On the 24th of January 2025, Chinese learners from all across the UBC community with various cultural backgrounds, and levels of Chinese language ability came together on Zoom, united with a shared love of language learning, to glean some new tips and tricks from their peers on how to improve their study methods, engaging with their learning.
This event, organized by Lecturer Li-Jung Lee and moderated by CHIN 337 student Mari Shimabukuro (島袋真理), featured four current UBC students from Intermediate Chinese courses (CHIN 333-337). Topics were chosen and addressed based on students’ areas of interest, and the unique areas they especially excel in. The topics included:
- Handwriting and Mastering Hanzi
- Accents and Finding Your Voice in Chinese
- Enhancing Learning with Multimedia Studies
- Utilizing C-Dramas to Improve Speaking and Writing Skills
Topic: Strategies for Learning Simplified and Traditional Characters
Mary Anderson (安美俐) – CHIN 337 Student
Major: Chinese Language and Culture & French Language, Literatures, and Cultures, University of British Columbia
A memorable quote from Mary: “You gain something from anything you learn in life!” In her presentation, Mary discussed the pros of learning traditional or simplified Chinese, or BOTH, as well as the importance of handwriting.
Why Learn Simplified vs. Traditional Characters?
Try to think about what is motivating you to learn. What situations would you need to know these? For example, our presenter mentioned she enjoys reading webtoons which are often only in traditional characters.
Other reasons for learning traditional characters included: Seeing the history of the character and how the character has changed. If you want to learn Japanese in the future, it may be helpful, although they’re not exactly the same, traditional is more similar. Communication with those who use traditional, and if you were to want to travel or work somewhere traditional is used, like Hong Kong or Taiwan. Having an ability to read and use traditional characters also allows you to be able to read poetry, and characters in art, and helps with academic research (since terms in academics are often in traditional). Enjoying the learning of characters, and lastly, “Bragging rights” of knowing both simplified and traditional.
Common Concerns
If you are learning both traditional and simplified at once, how do you not confuse them? Mary explained it is hard to mix them up when using different keyboards, and there are a lot of very specific patterns you can often find in the changes from traditional to simplified (with radical changes, etc.).
Two examples of radical change patterns: bei4 (shell) and the radical 糹si1 (silk) in the character hong2 (red).
She continued by saying that these changes can often be small, so even if you make a mistake, the person reading your writing will most likely still understand what you’re trying to say.
However, be aware that not all characters follow this pattern, like the examples given below:
Not following a pattern: one on the left zhong3 (a type/kind [of something]) that has the phonetic component switched with another similar sounding component with fewer strokes (重 zhong4 changes to 中 zhong1 in simplified), and on the right, lu4 (to record or copy) a radical (金 jin1) is deleted altogether.
One issue that may cause some confusion to watch out for is to, “beware of false friends”–or to beware of some characters that may have the same form in simplified have different forms in Traditional, like 面 being the character for both face and noodles in simplified, whereas in traditional there are two different characters, 面 (face), and 麵 (noodles).
Top Tips for Learning Both Forms
The earlier, the better, but it’s never too late to start learning both forms. Use your textbook to study both sets of characters if you have one! If you don’t have a textbook and want to relearn the other form of characters (simplified or traditional) but have no reliable record of vocabulary you’ve learned, you can determine your HSK level. From there, you can study the HSK vocabulary lists up to your level.
When learning, use dictionaries—don’t rely on the iPhone conversion tool (because of the “false friends” discussed earlier—these conversion tools are not always accurate or reliable when converting some characters between forms).
Strategies for Retention
- Handwriting Practice: Writing characters by hand helps reinforce differentiation and stroke order. Specialty notebooks for character practice can be found at stores like Daiso.
- Reading Aloud: Utilize resources like Chairman Bao, which provides level-appropriate news articles (accessible through CHIN courses—ask your instructor).
- Use the Yunzhang App: Ideal for those interested in cursive script and calligraphy.
- Find a Good Dictionary App: Pleco is highly recommended, as it provides example sentences and both simplified/traditional forms.
- Balance Both Systems: Incorporate both into daily practice:
- Keep a language journal, alternating character forms daily.
- Read materials in both simplified and traditional.
- Rotate between the two forms when handwriting notes.
- Take notes twice—once in each form—to reinforce retention of both characters and content.
Topic: Finding Your Voice in Chinese
Scott Miles (马世弘) – CHIN 333 Student
Major: Commerce (Finance Specialization), University of British Columbia
Scott, a student passionate about exploring language and culture, focuses his presentation on accents and finding your own speaking style in Mandarin.
What is standard Chinese?
Standard Chinese (Pǔtōnghuà, 普通话) is largely based on a neutral version of the Beijing dialect. This standard accent is what is taught in schools, and used in professional settings.
Beyond Standard Chinese
Scott discussed the fact that China is very diverse linguistically, including many dialects. Dialects significantly affect how Mandarin is spoken, influencing one’s accent as well as vocabulary selection. So, Scott mentions that “one of the nice things as a learner is that few Chinese speakers actually speak Mandarin Chinese with a super standard accent in everyday life, so you don’t have to feel as worried if your accent isn’t 标准 (biāozhǔn) enough–isn’t standard enough”, like the Queen’s English for England.
