Bilingual Q&A 5: To learn Chinese, do I need to learn phonetic symbols or Chinese Pinyin first?
(1) Phonetic symbols and Chinese Pinyin are different phonetic symbol systems.
Both are tools and both have advantages and disadvantages:Pros-----》One is to help remember/Secondly, it reminds you of the pronunciation of single words. Secondly, it helps reading. When you encounter an unknown word, you can read it out with the help of the phonetic notation system and further understand the meaning of the text.
(The prerequisite is that you must have a good foundation in spoken language before you can understand the text through the pronunciation of phonetic symbols.)
Cons-----》First of all, it takes several months to learn and practice these two phonetic notation methods. Secondly, reading aloud will become somewhat dependent and distract from the text itself.
(2) No matter which phonetic notation system you use, you still have to return to the text itself in the end.
Taiwan uses "phonetic notation", Mainland China uses "Hanyu Pinyin", and Hong Kong uses "direct literacy" and does not use any phonetic notation system.
I read reports a few years ago that the latest development in mainland China is to strive for children's "golden reading time". Instead of teaching Chinese Pinyin first, the few months that were originally used to learn Chinese Pinyin can be used to make good use of literacy and reading.
The meaning of words is communication. In other words, reading is not about writing. The sooner children learn to read and continue to accumulate literacy, the sooner they can taste the "sweetness" of reading, and the more meaning and charm of words can be demonstrated. Through the mutually reinforcing effect of "reading" and "literacy", long-term and continuous investment will surely continuously improve the language proficiency and achieve better language communication purposes.
-》By the way, I would like to remind parents that if their children are learning bilingualism, they are just like monolingual children.24hours, except playing/They are learning two languages at the same time (referring to Chinese and English languages of two different languages). Naturally, they have to spend more time on language learning than children learning monolinguals. Therefore, parents should try not to deprive their children of game time, and they need to When carrying out reading and literacy activities, try to make these activities as interesting as possible, allowing children to participate "unknowingly" and attracting them to take the initiative to come into contact with words, so that the best results can be achieved.
(3) Since children’s “golden learning” time is limited, do they need to spend several months to half a year learning “Pinyin”?The results of Hong Kong children learning Chinese prove that they can still read Chinese happily and learn Chinese well without any help from phonetic notation. In Taiwan and Mainland China, most primary schools only learn Chinese, and there is no competitive pressure for learning a second language. The decision of "whether or not" to learn the "pinyin system" is a matter of opinion. For bilingual children, both languages are striving for the "golden period", and time is even more precious. We prefer that there is no need to learn any "phonetic" system before learning words, and we can learn words directly, especially now that there is technology. As an auxiliary, the "click pen" can easily complete the "reminder"/For the task of "showing" pronunciation, there is no need to learn the phonetic system.
Supplement: When should I learn computer input method?
Children who know English can start learning the "Hanyu Pinyin" input method (English Pinyin) when they can read simple English books (or become familiar with the pronunciation of English letters).26pronunciation of letters, that isletter sound, with limited differences from Chinese Pinyin). The best way is to "learn while using". You can use the computer's Chinese Pinyin input method to type out "Chinese text messages or short articles" to communicate with relatives and friends. Once they can express their thoughts in Chinese, they will definitely feel a sense of accomplishment.
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