Vocabulary Strategies
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Memory strategies
- Associate the sound with pinyin, new character with a similar character previously learned
- Visualize the character in your head or create a story with its meaning
- Recognize the radicals and remember the new character as a part of a compound word
- Memorize the meaning and pinyin while doing the character homework.
- Group the characters with other characters containing the same radical or having the similar meanings.
- Group words according to parts of speech (e.g., nouns, verbs).
- Remember the situation where I first heard or saw, ore remember the page or sign where I saw it written.
- Remember the character in a meaningful sentence.
Cognitive Strategies
- Look carefully at the strokes and follow the right stroke order.
- Read the handout explaining how the character was formed by assembling different components.
- Use language lab or online recordings frequently to listen to the words
- Take notes by using characters in class or at home
- Use new words in sentences or essay writing.
Metacognitive Strategies
- Pay attention to the tone and read it aloud several times before writing it
- Pay attention to how the character is used in context.
- Preview the new words and make vocabulary cards. Go over the flashcards on a daily basis
- Review characters by reading the text in the book.
- Quiz myself during memorization; for example, giving the sound, I try to think of the character’s shape and meaning.
- Read Chinese children’s book or other reading materials.