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How do you use Pleco To Learn How To Write Characters?
- Thread starter kkyang
- Start date
i do pure repetition. i use flashcards that shows the pinyin and then use the writing feature to write it on the screen itself. i have a setting for current chapter and then one thats cumulative. do the chapter my class is currently studying and when its done then add it to the cumulative one which i do every so often.
besides pleco i also write the dialogs in my book. i will either listen to the CD or look at the pinyin and then try to write the characters.
besides pleco i also write the dialogs in my book. i will either listen to the CD or look at the pinyin and then try to write the characters.
First I look at the breakdown of a character and try to understand its meaning. Looking at information about the character in Pleco really helps (mine is set up so that tapping the character in a definition screen takes me straight to the details of that character).
Then, for deeper context, I find two or three other words that use the character. More often than not, Pleco's word 'start' and 'contain' functions throw up many words that contain almost any common character.
Finally, sticking it in my flashcard pack and forcing myself to write it a few times locks it in for good.
If you do this process effectively, tweaking it to suit the way you learn, the language functions in your brain will adapt to characters over time. These days I can look at a character for 10 seconds and remember it a week later — components, stroke order, the works.
Then, for deeper context, I find two or three other words that use the character. More often than not, Pleco's word 'start' and 'contain' functions throw up many words that contain almost any common character.
Finally, sticking it in my flashcard pack and forcing myself to write it a few times locks it in for good.
If you do this process effectively, tweaking it to suit the way you learn, the language functions in your brain will adapt to characters over time. These days I can look at a character for 10 seconds and remember it a week later — components, stroke order, the works.
My class is currently learning between 100-200 words per week (depending on how much extra work we want to do), and here's what I do. I have a testing profile called "Cram Writing" and one called "Spaced Repetition Writing". The cram deck is just a simple flip-through type of deck, no impact on the card's score whatsoever. I do have it set to repeat cards that I get wrong until I get them right. I go through the new words every day for two or three days (by which time I know them well), then move them into the spaced repetition deck. I don't learn to write every single word that we learn, mainly just the ones in the book. The supplemental vocab that our teacher teaches us goes into a reading deck, unless it's something I think would be useful to be able to write.
This works pretty well for me. I've been able to sustain a high level of retention for all the words (I'm the guy in class that does all the extra work; I figure it can only be good for me down the road).
This works pretty well for me. I've been able to sustain a high level of retention for all the words (I'm the guy in class that does all the extra work; I figure it can only be good for me down the road).