Friday, December 4, 2009

Translation of Standard Chinese Terms used in Singapore

If you are looking for translation of standard Chinese terms used in Singapore, just access

[Online Dictionary on Standard Chinese Terms] via

http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/chineseterms.html

The [Online Dictionary] is compiled and published by Lianhe Zaobao's
Translation Standardisation Committee for the Chinese Media, Singapore
新加坡华文媒介统一译名委员会

The Translation Standardisation Committee for the Chinese Media was set up in 1990 for the purpose of standardising Chinese translations of commonly used terms in the local Chinese media.

In a multi-lingual society of Singapore, where special terms and names of personalities and places come from diverse sources, the need for standardisation cannot be over-emphasised.

The current website features the major works of the Committee, which include the following:
- Singapore government departmental titles and designations;
- Names of companies and organisations;
- Names of personalities and places;
- Names of buildings and housing estates;
- Bilingual computer/financial terms;
- Malaysian/Indonesian names in Chinese.

All the standardised Chinese translations are common names encountered by the journalists in their daily work. They are by no means comprehensive or exhaustive.

However, they are certainly useful reference materials for both journalists and translators. We shall try our best to constantly update and enlarge our collection of standardised Chinese translation of common names on this website.

华文媒介统一译名委员会,是一个自愿性组织。工作主要是统一译名。

由于新加坡是个多元语文社会,中文媒体在日常的运作中,无可避免的要面对将其他语文的特有名词、人名、地名等等转译为中文的问题。

网站所收集的统一译名,是委员会过去这些年来的一些工作成果,包括以下几大块:

· 新加坡政府部门职衔
· 公司机构
· 人名
· 地名
· 建筑物及住宅区名称及其他
· 电脑名词
· 财经名词
· 马来/印尼文名称

所收集的,是媒体工作者日常比较多接触到的名词,所以,并不是无所不包的,也不能被当作是完整的词典。不过,对一般从事新闻与翻译工作者,相信会有一定的帮助。

网站的最大潜能在于它为我们提供了一个可以不断更新、丰富内容的架构。

The above information is extracted from
http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/aboutus.html


[Online Dictionary on Standard Chinese Terms]

http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/chineseterms.html

is arranged systematically by board categories., i.e., Government Departments, Organization, Name of People, Places, & Buildings etc...

Within each category, it is searchable by keywords or phrases in any language.

If you click on the link under any ministry, you will get the following terms in English and Chinese:

Minister
部长
 
Minister of State
政务部长
 
Senior Parliamentary Secretary
高级政务次长
 
Permanent Secretary
常任秘书
 
Deputy Secretary
副常任秘书
 
Quality Service Manager
优质服务经理
 
Minister's Press Secretary
部长新闻秘书

Try it out yourself! I am sure you will be amazed by the comprehensive coverage of this [Online Dictionary on Standard Chinese Terms]
http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/chineseterms.html

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Fun way of teaching Chinese

Using fun way of teaching "Designation" in Chinese:

主席 - 主要工作是休息

总裁 - 总是害人无辜被裁

老板 - 老在公司看天花板

经理 - 经常走动找人修理

主管 - 主要任务尽量少管

员工 - 原来只有我在做工

Source: email received from a friend dated 2 Dec 2009

Monday, November 23, 2009

Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL)

Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL)

http://en.sccl.sg/

"The establishment of Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL) was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 6 September 2008.

The objective of SCCL is to enhance the effectiveness of teaching Chinese as a second language in a bilingual environment and to meet the learning needs of students from non-Mandarin speaking homes.

Through the provision of quality training, SCCL hopes to enhance the teaching literacy, competency and professionalism of Chinese language teachers.

It will also strive to promote the development of Chinese culture and language in Singapore. The Centre also focuses on researching innovative teaching and learning strategies, and through the promotion of effective Chinese language pedagogy in a bilingual environment, the Centre hopes to develop unique and effective teaching methods to strengthen the position of SCCL as the regional teaching and research centre for Chinese as a second language.

SCCL had begun its in-service training courses in June 2009."

Here is some points raised by MM Lee Kuan Yew at the opening of the Centre on 17 Nov 2009:

News: The Straits Times - 18 November 2009
MM Lee wants learning of Chinese to be fun
By Clarissa Oon & Cai Haoxiang

"I intervened successively over the years and insisted that my experience should guide the policy. I was taking risks. I started wrong and I put it right. It is not completely right but I will get it right if I live long enough."

