[Paullo]

hehe b4 i slept i suddenly have this question in mind, so i might as well ask now and then go back to sleep~

umm do you guys/gals think I should take Chinese courses at University or at those....... Chinese school??? The problem with me is that I do NOT and I mean DO NOT know how to write Chinese!!!!! I know how to read chinese, speak chinese, and type (用注音) Chinese, but i'm dead when it comes to writing.......

I am *thinking* of taking Chinese at ubc this summer... I want to learn, well, both 繁體字 & 簡體字 if possible. Now I do not know whether I should take Chinese at 大學 or spend this summer attending one of those Chinese schools... big trouble >_<

Can you guys provide me with any good suggestion/advice? Which one is more *worth it* if i want to learn how to WRITE chinese?

the reason i am thinking about chinese schools is b/c i am afraid those univ. profs will just place me in 300 level chinese b/c i already know how to read.... and i think i'm gonna die if i enroll in one of those 300 level chinese course b/c i dunno how to write chinese....... I heard 注音 can be used in some 300 level classes but i am not totally sure.....

and if you think it is better for me to learn chinese in those chinese schools, then can you guys tell me some 很好的 chinese school in Richmond if possible? Also consider about the price plz I don't want to waste too much $$

Thanks so much for your help guys~~ sorry to bother you all~

[eric]

if you don't know how to write Chinese, they would not place you in the 300 levels, register for 100 or 200 levels and go to the interview and tell them your situation

if they still place you in the 300 levels, then drop it and take it in chinese school coz in 300 levels they expect you know how to write chinese and not in a very simple level too

to summarize my point....if you really just want to learn chinese, I would say take it in Chinese school, but if you want to take it for university credit
give it a try anyway too
but don't take class above 200 levels, coz you'll be at a disadvantage for sure

[Paullo]

thanks so much for the info Eric~

[eric]

no problem, glad to help
u attending UBC?

[Paullo]

First year right now



thx for help~

[anonymous_wolf]

hum.....
do ur parents or older brother/sister write chinese?
if they do, ask them to teach u some basic things so u don't have to waste time at those chinese schools coz u already know how to read and speak well. and once u've learnd the basic things, u can keep diary coz it's the best way i can think for u to improve ur writing skill w/o costing money (well, maybe the money for the diary book ) And believe me or not, keeping diary is a very effient way to improve ur writing skill, and u can feel the difference probably within a month or shorter~!!
so.....it's just my little suggestion~
hope it helps~^^

[Paullo]

umm can't woh grandparents.. busy doing their own stuff and my bro has same situation as I... >_<

I learned Japanese 漢字, but some are different than chinese..

umm maybe i should practicing writing chinese characters when i have time... cause i just can't remember what the strokes are when i write... damn.. ok need to sign off for now.

[yuan]

i am currently in 3rd yr. in my 2nd yr, i went to a chinese interview (required if u wanna take chinese courses @ ubc) and was placed into 200 level. i wanted to be in 100 level cuz i can't really write as well; but because i could read, they kicked me to 200 level. i found that chinese 200 is really challenging. they teach u simplified characters only. in the text, each lession has 40-60 vocabs. my prof held one exam every 5 lessions (200-300 vocabs required to know). it is really challenging cuz once u finish the first exam, it is onto the 2nd one... and by the time u complete the 2nd one, u hafta go on to the 3rd one. without practicing writing reguarly, it is really to forget those vocabs.

many ppl in my class are from HK and have taken mandarin 11 and 12 in highschool. (i didn't). i suffered as a result. i did tell my prof that it wasn't fair since i had no chinese education since gr. 2 (in tw), but he simply said "tw education is really advanced. u were tought these words in gr.2... and u forgot.. that's not my problem.. there is no way for me to put you in 100 level."

this yr, i am taking chinese 201 (speaking course). "i thought it would be much easier for me since i know how to speak mandarin and would only have to improve my written skills" but guess what? the prof gave me 50% on my speaking test. why? cuz i didn't speak chinese in "bei jing" style. FXXK!!!! :blast:

anyways, this is my experience taking chinese courses at UBC.
best of luck in ur course selections!!!

[yuan]

最初由 Paullo 發表
umm can't woh grandparents.. busy doing their own stuff and my bro has same situation as I... >_<

I learned Japanese 漢字, but some are different than chinese..

umm maybe i should practicing writing chinese characters when i have time... cause i just can't remember what the strokes are when i write... damn.. ok need to sign off for now.

one way i found was kinda useful... try writing lyrics of chinese songs... it'll help somewhat.
or even better, write love letters!

[teppei]

weird prof.. 所以全班上課的時候都要學北京腔囉?? 那像一些外國人不就活不下去了..

:blast: stupid prof