learnin-chinese

[learnin-chinese]

I really love your art style! ♥️ Do you have any recommendations for tutorials on learning to draw digitally? I know I could just look at little micro tutorials but I’m autistic so I need really specific instructions step by step to get started

Hey thanks! Honestly I am not good at digital art as much as traditional. Also, this question is pretty vague and you havent reblogged/liked anything of mine so Im not sure which artwork you might be referring to... if you mean pixel art, digital paintings, commissions Ive done, etc

But, I have a HUGE tag full of art resources that are 90% for digital art because I also had a really hard time getting started!

If you want to scroll through my #art ref tag, I have been compiling resources for almost a decade.

Here is a small tutorial Ive been pulling up for years to look at whenever I forget how to digitally paint, that just shows exactly how the artist does layering, shading, etc

Also, Tutor Tuesday is a BUNCH of tutorials that are all about very specific things (hair, faces, animals, lining in general, sketching in general, you name it) , in fully illustrated guides so you can see step-by-step how to do it. This is the best resource I can find for beginning digital art

Also check the users I reblog tutorials from, if the above aren't really what youre looking for. Drawingden, etheringtonbrothers, and art-tutorials-n-references are all good pages to follow if you want to see more guides!

Feel free to message me if you want to see more of my processes, I might have some old pics or videos I can share!

[learnin-chinese]

so I got into grad school today with my shitty 2.8 gpa and the moral of the story is reblog those good luck posts for the love of god

[learnin-chinese]

so I got into grad school today with my shitty 2.8 gpa and the moral of the story is reblog those good luck posts for the love of god

[learnin-chinese]

Train Study Notes 🍂

A collection of vocabulary and grammatical structures I recorded from my impromptu train study sessions!

[learnin-chinese]

From Beginner to Intermediate: an intense plan for advancing in language

Introduction

I've studied Spanish at school for 3 years and now I'm at a low B1 level. I can actually understand pretty well while listening or reading but I can't communicate fluently.

This plan will include vocabulary build up, some grammar revision, a lot of listening, reading and writing. And could be used for the most languages, not only Spanish.

Plan

Every day:

Conjugate one verb in present, past and future tenses

Make a list about 10 - 30 words long

Create flashcards with them and start learning them (I use Quizlet for flashcards)

Revise yesterday's set of flashcards

2-3 times a week:

Read an article or a few pages from a book

Write a few sentences about anything in your target language

Listen to one episode of podcast (at least one)

Once a week or every two weeks:

Watch a movie in your target language, preferably animated movie as the language used there is easier. You can watch with subtitles

Grammar exercises

Translate some short text

Once a month:

Write something longer, like an essay or report, on chosen topic

Additionally:

Talk to yourself, to your friends, to your pets

Text with someone

Look at the transcription while listening to the podcast for second time

Repeat what you hear (in podcast or movie)

Check words you don't know from the listening and reading

Read out loud

Listen to music in your target language - you can even learn the text and sing along

Watch YouTube in your target language

Change your phone language to the one you're learning

Think in you target language!!!

***This is very intense plan for self-learners, you don't have to do all of these things in the given time. Adjust it to your own pace. I'll try to stick to this, if I have enough time.***

[learnin-chinese]

How to self study a language without a textbook or course

Hi! I have a very short attention span, and I rarely find it in me to enjoy using only one resource to learn a language, so I often rely on immersion and actively using the language right from the beginning to learn languages. I’ve done this with pretty much all my languages, and it has worked out pretty well for me so far, especially with French! This is heavily inspired by this article on the medium, which changed my whole outlook on languages. I hope I can offer some helpful advice!

Starting off (A0 –> A2)

First of all, you’re going to have to set your goals in the language. What do you want to do in your target language? Do you want to be conversational or fully fluent? Do you want to focus on all the skills (reading, listening, writing, speaking), or only a couple? Which accent/dialect do you want to choose? Set your goals, and give yourself some habits to start sticking to.