"he urged parents and educators not just to expose children to the Chinese language from a young age, but also to stimulate the child's interest in the language, beyond just 'passing exams'."

"I want to get this message into the heads of the younger generation of teachers: Use IT, use drama, use every method to capture the interest of children,' he said."

"One example of how the SCCL is making the learning of Chinese fun is through mobile phone technology. This was shown at a conference yesterday afternoon by one of the centre's lecturers."

For full text of the article, visit:

http://www.pmo.gov.sg/News/Transcripts/Minister+Mentor/MM+Lee+wants+learning+of+Chinese+to+be+fun.htm

Friday, November 20, 2009

林懷民 on 中天書坊 01



I find it very meaningful listening to 林懷民. It will help those who like to study Chinese Literature in understanding the interpretation of 屈原-九歌 (Nine Songs).
There are 4 parts in total and you may follow the links of part one to view the rest.

Notes:

九歌【简介】
《楚辞》篇名。“九歌”原为传说中的一种远古歌曲的名称。

《楚辞》的《九歌》,是战国楚人屈原据民间祭神乐歌改作或加工而成。

共十一篇:《东皇太一》、《云中君》、《湘君》、《湘夫人》、《大司命》、《少司命》、《东君》、《河伯》、《山鬼》、《国殇》、《礼魂》。《国殇》一篇,悼念和颂赞为楚国而战死将士;多数篇章,则皆描写神灵间的眷恋,表现出深切的思念或所求未遂的伤。

王逸说是屈原放逐江南时所作,当时屈原“怀忧若苦,愁思沸郁”,故通过制作祭神乐歌,以寄托自己的这种思想感情。...

Source of information:

http://baike.baidu.com/view/59965.htm

Full text of 九歌 is at the end of the page.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Zhuang Zi 庄子

Zhuang Zi 庄子

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuang_zi

"Zhuangzi (traditional Chinese: 莊子; simplified Chinese: 庄子; pinyin: Zhuāng Zǐ; Wade-Giles: Chuang Tzŭ) was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, corresponding to the Hundred Schools of Thought philosophical summit of Chinese thought. His name is sometimes spelled Chuang Tsu, Chuang Tzu, Zhuang Tze, Chouang-Dsi, Chuang Tse or – in English – Master Chuang."

"In general, Zhuangzi's philosophy is mildly skeptical, arguing that our life is limited and the amount of things to know is unlimited. To use the limited to pursue the unlimited, he said, was foolish. Our language and cognition in general presuppose a dao to which each of us is committed by our separate past—our paths"

Here is the interpretation from 康震

百家讲坛20070525--我读经典之庄子的人生境界-康震

Sunday, May 24, 2009

蔡志忠:漫画是我的表达方式

漫画家蔡志忠

Extracted from
http://baike.baidu.com/view/20308.htm

"1948 年2月2日,蔡志忠出生于台湾彰化茄冬。15 岁中途辍学以后,只身到台北,跨出自己的独立人生,一画,便是三十多个春秋。"

"蔡志忠先生从十五岁起便开始成为职业漫画家。他用简洁生动的线条描绘了一部部颇具影响的漫画书,在台湾、香港、新加坡、日本、马来西亚等地广受欢迎。他的作品庄子说、老子说、禅说、史记、西游记、聊斋系列等开启了中国古籍经典漫画的先河。并以其对诸子百家,古典名著,唐诗宋词,佛经禅语的独到心得,行云流水般的画笔,将经典白话化与漫画化,并加以现代诠释,让现代人在完全没有负担的情境下,吸收智慧,轻松学习经典。在漫画与蔡志忠先生对话,倾听漫画家画笔之中的心灵世界,能让我们对他用线条演绎的哲理和幽默有更加深刻的体会"

