Feel like you're wasting your time watching too much Netflix? I was. To combat this endless cycle of procrastination and television I set myself a goal to pass Mandarin Chinese HSK 3 exam in 6 months. I'd already had previous experience in learning French and German, so I knew I'd have to be strategic with my resources for each of the categories. I like to divide my categories into Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening and set aside at most three resources for each. Since my goal is mainly to pass a written exam, I've only been practicing speaking with my teacher once a week. I'll also be recommending some apps and resources that have been helpful in my journey.
Writing/Flashcards - Skritter and Anki
Writing Chinese is especially difficult as the characters require precision and a lot of memorization. Most people go about this by rewriting the same character over and over again in their notebooks. I've tried this method, and it was extremely frustrating. I'd remember the word for the next 10 minutes, but if I tried to write it again a day later chances are I'd already have forgotten it. This is due to the forgetting curve: information is lost over time if we don't come across it often enough. In order to combat this, apps such as Skritter and Anki use an SRS (spaced-repetition system). What this system essentially does is show you the information right before you're about to forget it. With time, the forgetting curve gets bigger and bigger until you don’t forget the word anymore.
Skritter is my top choice for this category. It's designed to teach Japanese and Chinese. For Chinese, whenever you learn a word, 4 new cards will be added to your deck to test you on tone, definition, pin yin, and the character (which you write by hand). It also integrates directly with the most popular Chinese textbooks such as the HSK Series and Integrated Chinese. I'm personally using it to learn the vocabulary from HSK 1 to 3 and creating my own decks for words I come across while studying. There is only one major drawback; it's a paid app so the best free alternative is Anki.
Anki is a free SRS flashcard app that is remarkable for getting information inside your brain, and most importantly not letting you forget it. You can save a lot of time by finding decks people have shared online. Nevertheless, the interface isn't as user-friendly and in order to use handwritten Chinese Han Zi you must download the add-on linked below.
Practice Questions - HSK Online
HSK Online is an app that's perfect for taking the HSK. There you can study either listening or reading by doing practice HSK questions by level, study HSK vocabulary (though this feature needs improvement), and take full mock and past exams! It's great to get familiar with the exam and test your understanding.
Listening and Reading - M Mandarin
M Mandarin is a diamond in the rough. There are many language apps out there for reading Chinese; the good ones are usually paid and the free ones — not very good. M Mandarin was a game-changer. I came across it when browsing the app store for a good Chinese app and had already downloaded 10 but deleted 7. M Mandarin is a free app (with an upgrade option) that provides short comic stories lessons in Chinese sorted by HSK level. Each lesson offers audio, word lists, dubbing, and a quiz at the end to test comprehension and Chinese knowledge.
Speaking - Tandem, Italki, and Hello Talk
Tandem and Hellotalk are places where you can find language exchange partners to practice your language for free. Italki, on the other hand, has professional teachers and community tutors.
Linge, Olle. “Skritter Review: Boosting Your Chinese Character Learning (2020 Edition).” Hacking Chinese, 20 Aug. 2020, www.hackingchinese.com/skritter-review-boosting-your-character-learning/.
コメント