In most cases, I would advice learning the alphabet and the pronunciation at first. For the alphabet, find a guide online and learn the stroke order. Keep on writing it over and over again. For languages like Mandarin Chinese or Japanese, where you have to memorise characters, try and memorise the most common characters. Also, find a pronunciation guide on YouTube or somewhere online, and immediately start working on it. Once you have a general idea of what the sounds are, start speaking and try to shadow natives (i.e. repeat what they say after them with the same intonation - you can do this with YouTube videos, or beginners exercises online).  To practice both of these at the same time, you can try reading out loud, and maybe try dictating what you hear sometimes.

Start listening to the language a lot. Try and listen to YouTube videos and podcasts, and get used to the sound of the language. You might even want to watch a TV show or anime in your target language with English subtitles. I’d also recommend reading and listening at the same time, so if you have subtitles in your target language, then that could be great too. The more exposed you are to the natural use of your target language, the less unintelligible they will seem. 

Memorise some basic vocabulary and phrases. There are loads of articles online that have basic vocabulary lists and phrases in different languages (there are even some on this website). Try memorising a few of them. In terms of what exactly you should learn vocab for, I would recommend learning vocab lists for these: numbers, subject pronouns, common greetings, the most common verbs (the first 100 should do) and their most common conjugations, days of the week, months, seasons, years, how to tell the time, how to talk about the weather, family, colours, house vocab, food, money and shopping phrases, common adjectives, common places,  adverbs, parts of the body and medical vocabulary (I got all of this from this post). It’s a lot, but it will give you a strong foundation. You can then start learning vocabulary for your interests specifically. You can do this using multiple methods. First, you could use flashcards, like anki, memrise and Quizlet. You could also play around with apps like Duolingo or Lingodeer. Also, you could write them down, and keep testing yourself on them until you have them memorised (both target language to english, and english to target language). Make sure that you have audio, and that you know how the word/phrase sounds, and the pronunciation.

Start speaking with someone online. I recommend apps like Tandem and HiNative. Start trying to have conversations of basic topics straight away, and make sure you get corrections. Look up the words as you go.

Memorise a few basic grammar structures. This is especially important for languages like Korean or Japanese, which have extremely different grammar structures to English. Learn basic present, past and future tenses, along with basic articles and determiners, agreement, reflexive verbs, basic particles, negation and gender.

Immerse. I would recommend starting off with posts and videos that offer advice about things, since the language used in these tend to be simplistic, but topic specific. You can also use apps like LingQ. When practicing listening and reading, you can use the advice in these two posts (listening, reading). Don’t memorise every word you come across, and slowly try to ease yourself in.

Making the leap to the intermediate stage (A2 –> B1)

Vocabulary: I’ve already talked about methods of memorising vocabulary earlier, so I won’t talk about it again. As for what you should be memorising, I would suggest basing it on your interests and topical issues. When you immerse, and come across certain interesting words, then memorise them. You can also explore the tag for your target language on tumblr, and try and memorise some of the in depth vocabulary lists on here.

Grammar: I would suggest finding a specification, or list of grammar structures for the intermediate level, and learn all of them using articles and youtube videos. Then, try and use the rules regularly in your speaking and writing and receive corrections. Also, do practice questions. 

Listening: I have gone in depth on how to practice listening in the post I mentioned earlier, so I won’t elaborate too much. Overall, I’d say that it is better to make sure that you are listening to the language a lot, and that what you are listening to is comprehensible input. 

Reading: Find some learners exercises online, and keep doing them. You can also just generally try to read more, based on your interests. I would also suggest to apply the methods from the post I mentioned earlier.

Writing: Try and write a few sentences every now and then, and use your new grammar structures and vocabulary as much as possible. Make sure that you receive corrections. I have gone in depth on this subject in this post.

Speaking: Find a speaking buddy online, and try and organise meetings, where you just try and practice speaking. Look up words you don’t know, and be brave: most people are kind, and won’t mind if you make mistakes, so keep trying to move forward.

Going from intermediate to conversational (B1 –> B2)

Vocabulary: Focus on your interests, and areas that will be useful to you. Make sure that you actually use the words that you are memorising while writing and speaking. 

Grammar: I think the same advice as the beginner to intermediate stage is applicable here.

Listening: Listen to both intermediate podcasts and YouTube videos in the target language (innovative languages, iyagi, dreaming spanish, a piece of french, InnerFrench etc.), and also to native material (youtube videos, films, TV shows, vines, tiktoks etc.) that you find interesting. Use transcripts or subtitles (in the target language) to memorise new vocabulary, and then keep repeating the audio until you understand everything. 