新闻会客厅20090520 -- 蔡志忠:漫画是我的表达方式

Saturday, May 23, 2009

鲁豫有约 : 罗志祥

鲁豫有约

Extracted from:
http://baike.baidu.com/view/48115.htm

鲁豫有约 说出你的故事

  一段段窝心的真情,三千六百秒赤诚对话,千万次殷切回响,打造昆仑润滑油特约之鲁豫有约:说出你的故事。鲁豫觉得采访别人是一件快乐的事情。因为最大的益处是获得心态上的平和。她最深的感触是这个世界上没有过不去的坎,没有什么事可以吓倒谁或难倒谁。而女人也正是因为这些坚强而显得更美丽。
  节目寻访拥有特殊经历的人物,一起见证历史,思索人生,直指生命的体验与心灵秘密,创造一种新颖的谈话记录。主持人鲁豫对人的关注与被采访者心灵的对话。鲁豫相信,没有一个人的故事是不精彩的。她说:「我对人、对故事比较感兴趣,我对讲道理半点兴趣都没有。」


鲁豫有约20090519 -- 罗志祥:罗式幸福生活




鲁豫有约 2008 - 2009:

http://www.shipin369.com/zyyl/lyyy.html

Friday, May 22, 2009

Han Feizi 韩非子

Han Feizi 韩非子

Extracted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Fei

"Han Fei (also Han Feizi) (Chinese: ; pinyin: Hán Fēi; Wade-Giles: Han Fei) (ca. 280–233 BC) was a Chinese philosopher who, along with Li Si, developed Xun Zi's mutualism into the doctrine embodied by the School of Law or Legalism."

Here is one of the intrepretation from 孙立群

百家讲坛20070524--我读经典之解析《韩非子》-孙立群

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Lao Zi 老子

About "Lao Zi"

Extracted from
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi

"Laozi (Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ; Wade-Giles: Laosi; also Lao Tse, Lao-Tzu, Laotze, Lao Zi, Laocius, and other variations) was a philosopher of ancient China and is a central figure in Taoism (also spelled "Daoism"). "

"Laozi is an honorific title. Lao means "venerable" or "old". Zi, or tzu, means "master". Zi was used in ancient China like a social prefix, indicating "Master", or "Sir".

"The Daodejing, often called simply the Laozi after its reputed author, describes the Dao (or Tao) as the mystical source and ideal of all existence: it is unseen, but not transcendent, immensely powerful yet supremely humble, being the root of all things."

"According to the Daodejing, humans have no special place within the Dao, being just one of its many ("ten thousand") manifestations. People have desires and free will (and thus are able to alter their own nature). Many act "unnaturally", upsetting the natural balance of the Dao."

"The Daodejing intends to lead students to a "return" to their natural state, in harmony with Dao."

Here is one of the intrepretation of Lao Zi 老子and The Daodejing 道德经:


百家讲坛 2007 05 22 --我读经典之老子:无形中的指引-孙丹林

Friday, May 15, 2009

The Art of War 孙子兵法

The Art of War 孙子兵法
extracted From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War

"The Art of War (Chinese: 孫子兵法; pinyin: Sūn Zǐ Bīng Fǎ) is a Chinese military treatise that was written by Sun Tzu in the 6th century BC, during the Zhou dynasty. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time, and one of the basic texts on the subject."

"The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy in the world. It has had a huge influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond."

"Sun Tzu recognized the importance of positioning in strategy and that position is affected both by objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective opinions of competitive actors in that environment. He taught that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through a to-do list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a competitive environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations."

Here is one of the intrepretation of "The Art of War 孙子兵法":

百家讲坛 20070523--我读经典之孙子兵法:有用与无用-马骏

Monday, May 4, 2009

Learning Chinese through fun activities & stories

Watch children react with pleasure and excitement reading storybooks and singing songs.

Excerpted from Hsu Laoshi's class of first graders, experience the joys of a Better Chinese classroom along with the children. Hsu Laoshi's class exemplifies the application of Better Chinese's story-centered, inquiry-based pedagogy. Watch Hsu Laoshi and the children read a story together, apply acquired vocabulary in fun activities, watch online stories including Magical Chinese characters, learn to write characters and sing a song, all in the fun and engaging environment enabled by Better Chinese materials. Witness truly enjoyable and effective language learning, a pillar of Better Chinese's philosophy and approach.

For more information, visit

www.betterchinese.com

Friday, May 1, 2009

Mandarin Basics

Learn useful Chinese characters and hundreds of everyday phrases and sentences with ease.

