.

As mentioned earlier, dyslexia is a special learning disorder originating from abnormal brain and neural development, and children with dyslexia are not necessarily not smart enough or do not study hard enough.

On the contrary, their intelligence is normal or even extraordinary, and they even have special talents in many aspects. In the absence of timely diagnosis and intervention, what they most need is understanding and support from teachers and parents.

The importance of learning Chinese for children with reading disabilities is reflected in various aspects. It is hoped that these “smart and foolish children” can also have a happy childhood and enjoy the pleasure of reading like other children.

In what learning environment will learning be more efficient? For me, it’s looking for Chinese learning partners. For those who have a personality that makes it difficult to maintain their concentration and motivation when learning, it is highly recommended to study with a learning partner.

Some people may think that studying together is even more impossible to concentrate on? It may be like this, but in fact, just grasping the tricks can have a very good effect.

If you are a social person, you can think back to your student days. Of course, there are also some learning partners or competitors around me, and the process of learning with them will also stimulate my enthusiasm for learning.

Nowadays, students are busy with their own studies (most of which are arranged by their parents to attend different training classes after school, or have parents waiting at the school gate early to take them home…), and there are almost no classmates or partners who can learn together, and there are also no people who can encourage each other.

That is to say, even if students nowadays want to learn with someone, the previously common “co learning” environment is rarely present, and now students have evolved to a height where they are not accustomed to “co learning” with others.

Because when learning alone, the guilt of not wanting to learn, the regret of losing to competitors, the joy of achieving goals, and so on, the opportunities to perceive these will sharply decrease.

As a result, it is easy to be lazy, tempted by games, social interactions, and other factors, making it increasingly difficult to maintain a desire for learning.

Partner effect refers to the effect of being in a group with high awareness and ability, and effectively enhancing possibilities while learning from each other.

When the effect of improving grades by studying alone is not significant, this multiplication effect can be utilized.

However, if the level of a partner is too high, it can actually cause a negative mentality of “inability to compete”, so the effectiveness of a partner can be influenced by the level of the learning partner or competitor.

That is to say, it is better to choose learning partners who have similar academic abilities to oneself. However, if it is purely for the purpose of “learning”, sometimes it doesn’t matter what level of academic ability the learning partner has.

In short, trying to learn with people who are focused and enthusiastic about learning will better stimulate their enthusiasm for learning.

If Chinese learning partners have the same goals as themselves and the learning content is also the same, then the effect of “competitive learning” will be evident. The learning content of memorization is much less fulfilling than solving problems, but blindly memorizing can also make people feel “painful”.

And the pressure before exams, the fear of forgetting, and so on. At this point, if there are partners who can “fight” together, it is easy to gain a sense of peace of mind. The most important thing that cannot be lacking in “competitive learning” is the sense of responsibility towards others.

That is to say, studying together and using this method together will not affect the other party’s grades, and this responsibility is shared by all partners.

Sometimes, for the sake of one’s own learning, it is easy to slack off without a strong willpower, but if it is for the sake of friends and others, one will unexpectedly work hard.

There are many benefits to competitive learning, such as the shared sense of achievement at the end of learning, the happiness and pride of being helpful to others, and so on.

It is said that 70% of students who can be admitted to first-class universities usually study either in the living room or in the restaurant (based on research), rather than in their own rooms.

Why study in these places? It’s very simple.

One is that there are not too many things around that can tempt oneself like in one’s own room, clean and refreshing, and one can focus solely on learning.

The second is that unlike in one’s own room where no one sees and does whatever one wants, it is easy to be distracted.

In the so-called “public places” of the living room and dining room, there is the “shadow” of family members, just like someone watching and supervising one’s learning at any time. Consciously, it will keep oneself in a more focused learning state at all times.

Find Chinese learning partners to learn together, and among the classmates and friends around you, find some who are willing to learn together. If you can’t find it, you can also use the network.

I know there is an online self-study room in Singapore, where everyone automatically joins an online class.

Another thing is “learning coffee”. Learning coffee is a special self-study space that can concentrate on learning, but it is also a relaxing learning space like Starbucks. You can have Dim sum, coffee and chat with others during the break.

Design that allows for a high degree of concentration during learning and also increases opportunities for communication and interaction with learning partners.

