DON'T IGNORE THIS APP!
Chinese Writer is a wonderful app which integrates game and flashcard options to help young students remember stroke order, pronunciation, and meanings of characters. There are now over 5,000 (an update in Spring 2012 increased the available characters from 3,500) simplified/traditional Chinese characters from which you can make your own list to practice. An initial set of 43 simplified/traditional characters are free and then you have the option of purchasing further sets.What drew me to this Chinese Writer (by trainchinese) is that it contains the radicals (the building blocks of Chinese characters). From this app, I created a list of specific characters/radicals that I wanted my children to focus on. They can practice the correct stroke order (the app lets them know if they write a stroke in the wrong order or in the wrong direction), listen to the correct Chinese pronunciation (or not if I turn the iPad to mute), and tell me the meaning (which scrolls across the top of the page).
The game is like Tetris in that Chinese characters "fall" down the page. The learner taps the character and then "traces" the correct stroke order over the outline of the character. He/she must complete the character before it reaches the bottom or it fills in one of the five boxes at the bottom of the app. When all five boxes are filled, the game is over. As the learner continues playing the speed of the character's fall increases (The user can control the initial speed on the settings page.). Randomly throughout the game, rockets appear that can be tapped for extra points. This really helps my 5-year old keep his attention on the game. He also likes trying to beat his best score.
For more advanced students, there is a "writing" mode within the game. If you select this game option, you won't see a character once you've taped the character. You must pen it without help or the character will fill in one of the five boxes.
In flashcard mode, learners can practice the stroke order without being timed, hear the correct Chinese pronunciation, and read the corresponding English meaning. This is the part of the app that I use for my 3-year old since her fingers cannot move fast enough (yet!) to play the timed game.
Hi, I recently found your blog, and it looks fabulous! I love the way you share all the good resources. As a Chinese teacher at an Elementary school, I am struggling to find out online resource or apps for the parents. Your recommendations are wonderful! Thank you!!
ReplyDelete謝謝 Wan Wang! I think the world is going through a transition stage right now. Chinese will certainly be an important language to know, but few parents in this generation (America) know even basic Chinese so it is difficult for children to practice outside the classroom. I hope some of these resources are helpful for bridging that gap and making Chinese more accessible to the whole family.
DeleteI recently found your diary, and it's fabulous! i like the approach you share all the nice resources.
ReplyDeleteI receive typed notes in pinyin with chinese characters underneath, do you know how I can get this app, it seems most of my Chinese friends have it. I have i-pad only but this would help my Chinese character recognition whilst knowing how to pronounce the words too. I have apps for converting to pinyin but I really want them both together?? Any ideas please
ReplyDeleteAre you referring to NJStar? I believe it is a free download. http://www.njstar.com/cms/
DeleteThanks for your reply but it is not for i-pad. It is however the type of thing I was looking for, any others you know of?
ReplyDeleteI don't know how to include the pronunciation along with the Chinese characters when typing on an iPad. However, this is definitely of interest to me.
ReplyDeleteI want to be sure I understand you situation and what you are looking for. My understand is that your friends/teachers are sending you files which you receive and open on your iPad. The files contain Chinese characters along with the pinyin. Is that correct?
You are looking for a way to also produce files with the characters and pinyin using only an iPad? Is that correct?