Reading: Read whatever you can get your hands on, as long as it is reasonably simple enough. I would recommend kids books, and also translations of books that you have already read in your target language.

Writing: Try starting a journal in your target language, and also try writing letters/e-mails to people, and maybe write some essays on topical issues. Once again, make sure that you get corrections. 

Speaking: Continue having conversations with people in your target language. Let yourself make mistakes and be corrected, because that is the only way to improve. For your accent and pronunciation, shadow native material (I use Easy Languages for this). 

This is as far as I have gotten in terms of my self-study journey, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to offer much more advice. When I eventually reach an advanced C1 level in a language, then I’ll definitely make a post about that. Thank you for reading this post! I hope it was useful to you!

[learnin-chinese]

restarting 100 dop as I'm trying to graduate this year

1/100 days of productivity

Oct 19

Yesterday was super busy and quite a mess, but I got through it. I did:

study on the train for my chinese reading class

took a chinese vocab test

translated 20 verses of Aeneid

attended 2 chinese class

went to a protest

What I didn't get to do is study for my latin exam, meaning as I write this I am mentally preparing for cramming as much latin syntax as humanly possible, since I have to take the exam tonight.

📖 Lady Pockingham

🎥 The Simpsons season 30 (created by Matt Groening)

🎶 Mom Rock - Grand Romantic Life

Follow my studygram for more studying content @/beebutstudygram

[learnin-chinese]

the chinese students

flashcards with characters painstakingly copied down

the satisfaction of achieving proper use of tones

learning pieces of different dialects, focusing on one but being able to identify mandarin, cantonese, and others

eating mooncakes during the mid-autumn festival

a calligraphy brush held delicately between your fingers

playing go, studying the intricacies of strategy

finally hearing the difference in pronunciation between two similar words

stacks of hsk textbooks

writing phrases again and again, until it feels natural

the vibrant silks of hanfu clothing

endless pages of notes 

memorizing the dynastic periods and major events from each

attending performances of beijing opera

reading simplified versions of the four classic novels, working your way up to the original texts

the smell of your favorite food from your local chinese restaurant

learning to cook dishes from different regional cuisines

repeating vocabulary until it’s fully memorized

delicate porcelain, intricately decorated

studying traditional confucian, buddhist, and taoist philosophies

visiting the great wall, the temple of heaven, and other cultural sites

understanding the importance of learning one of the fastest growing languages in the world

[learnin-chinese]

Linguistics Terms in Chinese

*Common terms found in textbooks, on tests, etc. that no one has ever taught me explicitly; will update periodically through reblogs－please share if you know other ones!! We can use these words to talk about our study, ask for help, or better understand test questions and practice sets.

语法 －grammar

生词 － vocabulary

口语 －speaking 

写字 －writing 

阅读 －reading 

跨文化交际 － cross-cultural communication 

汉字 － characters 

拼音 － pinyin 

偏胖 － character radicals (e.g. 口袋的口）

名词 －noun

动词 －verb

副词 － adverb 

状语 －adverb phrase

量词 －measure word

连词 －conjunction 

句子 －sentence 

主语 － subject of a sentence 

分句 － sentence clause 

注释 －explanatory notes 

不同点 －differences 

对话 － dialogue 

专有名词 －Proper nouns

词义 －meaning of a word, definition

形合 －a linguistics term that literally means “shape focused;” it refers to the way that languages like English focus more heavily on structures like grammar to be intelligible; in contrast to the below term, 意合

意合 －a linguistics term that literally means “meaning focused;” it refers to languages like Chinese that focus more heavily on meaning, so they can rely on repetition of certain words or phrases within a sentence or utterance without sounding redundant; in contrast to the above term, 形合

练习 － practice

复习－review 

预习 － preview 

考试 －test

做作业 － do homework

例如 － example 

判断对错。 － judge true or false. 

题 － question (usually 第 + # + 题）

请选出真确回答。 － choose the correct answer.

选词填空。－fill in the blanks.

排列顺序。－ arrange / put in order of sequence.

部分 －part (usually 第 + # + 部分）

完成句子 － finish the sentences. 