Chinese punctuation marks form a complete system that complements Chinese characters.

In 1918, Chen Wangdao proposed in his article “The Innovation of Punctuation” that “punctuation can be used as a divine tool for writing”, believing that the relationship between text reform and punctuation reform is external and internal, and that punctuation can add the finishing touch and make writing more vivid.

In 1919, the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the Unification of Mandarin passed the “Proposal for the Implementation of New Punctuation Symbols”, which was approved and promulgated by the Ministry of Education of the Beiyang Government in 1920.
In the subsequent use process, new punctuation symbols were constantly modified and supplemented, and have been widely used in Chinese for over 100 years.

Classical Chinese does not have strict punctuation marks, but its ability to read lies in the brevity of sentences, the symmetry of sentence structure, and the extensive use of pronouns and modal particles.

From the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China to the May Fourth period, people gradually realized that the separation between classical Chinese and real spoken language had seriously hindered social development, while vernacular Chinese could hardly meet the needs of expression solely relying on language and written symbols themselves, resulting in the emergence of punctuation marks.

The promotion of new punctuation marks was part of the New Culture Movement, and Chen Wangdao was one of the pioneers who advocated the use of new punctuation marks.

He used at least 12 punctuation marks in the Chinese first translation of the Communist Manifesto. New Youth magazine was one of the first publications to use modern punctuation.

The articles published by literary revolution pioneers such as Hu Shi, Lu Xun, Qian Xuantong, and Liu Bannong in “New Youth” extensively imitated Western punctuation.

In 1918, Lu Xun published a series of works such as “The Diary of a Madman” in “New Youth”. While excelling in mastering vernacular Chinese, he successfully used a set of punctuation marks.

Internationality is a common feature of punctuation in modern languages of various countries, and Chinese punctuation is the result of the fusion of traditional sentence reading symbols in China and Western punctuation symbols.

In addition to punctuation, Western languages also consider spacing between words, changing fonts, capitalizing letters, and segmenting as punctuation functions. For example, in English, there is a gap between words, book and newspaper names are indicated in italics, and proper names are capitalized.

While China adopts punctuation, it also introduces the method of line segmentation. Chinese uses block characters and generally does not use spaces to segment words, but in some situations, such as newspaper headlines, spaces can be used to indicate pauses.

Chinese punctuation marks serve people’s facial expressions. With the richness and delicacy of people’s expressions, existing punctuation marks will have new uses and meanings, and new punctuation marks will continue to emerge.

Regardless of the changes, the use of punctuation should respect rules and achieve consistent processing to meet the needs of language expression.

The learning and application of punctuation marks is a long-term process and cannot be achieved overnight.

Firstly, teachers should pay more attention to punctuation teaching in their thinking and implement it in the daily explanation of each text, in the correction of each homework, as well as in each blackboard writing, PPT production, and lesson plan writing.

Strictly require oneself to use punctuation symbols correctly, and set an example for students to use language symbols in a standardized manner, so that they can gradually master more punctuation knowledge.

Secondly, organize campus cultural activities related to language and writing work, such as punctuation correction competitions, various essay competitions, and punctuation culture construction.

Only by having a “national standard awareness” from a young age and developing the habit of using language and written symbols in a standardized manner, can we avoid making jokes or causing significant losses due to the incorrect use of punctuation marks.

Improving the awareness of national standards among citizens is also a key and difficult aspect of national language and writing work.

The necessity and importance of correctly using Chinese punctuation marks can be seen from this.

In summary, teaching strategies for primary school Chinese punctuation can be explored from three aspects: stimulating students’ interest in learning punctuation, guiding students to master the correct use of punctuation, and enhancing students’ awareness of correct use of punctuation.

The small punctuation marks contain university knowledge, guiding students to use language and writing symbols in a standardized manner, not only serving exams but also supporting national language and writing work, which is conducive to improving the overall quality of national language and writing, and creating a good learning atmosphere and cultural environment.

Toddler Mandarin practice is a very important thing. A 5-year-old baby, substandard pronunciation test, belongs to moderate to severe dysarthria, a sentence is more than half, except for the mother can understand, outsiders do not know what the baby is saying.