It is a type-to-learn Chinese product that let you get instant feedback from your computer, just like a teacher by your side.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Our Chinese (www.OurChinese.org)

Our Chinese (http://www.ourchinese.org/) aims to provide guidebooks, lectures and resources for the learners via Internet and reach the learners around the world.

Most of the articles are written by professional Chinese language teachers, some of the articles and learning materials are translated from resources found on the net.

Chinese language is one of the most beautiful language in the world and if you like to explore its beauty, you can be amazed by the comprehensive resources on http://www.ourchinese.org/

Here is some of the main links:

Home 首页

Chinese Dictionary

Resources 资源中心

Related News新闻

Foundation 基础

PinYin 拼音

Characters 字

Phrase 词

Grammar 语法

Read 阅读

Composition 作文

Spoken 口语

Life 生活

Business 商务

Trade 行业

Dialect 方言

Test 考试测验

Idiom 成语

Proverb 俗语

Poem Phrase诗词

Ancient Text古文

Calligraphy 书法

Columns 专栏

Recreation 休闲

Chinese Blog

Chinese BBS

Online Tools 工具

Chinese to PinYin

Chinese Reading

Online Translate

Chinese Assistant

Web Chinese IME

Add to your blog

Practice writing Chinese character

Notes to learners:

If you know some Chinese and have some foundation (Like a primary school students who can read some Chinese words), you will benefit a lot from this web site.

If you are beginner and illiterate in Chinese, you may find it hard to understand some of the translation in English as the English translation is very much machine based translation.

The translation may contains grammatical error and some misuse of words. Hence, English speaking learner will experience lot of frustration if they are not guided by some one who are well versed in Chinese.

I try some of the pages, and discover that most of the links with sound files cannot be access yet. It will take time for a lot of functions to be refined. Check it up in a month's time if you cannot open the file now. If you cannot wait for a while, just write to the webmaster for assistance!


Dexterine Ho

Sunday, March 22, 2009

于丹《论语》感悟 之 学习之道

于丹《论语》感悟 之 学习之道 1/5

子曰:群居终日,言言不及义,好行小慧,难矣哉。----- 论语 * 卫灵公 --- ---

于丹《论语》感悟(一)孝敬之道

于丹《论语》感悟(一)孝敬之道 1/7 (百善孝为先)

简介:在中国儒家文化中,特别提倡孝道,孔子认为,孝,是做人的根本道德,所以中国的 传统文化提倡:百善孝为先。但是从父父子子,君君臣臣的封建社会发展出来的孝道,在两 千多年后的今天,是否还是那么重要?在日新月异的现代社会里,儿女和父母之间,由于生 活环境的不同,认知事物的不同,不可避免地会产生代沟,发生矛盾和冲突是难免的,在这 种情况下,我们应该怎么做才为孝?孔老夫子毕竟生活在两千多年以前,他有关孝道的准则 ,在我们现代社会中还能够适用吗?我们现代人又该如何理解孝道呢?
---
1/7
子曰:是谓能养,至于犬马皆能有养,不敬,何以别乎。
---



于丹《论语》感悟(一)孝敬之道 2/7 (大苹果树故事)

使于丹老师流泪的大苹果树故事
---



The rest of the video recordings will auto play, if not, just follow the links here:

于丹《论语》感悟(一)孝敬之道 3/7 (小生命的天使)



于丹《论语》感悟(一)孝敬之道 4/7 (表达方式很重要)

...表达方式很重要

子曰:事父母几谏,见志不从,又敬不违,劳而不怨。
---



于丹《论语》感悟(一)孝敬之道 5/7 (又敬不韪)

真正爱父母就要包容和尊敬他所有的习惯
---



于丹《论语》感悟(一)孝敬之道 6/7(弘扬父母之志)

子曰:父母在,不远游,游必有方。

真正的孝敬更重要的是弘扬父母之志

子曰:君子务本,本立而道生,孝第也者,其为仁之本与。

---



于丹《论语》感悟(一)孝敬之道 7/7 (子欲养而亲不待)

有一种的悲怆叫子欲养而亲不待
---



Source of information:
http://www.youtube.com/user/chapsroc

Saturday, March 21, 2009

百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》

This series of video helps you understanding Yu Dan 解读于丹 and unveiling some interesting part of her personality and character.

If you compare the impression you have after viewing the following video and that of your image after viewing the Lecture Room Series, you will discover a new Yu Dan and see the different facet of her.