[learnin-chinese]

My Chinese Grammar List

| ❀:hsk1

Attributives expressing possession

V/A-not-V/A questions

Abbreviated questions with “呢”

The position of adverbs “也” and “都”

Numeral-measure words as attributives

Sentences with “有”

Questions with “几” or “多少”

Expressing the date and days of the week

Words expressing time as adverbials

Sentences with a nominal predicate

Using “好吗?” to ask a question

Prepositional Phrase

Sentences with double objects

The adverb “很” in sentences with an adjectival predicate

Telling time

Sentences with a subject-predicate phrase as predicate

Alternative questions

The Particle “了”

| ❀:hsk2

The Auxiliary Verb “要”

The Adverb of Degree “最”

“几” and “多”: expressions of approximate numbers

Questions Using “是不是”

The Pronoun “每”

The Interrogative Pronoun “多”

The “的” Phrase

The Numeral Classifier “一下”

The Modal Adverb “真”

The Structure “是……的”: emphasizing the agent of an action

Indicating Time “……的时候”

The Adverb “就”

The Modal Adverb “还”

The Adverbial Modifier “有点儿”

The Interrogative Pronoun “怎么”

Reduplication of Measure Words

The Pair of Conjunctions “因为……，所以……”

The Adverb of Time “就”

The Verb “离”

The Modal Particle “呢”

The Adverb “再”

Pivotal Sentences

Reduplication Verbs

Complements of Result

The Preposition “从”

The Imperative Sentence “不要……了/别……了”

The Preposition “对”

The “比” Sentence

The Auxiliary Verb “可能”

Complements of State

The Aspect Particle “着”

The Preposition “往”

The Aspect Particle “过”

The Pair of Conjunctions “虽然……，但是……”

The Complement of Frequency “次”

Indicating the State of an Action “要……了”

The Structure “都……了”

[learnin-chinese]

Continuing Past Actions in Mandarin

So my brain keeps going around in circles and this stupid 了 doesn't seem to be sticking. So I thought maybe typing it out here might help me remember.

Used to do something - no longer doing it

Subject + Action + Object + Action + 了 + Amount of Time

The 了 indicates that the action is completed

我学中文学了两年

我在中国住了三年

Have been doing something - still doing it

Adding another 了 to the end brings the entire sentence to the present, indicating that the action has been happening and is still happening

我学中文学了两年了

我在中国住了三年了

Another way of saying it, according to my Chinese friends lol:

我（已经）学中文一年了

我（已经）住在台北十年了

Extra: Haven't done something in X amount of time

Subject + Amount of Time + 没 (haven't) + Action&Obj + 了

我两年没说中文了 - I haven't spoken Chinese in 2 years

我两天没睡觉了 - I haven't slept in 2 days

[learnin-chinese]

Characters I Used to Write Incorrectly

Today I will be exposing my past as someone who did not care about stroke order by comparing actual stroke order to how I used to write some characters. The title of this post is actually not 100% true because sometimes I still write some of these characters incorrectly…it’s just so hard to break old habits.

In retrospect, I think the real stroke order makes a lot of sense thinking about how 少 is written. But I do remember being surprised when I learned I was writing this character incorrectly.

I believe I mentioned in a previous post that I used to write the left half of 那 like 月. And I was also writing the right part wrong too! Fortunately I’ve been very successful in correcting this and now write 那 with the proper stroke order consistently.

For both 北 and 比, I was writing the right component in incorrect order. I also wrote the left part of 比 incorrectly, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I was also messing up the direction of strokes…I can’t remember exactly now.

To this day, the proper stroke order for 长 remains unintuitive to me. But I have been good about following proper stroke order regardless. Honestly, I feel like the character doesn’t look as neat when I use correct stroke order, but I do think like the strokes flow better together.

I find myself having to look up stroke order for this character and characters like 贯 from time to time. It just won’t stick!

Keep reading

[learnin-chinese]

Hey did you know I keep a google drive folder with linguistics and language books  that I try to update regularly 

UPDATE because apparently not everyone has seen this yet the new and improved version of this is a MEGA folder

I know there’s so many more urgent things but if you like this resource you may consider buying me a ko-fi to keep this project alive

[learnin-chinese]

How to create a revision timetable

Hi! I find that a timetable has helped me immensely to organise my revision. Here is a step-by-step guide to creating a revision timetable for your studies.

