Chinese Writer

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.

Courses in Iowa City

CULTURE COURSES IN IOWA CITY
The Confucius Institute at the University of Iowa is offering Chinese Culture enrichment events!  The Confucius Institute is located in the International Programs Department at the University Capitol Centre (UCC) in the Old Capitol Mall in downtown Iowa City.

Below are a list of classes that have been offered in the past.  Click on the link above to find out what classes are currently available.

• Language Classes
• Mandarin Level One, Davenport
• Mandarin Level One, Iowa City
• Exercise
•  Taiji太极-  Taiji was originally designed focus on self-defense, and has gradually evolved as an effective means for flexibility, relaxation, stress control, and overall health enhancement. In this session, students will learn fundamental Taiji movements: Ward-off, Roll Back, Press and Push in a Four Hands form. Any loose and comfortable fitting clothing is suitable. Students should wear light, low, and flat shoes.
• Wushu武术- Wushu is a style of martial arts that is based on Chinese calligraphy. Participants will learn about the origin and philosophy of this art form, the characters and the movements, the offensive and defensive sets, and practice some basic traditional Chinese martial arts exercises and techniques.
• Fun and Culture
• Majiang麻将- This Majiang course is designed to introduce a popular Chinese board game to those who are interested in learning the basic concept of the game, how to play it, and some simple strategies. Participants will also learn some Chinese numbers and characters as well as some related aspects of Chinese culture and customs.
• Chinese Calligraphy Workshops- Workshop participants will get hands-on experience using calligraphy ink and brushes. No previous experience with Chinese or Chinese Calligraphy is required. Chinese Calligraphy Workshops are led by Dr. Ramon Lim, University of Iowa Professor Emeritus of Neurology and winner of the 2005 Eighth International Calligraphy Competition. Dr. Lim has his works widely exhibited in China, Korea and Japan.
• History
• From Yao to Mao: 5,000 Years of Chinese History- This "Great Courses" video series is designed to give students a glimpse into ancient China.  China has a long and complex history full of rich culture.  The course will give an overview of early Chinese dynasties, philosophies, and historical figures.  The course will not only explore China's vast history but is will also offer participants a window of understanding into modern day China.

Chinese for Kids

Chinese for Kids- Created by 321Speak, this program has the same layout as Rosetta Stone, but with vocabulary aimed at kids. The app utilizes simplified characters with pinyin.  I've enjoyed this app and so have my children (ages 3 and 5). Currently there are 11 categories: body parts, people, animals, colors, numbers (Arabic numbers to Chinese pronunciation), food, school, getting places, home, opposites, and more food.

My only complaint is that the pictures are sometimes confusing.  For example, the pictures used to drill numbers are difficult to see (too busy).  Also, the pictures for up/down (上\下) are misleading.  To illustrate, the picture for "down" showed a cat that was under a sofa but was placed in the upper portion of the picture. The picture for "up" showed a cat that was on a table but placed in the lower half of the picture. When these pictures are compared side-by-side, there is an opportunity for confusion. It helps when an adult can direct the child's attention to the relative position within each picture.  The pictures illustrating other concepts are fine.  However, because of these issues, I'm recomending parents to use this app not to teach the vocabulary, but to reinforce the vocabulary.

Side Note- There is another Chinese program written by the same company called Chinese (Mandarin) Course- Speak and Learn Pro.  Written for adults, Chinese (Mandarin) Course also uses simplified characters and pinyin.  It contains over 50+ Lessons on various topics including:

• Airport Travel
• Travel Vocab
• Places
• Directions
• Money and Shopping
• Eating/Dining
• Colors/Numbers
• Hotel
• Family and Friends
• Plus many more 'most used' words and phrases

Flashcards- Eric Youngsdale

Eric Youngsdale has written a skeleton program that allows regular folks like you and me to control what Chinese characters we want to study.  The program is nice because it allows you to choose either simplified or traditional characters.  It also allows you to decide how to study (i.e. do you see the phonetic pronunciation, the character, or the meaning).  But what truly makes this program awesome is that the computer keeps track of which cards you need to practice more and makes these cards appear in the deck more often.

In order to convienently create your own cards, you will need to be able to type in Chinese.  Check out this post to learn how.  Alternatively, you can copy and paste Chinese characters from an online dictionary like YellowBridge.

Childroad Story Apps

Childroad - Childroad is an online library of Chinese books, which are read outloud.  Children can read along if they are familiar with the Mainland Chinese pinyin system or simplified characters (although the text is pretty small).  The text is highlighted as the professional narrators read the story.  The content is suitable for children 4 to 12 years of age.   

For more info. & to see a short video about Childroad, visit the Childroad Blog.

You can also go directly to their website and begin viewing their free books without membership at the Childroad Homepage.

LinguPingu Chinese/English Picture Dictionary

      LinguPingu- This picture dictionary is a favorite of my kids.  Their favorite feature of the app is that they can easily switch between Chinese and English and hear the item being labeled in each language.  I like this concept because it seems to emphasis that both languages are important, which is important if you want to encourage bilingualism rather than stressing one language over another.

The lite version (free) has two pages:  animals and transportation.  You can upgrade to include seven other pages:  food, body parts, farm, toys, nature, clothes, and apartment. 

KittyWords Chinese Picture Dictionary

·         KittyWords- is a free picture dictionary.  It has seven different scenes:  jungle, seaside, pond/field, farm, ocean, African savanna, and forest.  Kids can tap on the screen to discover the Chinese word for the things pictured.  As a bonus, the simplified character for the word is presented as it is read.  There is also a quiz setting that allows kids to test their skills with new words.