memorising characters easier. Each
character appears on screen with an
animated picture over the top – for
example, the character for “mouth”
appears with a big, square mouth
inside it. You learn one character at
a time, and gradually build up your
memory base – the game’s creators say
anyone can learn up to 100 characters
in a weekend. You are tested every
couple of characters, and your scores
are recorded. Compared to hours
spent poring over a dull book, it seems
an almost effortless way to learn.
And once you have learnt to
recognise all those characters, the next
step is to be able to write them legibly.
Learning the correct stroke order
for characters, some of which are
extremely complex, can be a challenge
when you are used to writing just
single letters from an alphabet, but
there are now apps, especially for
iPads, that can help with this. With
apps such as Word Tracer, you trace
the character with your fingertip, first
onto a grid and then, when you get
more advanced, you can ditch the grid
and go freestyle.
If you are looking for something
a bit less taxing, but still want your
children immersed in the Mandarin
language, why not download a book?
You can even get the Beatrix Potter
books for iPad – you can read the
books in simplified or traditional
characters, or English, and you
can tap on a paragraph of Chinese
characters to get a translation into
Pinyin. You can also listen to a
recording of each page, either in
Chinese or in English. With so many
book downloads to choose from in so
many different formats, even story-
time becomes a high-tech learning
opportunity.
App-ortunity knocks
Over the last few years, with the
rise of video conferencing and the
mushrooming of every kind of high-
tech Mandarin study aid – from
dictionaries and games to stories and
character-writing apps – learning
Mandarin has become far more
accessible and appealing. But however
user-friendly these apps and games
are, just downloading them isn’t going
to teach you Mandarin – you still
have to put the hours in and actually
use them.
But for those who are committed
to mastering the language, there
has never been a better time to
learn. Playing games, challenging
your memory to a work-out, tracing
characters with your fingertips,
listening to stories, chatting with
language students in China or
listening to songs are undoubtedly
more engaging and interactive
learning experiences than sitting
through a dull class or working your
way through a lacklustre textbook.
And while technology can’t learn
Mandarin for you, it can certainly
help to create a speedier and more
exciting learning journey.
Learning the
correct stroke order
for characters,
some of which are
extremely complex,
can be a challenge
when you are used
to writing just
single letters from
an alphabet …
December 2012
93