For me, it is heart warming and nice to read the other side of Yu Dan, a jovial teacher, an understanding guide, a friendy coach though the eyes of her students, the TV interviewer and Mr 易中天.

It is equally interesting to hear Yu Dan interprets her understanding of Lun Yu, Confucius, Zhuang Zi and how the understanding helps her in sailing and charting her life.


百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》1a




百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》1b




百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》 2a




百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》2b




百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》(3)

Friday, March 20, 2009

Yu Dan's talk on Lun Yu 于丹 - 论语

Yu Dan's talk on Lun Yu 于丹 - 论语

Yu Dan 于丹 narrates with ease among teaching ancient wisdom, glorifying non material wealth and coaching traditional values on 百家講壇 The Lecture Room, a hit television show in China.

She talks with the authority and formality of a professor, yet engages her audience with personal anecdotes and stories from Internet.


于丹 Yu Dan's talk on Lun Yu 论语 is a series, and some of them are available from YouTube.

I find those with Chinese transcription and English subtitle useful for in depth learning.

Here are some of them:


Confucius Teachings: Lun Yu 论语.
"The Way to Make Friends" 交友之道.

By Professor Yu Dan of Beijing Normal University with insightful commentary of Confucius teachings of knowing and distinguishing three types of good and bad friends.





Confucius Teachings: Lun Yu 论语.
"The Way of the Superior Man" or The Way of the Gentleman 君子之道. Part 1.

By Professor Yu Dan of Beijing Normal University.

An insightful commentary of Confucius teachings on Self Improvement and the Way of Behaviour.

I love Confucius teaching after listening to her talks!

The video have her speech with English and Chinese subtitle. It is very good for those who are not able to follow her speech through listening!




This video is very captivating. Some of her other speeches are
also very inspiring.

If you like her talks, just follow the links provided by YouTube at the end of the video, like part 2 which I added here:

Confucius Teachings: Lun Yu 论语.
"The Way of the Superior Man" or The Way of the Gentleman 君子之道. Part 2.




The follow video is without Chinese transcription and English subtitle, after you listen to it and compare with the above three videos, you may find what is missing in the process of listening and learning.

百家講壇: 于丹《論語》心得之天地人之道(10分鐘)



To me, learning is a combination of listening, reading, and thinking. All these three elements run simultaneously. Without visual input (transcription in Chinese and translation in English), learning through mere listening can be very hard for some learners or audience. It is not easy for one to concentrate and pick up key points if the Chinese Characters and the English translation is not displayed on the screen.

Hence, if you like her talk, you may like to read her book of the same title, it will enhance your understanding. The reverse is true too!


Dexterine Ho

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Mandarin literacy

How can a corpus help us understand what’s happening to Mandarin literacy?

Article highlights:

What’s happening to Chinese Singaporean preschool children’s oral Mandarin?

How can a corpus help?

What can teachers do?


Find out more from:

SingTeach: new issue
at

http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/language-ed.html

SingTeach is an e-magazine produced for teachers and teacher educators by the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

It keeps you informed about the latest events in NIE.

If you would like to subscribe to the SingTeach mailing list, just send an email to sgteach@nie.edu.sg with the subject title “subscribe”


How can a corpus help us understand what’s happening to Mandarin literacy?
full text of the article is available at http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/language-ed.html

The following is what I extracted from the article:


Battle of the tongues

Mandarin, Malay and Tamil: in Singapore, these are considered the official “mother tongue” languages. However, as the languages spoken at home change over the years, so too have children’s “real” mother tongue.

Though these languages are cherished for their ethnic heritage, this may not be enough to save them against a gradual loss of prestige in the face of the growing influence of English.

...


The Case for Mandarin

In 2004, the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee (CLCPRC) found that the use of English as the primary home language among Chinese Singaporeans is now equal to and will soon surpass that of Mandarin.

The committee concluded that there are now two major distinct groups of Chinese Singaporean children, with very different home language backgrounds, now learning Mandarin in schools:

1. those from English-speaking families (ESF), and

2. those from Chinese-speaking families (CSF).

...

The Corpus: Language in Real Life

This is where the Singapore Preschoolers’ Mandarin Chinese Corpus comes in.