Find Your Personal Speaking Style
It’s good to be able to speak with the standard accent, but finding your own speaking style—the one that you ‘personally resonate with’—to express yourself can give you more motivation to work on your accent and allow you to speak more comfortably. Speaking with an accent different from the standard can also help foster relationships and deeper connections with friends from different communities. For example, if you have friends from Sichuan, you might use some Sichuan dialect. In every language, you can find a different speaking style, a different way of sharing who you are.
When learning about all of these things it not only allows you to broaden your accent, but it allows you to comprehend other speaker’s accents from different areas better, further allowing you to connect.
Accents
Accents touched on that you may learn more about include:
- Beijing accent: which is known for “儿化” (Ér huà), or frequent use of the 儿 sound, “zh, ch, sh,” and rare pronounced strongly, and tones are more exaggerated, and spoken quickly and shortly.
- Sichuan accent: tones are flatter, and more melodic and slurred, and “zh, ch, sh”, sound like “z, c, s”, and a lot of slang exists, such as 啥子(sházi), for “what” instead of 什么(shénme). It was also noted that many rappers come from this region.
- Taiwanese Accent: “zh, ch, sh”, again go to “z, c, s”, there is no neutral tone, many particles like 啦 la1 (which help you to express more emotion), it also has different “vocabulary selection”, like 烟火(yānhuǒ) instead of 烟花(yānhuā), and a softer tone of speech.
Techniques
Ways to learn these accents as a supplement to your learning include speaking with people from different regions, if you can, as well as using YouTube and multimedia. By using multimedia that you mostly understand, you can try to replicate accents using the technique of ‘shadowing,’ where you repeat exactly what you hear with no delay. Scott recommended 阿星 (Ā xīng, a cooking YouTuber) for shadowing a northern accent, and 小颖美食 (Xiǎoyǐng měishí) for shadowing a southern accent.
Implementation of Find Your Voice
Finally, do whatever feels most natural to you, don’t let your accent discourage you, and find more connections!
Topic: Enhancing Chinese Learning with Multimedia
Indira Hien (何映宁) – CHIN 333 Student
Major: Political Science, Minor in Chinese Language and Culture, University of British Columbia
Indira talked about how her love of music and film has helped her in her Chinese learning journey and shared her learning strategies on how other learners can use media to enhance their learning as well.
Why Use Multimedia?
Using media to supplement your studies offers a different perspective on learning a language. It exposes you to various conversations and accents, while also providing a good challenge by introducing new words and grammar that you may not have learned yet!
Strategies and Methods
One method that Indira talked about was printing out the lyrics to songs, trying to translate the parts you know, and then learning the meaning of all the words you’re not familiar with.
Left: An example of an exercise in translating lyrics. Right: An example of word comparison.
Another method Indira uses, as shown above, is comparing new words she learns to words she already knows, connecting their meanings, which makes the words easier to remember, and discovering completely new words in the process.
Listening and repeating sentences heard in a movie or song over and over, gradually increasing in speed, to increase fluency.
And lastly, finding content online, such as on Youtube, or 小红书 (Xiaohongshu, or “Red Note”). When using these platforms you can search for specific topics and learn a lot of new words that relate to these topics, and see the sort of specific contexts certain words are and can be used in.
How to find media you enjoy?
Indira recommended searching “Chinese mix” on Spotify, which will give you recommendations that are similar to your own taste in music, or find top songs in Taiwan or Mainland China.
Indira’s Recommendations
Some recommendations of media mentioned to start out studying with, if you don’t know where to start are: if you enjoy Kpop and R&B then you may like Matt Lv or WayV. If you prefer slow songs and ballads, 周杰伦 Jay Chou, as well as Ouyang Nana were recommended. And lastly, if you prefer rap, the presenter recommended Knowknow, and Ice Paper.
Other media recommendations during the presentation included: A Taiwanese film called, Men in love “当男人恋爱时”, Lexie Liu “Fortuna”, and a drama series called “When I Fly Towards You”.
Topic: Using C-Dramas to Improve Speaking & Writing Skills
Mirae Lee (李美来) – CHIN 337 Student
Major: International Relations, Minor: Chinese Language and Culture, University of British Columbia
Mirae talks about strategies and a method she developed for using C-dramas to study Chinese.
Why study by watching dramas?
Through watching Chinese dramas, you can learn a lot about culture, society, and history, especially from period dramas. This method allows you to extend your learning outside the classroom and helps you speak more naturally.
Steps for in-depth active learning when watching C-dramas
Firstly, strategically pick a drama. What theme do you want to focus on? Perhaps based on a topic you’re learning in class, or a drama set in a university to learn words that may be helpful in daily life. Decide whether to watch ancient or modern dramas—modern dramas are recommended because the vocabulary in period dramas may not be as applicable to the modern day.
Next, turn on Chinese subtitles and try to turn off English subtitles if possible to immerse yourself in the language and think in Chinese. But if the content is too difficult at the start, use both English and Chinese subtitles. “Pause and play” when there is something you don’t understand.