The sound measurement report showed that the posterior voice of the tip of the tongue was 75% wrong, the tip of the tongue was 60% wrong, the tongue surface was 52% wrong, and the tip of the tongue was 33% wrong.

The errors that can occur with functional dysarthria are almost complete. In addition, the baby’s oral function test is also substandard. Functional dysarthria, also known as developmental slurred speech or developmental dysphonia, is more common in preschool children.

These babies have no problems on the surface, active and lively, smart and cute, and there is no damage to various articulation organs in the mouth, but the pronunciation is inaccurate, the speech is not clear, and this kind of voice problems will be left to the future, and can not correct themselves.

This shows that many children’s Mandarin practice is still very lacking. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, promote the implementation of the “Children’s Language Homophony” plan, cultivate preschool children with basic Putonghua communication skills, and form Putonghua thinking habits, which will lay a good language foundation for them to enter the compulsory education stage.

Language is the carrier of cultural inheritance and the foundation of national prosperity and development, and the Party and the state attach great importance to the popularization of the national standard language and the education of preschool children in Putonghua.

In 2020, the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Doing a Good Job in the Key Work in the Field of “Three Rural Areas” to Ensure the Realization of All-round Moderate Prosperity on Schedule clearly required that “vigorously improve the ability of rural teachers in the central and western regions to use the standard spoken and written national language, and strengthen the Putonghua education of preschool children in poverty-stricken areas”.

The reporter learned that in June 2020, the Department of Language and Writing Application Management of the Ministry of Education carried out online demonstration training for Putonghua “seed” teachers in kindergartens deeply impoverished areas, and conducted special demonstration training on Putonghua teaching ability for 700 key kindergarten teachers, so that they have the teaching ability to undertake follow-up rotation training tasks.

After years of efforts, positive progress has been made in the toddler Mandarin practice and education of young children in ethnic minority areas and rural areas, and the construction of the teaching team has been continuously strengthened.

For example, in terms of teacher training, Qinghai Province has carried out special training for kindergarten teachers who do not meet the Putonghua standards in the province, and by the end of 2020, the number of kindergarten teachers who did not meet the Putonghua standards in the province has been greatly reduced.

In addition, some localities lack kindergarten teachers, so teachers with weak teaching ability in the national standard language of primary schools are transferred to kindergarten teaching, or temporarily hired kindergarten teachers through government procurement of services, labor dispatch, etc., and some of them have not yet reached the standard of Putonghua.

The relevant person in charge of the Language and Text Application Management Department of the Ministry of Education stated that in order to build a team of kindergarten teachers with Mandarin education and teaching abilities in ethnic and rural areas, it will play a demonstration and driving role in promoting Mandarin teaching in kindergartens.

The Ministry of Education, with the support of the central special lottery public welfare fund of the Ministry of Finance, has implemented the “Children’s Language Homophonic” program – the Mandarin education project for young children. The Ministry of Education plans to carry out national language and writing application training for kindergarten teachers in ethnic and rural areas in stages and batches during the 14th Five Year Plan period, gradually covering all rural kindergartens in relevant provinces.

The relevant person in charge of the Language and Text Application Management Department of the Ministry of Education stated that it is necessary to create a rich Mandarin education environment and focus on developing the oral expression ability of preschool children through environmental infiltration.

Encourage young children to communicate in Mandarin through opportunities in daily life and games; Organize colorful activities to encourage young children to listen, speak, want to speak, dare to speak, and have the opportunity to speak Mandarin.

At the level of collaborative promotion, it is also necessary to actively play the leading role of universities.

Utilizing its own disciplinary and talent advantages, we will carry out the “Ten Million” project during the “14th Five Year Plan” period, organize hundreds of kindergartens in the eastern and central western regions, 1000 kindergarten teachers, and 10000 families of young children to pair up and assist, and promote Mandarin education for preschool children in ethnic and rural areas in the central and western regions.

At the same time, attention should be paid to leveraging the intellectual advantages of relevant universities through on-site visits and research, tool evaluations, behavior observation, action research, principal teacher parent forums, online teacher salons, remote discussions, and other methods.

Deepen the toddler Mandarin practice, analyze the current situation and existing problems of Mandarin education for young children in ethnic areas, carry out scientific research on the promotion of Mandarin education for young children in ethnic areas, and provide theoretical support for practical work.