Step 1: Get your specification/syllabus and figure out what you need to study and how

List all the topics that might appear in the exam. If that is the entire subject, then so be it. Do this so you can see exactly what you are dealing with.

Prioritise. Figure out what the most important topics are, and also what your weaknesses are, and highlight them.

Find out what the most effective, time efficient study methods there are for your subject. For example, for subjects like history and english literature, flashcards and essay plans might work best. This is important, because you want to be as efficient as possible.

Figure out how long it will take to finish studying each topic. Be very generous. Overestimating how long it will take will hurt you less than underestimating it will. 

Step 2: Decide how long each study session will be, and create a study routine

You will not need to do more than a maximum of 4 hours a day. In fact, I’d say 2 hours is enough for each day. Look at your free time, and evaluate your own skills and discipline. Then, decide how many subjects you will study a day and for how long. When I was doing my GCSEs, I spent 30 minutes on a subject a day with a 5 minute break. I covered 5 subjects a day. Try to work out something like that depending on how much time you have.

For your subjects/classes, make a table that lists all your subjects and the best revision methods for each.

Separate the study methods into “memorising/learning/understanding” (flashcards, mind maps, YouTube videos, extra reading, blurting etc.)  and “exam technique/practice” (practice questions, essay plans, practice essays, past papers and mark schemes etc.). 

On your table, insert a column for study routines, and make a routine for each study session.

Split study sessions into working on “memorising/learning/understanding” and “exam technique/practice”. Reserve more time for “exam technique/practice”. For example, in a 30 minute study session for English literature, your routine could look something like this: Work on understanding text through memorising quotes/analysis and watching YouTube videos (10 minutes), write essay plans or a couple of paragraphs of an essay (20 minutes).

Be aware that your routine should change and become more practice heavy the closer you get to exam season. 

Also, work out which subjects you need to review for every day, and what you can reserve for other occasions. For example, you need to learn and review vocabulary every day for languages, and you also might want to review maths formula daily too.

Step 3: Gather your resources

 Find as many free pre-made ones that you can (Quizlet flashcards, older students old notes). 

Gather your own textbooks, notes and revision guides and decide what will be the most useful for you.

Step 4: Create a schedule

Create a table that cuts each week until your exam into 30 minute segments

Put all of your classes, clubs, jobs etc. into the table. If there are any events that will happen, put them in there too.

Put your revision time into the times of the day you work best at.

Schedule in breaks and make sure you have a cut off point in each day where you stop working completely and just relax. Also, schedule in planning time, and exercise (at least 3 times a week).

Then create another table where you list the weeks you have left until your exam, and then list what you will do for each day of each week (e.g. Week 1: Monday - trigonometry questions, review French unit 1, reread a christmas carol Stave 1. Tuesday - Seneca learning unit 3 biology, past paper question for history…. etc.)

Start off with your weakest areas, and then work your way back to your easier ones.

Leave a few days and periods for catch up work.

Make sure you’re regularly reviewing your subject, just to keep the knowledge fresh in your head.

Dedicate your last few days/weeks to practicing your exam technique.

Thanks for reading this post! I hope it was somewhat useful to you.

[learnin-chinese]

How to practice reading in a foreign language

Hi! I’m learning French and Spanish, and I have found that reading tends to be my strongest skill. I thought that I would try providing some advice on how to practice reading in a foreign language.

