People believe that second language learners need grammar to speak and write, thus almost every language programs have more or less some lectures or training for grammar, and Chinese programs have no exception. That seems a common belief of learning second language. We do not take the position that second language learners need grammar to […]
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Learning Chinese Online: Synchronous and Asynchronous
Online learning has changed the way language learners around the world are learning Mandarin. People used to learn Chinese by memorizing and imitating. Nowadays, Chinese learners can learn it at anytime and anywhere. There are two different types of online learning: synchronous and asynchronous. For teachers and student in an asynchronous online mode, teaching and […]
Does Practice Make Perfect? a Chinese Story for learning new languages
“Practice makes perfect.” It would be equal to an Chinese idiom “熟能生巧”, which may be true for piano learners, but is it true for language learners? We don’t see children practice their language, but every one can speak their language(s) in someway. Adult language learners and most of the Asia students in foreign language class […]
Mandarin and Chinese: Are They the Same Language?
Mandarin and Chinese are both the same and different languages. Historically and politically, they are considered the same. But linguistically and ethically, they are not the same. Mandarin is a dialect spoken by people in northern China, while Chinese is an umbrella term that includes all the dialects spoken by all the people in China. […]