A corpus (plural: corpora) is a large collection of texts, whether spoken or written, stored electronically. They are used to analyze how language is used in real life.

For more information on this, check out:Cambridge International Corpus: What is a Corpus?AskOxford: What is a Corpus?

Using this corpus, lists of Mandarin words spoken by Chinese Singaporean preschoolers have been generated. The corpus has helped us find out:

what preschoolers like to say,
when they say it, and
how they say it.

...

to highlight the implications for Chinese language classroom pedagogy and teacher education programmes.


What can Teachers do about It

Declining levels of Mandarin usage at home
= declining competence in children’s oral Mandarin (especially at the preschool level)
= increasing need for teachers to work hard at improving their pupils’ standards of Mandarin

Furthermore, language is not a zero sum game. A decline in the use of Mandarin will not automatically lead to an improvement in Chinese Singaporean children’s use of English.

In the study, it was revealed that most parents who claimed to interact in English with their children at home are, by their own admission, not very good English speakers.

This discrepancy between the actual proficiency of these parents’ spoken English and their desire to introduce English to their children in daily communication would result inevitably in them using Singlish or a mixture of English and Mandarin.

Increasing levels of Singlish/non-Standard English usage at home
= declining competence in children’s oral English (especially at the preschool level)
= increasing need for teachers to work hard at improving their pupils’ standards of English

The end result is that the growing influence of English and its use (in a non-standard form) as a home language among Chinese Singaporeans is posing major problems for both English and Mandarin.

It:

1. hinders children’s acquisition of Standard English, which then effects their learning in all other subjects taught in English in school, and

2. prevents them from fully developing their Mandarin competence and appreciating the wealth of cultural knowledge that the language embodies.


The Good News

But all is not lost. This study has also found that there appears to be a continuum of Mandarin competence among preschoolers, rather than a marked distinction between the groups.

This means that in a bilingual and multicultural society like Singapore, ... there are still “more bilinguals than monolinguals”.

Therefore, a mother tongue language, like Mandarin, will never truly die out.

But if it is to play a bigger role in Singapore’s language landscape, then its prestige and value must be increased and actively promoted – whether in school or at home.

And, to help our students improve their language competence – whether in English or in Mandarin – we teachers must constantly set the standard which we hope they will follow.

Standard English is a must if we hope to combat the use of non-standard varieties of English at home.

...

For more details, read the full text of the article at http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/language-ed.html

Thursday, January 1, 2009

It is your mind that makes ... possible

"It is the mind that makes the body."

~~ Sojourner Truth (~1797 - 1883)


It is your mind that makes you think!

It is your mind that makes you learn!

It is your mind that makes you like or dislike learning Chinese!

If you mind keep on thinking that learning Chinese is hard, it is very hard!

If you mind keep on thinking that learning Chinese is useless, it will make your learning fruitless! It is useless to learn and acquire broken Chinese. As a result, using broken Chinese will not be that useful!

If you mind keeps on thinking that learning Chinese is boring, it will be easy for you to doze off whenever you look at Chinese characters or open a Chinese book! You will find whatever in Chinese, be it text or muti-media, turn you off!

No one can change your mind, sometime not even you yourself.

Your mind set is set through a long process of conditioning.

It may start long before you were born. You maybe conditioned by family, parents, living environment and finally, your own mind set.

If your family don't speak the language and do not respect people who speak that language, you will learn it that way.

If your parents can speak the language, yet try not to speak to you in that language, you do not acquire it naturally as a mother tongue and it will become a foreigne language to you!

If you do not have childhood friends who use the language to play game with you, you will not be able to link that language with fun and nostalgic memory in your younger age.

If you do not like the learning from the beginning and continue to dislike it, you are conditioned by other unconsciously and internalized it yourself consciously or unconsciously.


What can you do to help yourself?

First, change your mind set.

One thought at a time and tell yourself that you are in control, not your family, not your parents, not your environment, not even your old mind set...


Is it possible?

If there is a will, there is a way!

The way is up to you to Choose!

No one can force you, though you learnt that others can influence or condition you, yet utimately, if you choose to walk your own way, you can create a new path!

Learning Chinese is possible if you want to, at any age!


Dexterine Ho

Notes: If Mr Lee Kuan Yew, at the age of 85 now can learn it some years back and still improving his everyday, what makes you think that it too late to start now.