Figure out what you should read! For an absolute beginner, stick to textbook exercises and content made for learners. Stay away from native material for now, since it will generally be quite unhelpful, and will just damage your confidence and motivation without actually improving your skills. For pre-intermediate learners, read articles and social media posts, since the language used in them are widely used, but not too complex. I remember that after 2 months of studying Spanish semi-regularly, I could make it through an article about language learning without really needing a dictionary to understand it. Articles like that are made to be accessible, so the language will be more simplistic.  For intermediate learners, now is a good time to hit the books! Language used in books is usually a lot more diverse and complex, so it will be challenging, but helpful. I recommend sticking to things that interest you, like translations of your favourite childhood books (I read a translation of Harry Potter in French and it was sublime). Upper intermediate learners will be more comfortable with YA books, while lower intermediate learners might prefer fanfiction and children’s books. Don’t go for something which has a bunch of jargon or old fashioned vocabulary like fantasy books or old classics. Go for something which will include vocabulary related to every day life and your interests, like romance or coming of age novels.  Alongside this, keep reading articles, social media posts and Wikipedia pages about whatever interests you! You can also read graphic novels, manga and webtoons as well, if you want, just as long as it sticks to the no jargon rule and actually challenges you. For advanced learners, this is the time for you to go for something really difficult, like the classics, advanced newspapers or academic journals and essays. Jargon doesn’t matter. In fact, jargon is good! At this point, you are trying to graduate from a fluent reader, to an educated reader. Maybe you could read textbooks up until high school level so that you could understand the average person’s level of vocabulary in certain fields, like science. Read Marx, read political theory, read whatever you want! This is the most intellectually stimulating stage of language learning, since it is the time that you can truly appreciate what you are reading. Also generally, across all levels, you can read the subtitles of videos, films or YouTube videos in French.

Figure out how you are going to read! There are two ways to practice reading: reading intensively and reading extensively.  Reading intensively means that you look up every word that you don’t understand (and maybe turn them into flashcards to learn later). I recommend writing all these new words down, and make sure to record it in its unconjugated form to learn it later, unless you want to learn that particular irregular verb or past participle.  Reading extensively means reading a lot without looking up words. I do NOT recommend beginner/lower intermediate learners to do this, as it is only useful if you can understand at least 70% of it. I am able to do this with French, but not with Spanish, since it is only useful if you are at the stage where you can understand most of what is being written. I think this is better for upper intermediate/advanced learners.

Know your literary tenses! If you don’t understand literary tenses, then you will need to learn it. You can do this using a textbook, or an article, or a YouTube video. Make sure whatever you use has practice texts for you to get used to seeing the tenses with. Also, make sure that you know some of the most common irregular verbs too, since these will come up a lot.

Read the article/chapter/post once without looking up vocab at first! Try and see how much you can understand, and write down all the words that you do not understand, even if it is a lot. Take it slowly at first, and just try and work through a couple of pages. Then, translate the vocabulary, and try to learn the most important words. Then, reread what you were reading again. This method works very well for me, so I hope it works for you too!

Read out loud! This helps your pronunciation AND your speed. Make sure you have audio to compare your pronunciation with. I had tajweed lessons for Arabic since I was a child, and all that practice has given me native like pronunciation and a very good accent. This is helpful, trust me!

Read and listen at the same time! Subtitles of videos/films/shows and audiobooks are the best for this. After about 10 minutes of listening, replay what you were listening too and make sure you can catch every word. This improves your listening AND reading skills.

Reread! I promise that after a while, your reading skills WILL improve the more you do it and the more you expand your vocabulary. I’m about a third of the way through my first YA French book, and I can already understand so much more than before. After you have learnt the new vocabulary in whatever you are reading, then reread it. This time, you won’t be stuck on what you don’t know, and will be able to enjoy the contents much more.

Thanks for reading this post! I hope it was useful for you!

[learnin-chinese]

Low effort language study tips

Beginner

Play on an app (e.g. Duolingo, Memrise, Lingodeer, HelloChinese etc.)

Text people in your target language on apps like HelloTalk and Tandem.

Listen to a language learning podcast in your free time.

Watch a children’s show or film with subtitles.

Read social media posts in your target language.

Reread your notes.

Speak to yourself in your target language.

Intermediate

Watch a YouTube video with subtitles in your target language. 

Read a book you have already read in your native language in your target language without looking any of the words up.

Memorise extra vocabulary using an SRS flashcard app (e.g. Quizlet, Memrise and Anki)

Watch a film or TV show in your target language

Try calligraphy in your target language.

Advanced

Listen to a podcast in your dead time

Watch a film or TV show without subtitles (maybe a historical drama, because they tend to be interesting and with more complex language)

Write creatively in your target language

Listen to an audiobook

Watch vines and tiktoks in your target language

Have a relaxed conversation with a friend in your target language

Thanks for reading this post! I hope it was somewhat useful to you! 

[learnin-chinese]

Waiting for the Catch -  Georges Philibert Charles Maroniez