Comments on: Computer-based character writing practice: Skritter http://www.languagetrainers.co.uk/blog/2010/04/29/computer-based-character-writing-practice-skritter/ Any language, any time, anywhere Mon, 21 May 2012 13:10:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: robinglow http://www.languagetrainers.co.uk/blog/2010/04/29/computer-based-character-writing-practice-skritter/comment-page-1/#comment-1162 robinglow Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:10:19 +0000 http://www.languagetrainers.co.uk/blog/?p=938#comment-1162 i like it your work and your interest in permoting these such type of good work because i like programming very much and i am a very good programmer and i have devlop and design lots of programs i like it your work and your interest in permoting these such type of good work because i like programming very much and i am a very good programmer and i have devlop and design lots of programs

]]> By: Wendy http://www.languagetrainers.co.uk/blog/2010/04/29/computer-based-character-writing-practice-skritter/comment-page-1/#comment-1107 Wendy Fri, 30 Apr 2010 05:40:05 +0000 http://www.languagetrainers.co.uk/blog/?p=938#comment-1107 你好 George! Thanks very much for dropping by. And yes, it seems like it's often up to the teacher/course whether or not you start learning characters from the very beginning. In some ways I feel like I've progressed quickly enough without too much character learning in the beginning, but as I am learning more of them (I'm transcribing all the pinyin stuff I do into characters), I find that knowing the character, not just how to say it, is really helping with my general understanding. I guess it's about finding a good balance between conversation and reading/writing. When are you going to come out with an iPhone/Android application? :) 你好 George!

Thanks very much for dropping by. And yes, it seems like it’s often up to the teacher/course whether or not you start learning characters from the very beginning. In some ways I feel like I’ve progressed quickly enough without too much character learning in the beginning, but as I am learning more of them (I’m transcribing all the pinyin stuff I do into characters), I find that knowing the character, not just how to say it, is really helping with my general understanding. I guess it’s about finding a good balance between conversation and reading/writing.

When are you going to come out with an iPhone/Android application? :)

]]> By: George Saines http://www.languagetrainers.co.uk/blog/2010/04/29/computer-based-character-writing-practice-skritter/comment-page-1/#comment-1106 George Saines Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:34:54 +0000 http://www.languagetrainers.co.uk/blog/?p=938#comment-1106 你好 Wendy, I'm one of the Skritter founders and my google alerts tipped me off to this review so I thought I'd drop by and say thanks for the mention. I agree that it's a big dilemma regarding character learning, in my first year chinese course they took the sink or swim approach and had us all writing characters inside two weeks, but I know that a lot of intro programs keep people using pinyin for quite a while. Personally, I most enjoy written translations (that probably isn't common among learners!), so for me the characters were important. However, I'm also on the computer all the time, so I do have to wonder whether Skritter is for everyone! Also, I really liked your post on a little further down the page about abbreviations on CCTV. I too immediately made the parallel with French, but I hope that Chinese won't become stultified by resisting linguistic evolution. What made the language so exciting to learn in the first place is it's utilitarianism. No formal tenses (unlike Japanese), no verb conjugations (unlike romance languages), and the heavy reliance on context for comprehension. I mean, what's not to like about adaptations like 汉堡包? :) 你好 Wendy, I’m one of the Skritter founders and my google alerts tipped me off to this review so I thought I’d drop by and say thanks for the mention. I agree that it’s a big dilemma regarding character learning, in my first year chinese course they took the sink or swim approach and had us all writing characters inside two weeks, but I know that a lot of intro programs keep people using pinyin for quite a while. Personally, I most enjoy written translations (that probably isn’t common among learners!), so for me the characters were important. However, I’m also on the computer all the time, so I do have to wonder whether Skritter is for everyone!

Also, I really liked your post on a little further down the page about abbreviations on CCTV. I too immediately made the parallel with French, but I hope that Chinese won’t become stultified by resisting linguistic evolution. What made the language so exciting to learn in the first place is it’s utilitarianism. No formal tenses (unlike Japanese), no verb conjugations (unlike romance languages), and the heavy reliance on context for comprehension. I mean, what’s not to like about adaptations like 汉堡包? :)

]]>