T.R.A. Method
Mirae introduced us to a method she created called, “T.R.A.”, which stands for Transcribe, Roleplay, and Apply.
Transcribe
Handwriting or transcribing what you hear from the scene, and then color coding it to Red for new words, blue for grammar points, and yellow for transition words.
An example of Transcribe in practice.
Roleplay
Act out the scenes by yourself or with friends and classmates. This is important for a few reasons: speaking and writing together is proven to help memory, aiding in pronunciation, and practice for expressing emotions in another language, and practice for assignments.
Apply
Lastly, to solidify what you’ve learned! Write your opinion or something about the topic using the new grammar and vocabulary that you’ve learned. In this step, you can use the vocab, grammar, and connecting words to show your full understanding to make it your own. Then afterwards applying the things you learned in class.
Watching Interviews by Actors vs. Dramas
When watching dramas, the content is scripted, so it can also be helpful at times to watch interviews of people speaking naturally on the spot. These are not dubbed, and you can be exposed to different natural speech patterns and accents, as opposed to the more standard nature of dialogue in dramas. You can apply the T.R.A. method to interviews and other media as well!
Audience Feedback
“It was eye-opening to see how much the students worked on their Chinese beyond class-related homework or textbook readings. It looked like a lot of work transcribing song lyrics and drama scenes, not to mention looking up all the characters that they didn’t know and piecing together the meaning. It was also encouraging and inspiring to see how far these students have come in two to three years. I liked the diversity of interests and styles across the speakers. One student was focused on writing while another didn’t even plan on learning how to write characters! The cultural tips looked like excellent strategies to combine learning language with cultural learnings.” — Isaac Holloway, Lecturer, Sauder School of Business, UBC
“I thought it was really interesting to learn about different ways to enhance and learn Mandarin Chinese through different methods like media, music, and watching shows. One thing I thought that might really help me is the TRA method. I enjoy watching dramas in general and if I can do this while improving my Chinese it would be two birds with one stone. I have some C-Drama’s on my to-watch list and I’m hoping to use it when I do!” — Lv Andre, Workshop Participant
The amazing CLP students, teaching assistants, and faculty collaborated to make the event happen!
This workshop was an inspiring event where learners from all levels shared their experiences–—older students encouraged those just starting out—and the spirit of the Chinese Language Program community was felt through the care of its teachers and students. It was inspiring to see how far these presenters have come, some having started their Chinese journey at the start of University, as many who may be reading this may be. The knowledge shared during this workshop encapsulated that anything can be accomplished with some hard work and getting out of your comfort zone. Learning any language takes a lot of effort, but it is very rewarding, and an amazing opportunity for cultural exchange, to make lasting friendships, to get to know more about the world around you, and how to communicate better with people who may have different experiences than your own. To all the new and experienced learners out there who are seeking motivation or finding study methods difficult, we hope these tips help, and that you’ve learned something new about how to better study Chinese. And to all the learners reading this, 加油 (Jiāyóu, you can do it)!
Special Thanks
Special thanks to Mari Shimabukuro(島袋真理) who moderated the workshop.
She is a fourth-year student majoring in International Relations and minoring in Chinese Language and Culture. She had no experience learning Chinese before university and is currently taking CHIN 337. She has gained all of my Chinese knowledge from taking CHIN courses at UBC, and she has had such a good experience learning with amazing lecturers and fantastic classmates!
Special thanks to two Teaching Assistants who assisted in the workshop organization:
“It has been my privilege to serve as the teaching assistant for this amazing cohort of students who share a deep passion for exploring the Chinese language and culture. Throughout the past term, I have witnessed their remarkable progress in deepening their understanding of Chinese characters and knowledge infused with Chinese elements. This experience has given me a profound sense of fulfillment in my work and has further strengthened my enthusiasm for this role. I am truly proud of their achievements!” – Kevin Peng (Major in Microbiology and Immunology)
“As both a TA for Chinese courses and a language learner, I benefited greatly from this workshop. On the one hand, the valuable insights shared by the presenters inspire me to better support more students in their learning. On the other hand, these insights are also transferable to my language-learning journey. I’m truly grateful to have the opportunity to work with such brilliant people!” – Yuetian Du (Major in Asian Studies)
If you are interested in watching the workshop recording and participants’ feedback, please visit the Chinese Language Program YouTube Workshop Playlist. We also welcome you to follow us on social media @UBCChinese for updates on future workshops that continue to inspire growth, connection, and a shared commitment to building an empowering community.
Written by Claire Hendriksen 何心怡
Claire Hendriksen（何心怡）is an Arts undergraduate student in her second year at UBC, majoring in Chinese Language and Culture, or Linguistics. Claire grew up being exposed to many different languages and cultures, which gave her a love of communication and cultural exchange within a global perspective, and a thorough enjoyment of language and language learning. She began learning Chinese in high school, and with the inspiration of her teacher, has continued until now in University, currently studying in CHIN 337. She hopes to continue learning language to find more ways to connect people through language and art, showing our commonalities, and trying to bring better understanding of stories and cultures from all over the whole world.
