James W. Heisig is professor and permanent research fellow at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture in Nagoya, Japan.
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42 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Speak Mandarin Chinese For BeginnersThe Michel Thomas Method (8-CD Beginner's Program)Michel Thomas Method Speak Mandarin Chinese Advanced
I am the author of the Michel Thomas CD courses to learn to speak Mandarin Chinese. I was taught by Mr. Thomas how to insure success for learners without memorization, homework, anxiety and testing. I am interested in innovative ways to teach; innovative ways that have proven track records.
Dr. Heisig is justly famous for his previous books on how to learn to write the Japanese kan ji ( Chinese-derived characters). Writing the kan ji and original Chinese han zi ( characters) has been a major stumbling block for most students. Without knowing the characters one cannot be literate in either of these languages.
The genius of Heisig's method is in devising an approach whereby he breaks the characters down into component parts and then systematically teaches the student to build them up again in a skillful way that results in the learner knowing the characters.
The first volume presents the most commonly used 1,500 Chinese characters. This will get you through 90% of any common Chinese text which is a nice place to start. The second volume, which is in the works, takes us through an additional 1,500 characters for a total of 3,000. With 3,000 characters the reader can tackle 99.5% of written Chinese.
One thing which is important to understand ahead of time is that this book does not encourage repetitive writing of the character being learned. Indeed, with Dr. Heisig's approach one need only write the character one time. What we are doing here is learning English-language keywords that are related to each character. These are attached to mnemonics or little stories which help fix the necessary keyword(s) and primitive elements ( smaller particles necessary to write the characters). Thus, the concentration here is on learning material in English which will automatically produce a perfectly written character. There is also an emphasis on stroke order which pays off richly later on in one's studies.
By concentrating on teaching and learning in English, the anxiety level is kept quite low.
In order to get the most out of this book I recommend reading the following pages first: Introduction, 105-107 (the best and clearest explanation of the method) as well as 260-261 ( the fruit of the method is finally revealed). Also, make the flash cards described ( p.47-48) and use them as suggested; from Keyword to mnemonic story to actual character and NOT the other way around. This approach will get you the desired result.
There are also two lists in the back of the book providing pin yin pronunciation for each character. However, Heisig does not recommend attempting to learn these the first go around.
This is the most extreme deviation from traditional teaching of Chinese characters ( han zi) that I know of. However, if faithfully followed you will learn 3,000 characters in record time and, more importantly, remember them.
At some point the mnemonic stories and keywords just drop away and you are left with the characters. You just have to understand this when you begin.
Don't go too fast. Find your own pace and be gentle with yourself. Some days you will do more, others less. The important thing is to keep at it.
Until something better comes along this is the only book I would recommend for anyone desiring to learn Han zi.
I am the author of the Michel Thomas CD courses to learn to speak Mandarin Chinese. I was taught by Mr. Thomas how to insure success for learners without memorization, homework, anxiety and testing. I am interested in innovative ways to teach; innovative ways that have proven track records.
Dr. Heisig is justly famous for his previous books on how to learn to write the Japanese kan ji ( Chinese-derived characters). Writing the kan ji and original Chinese han zi ( characters) has been a major stumbling block for most students. Without knowing the characters one cannot be literate in either of these languages.
The genius of Heisig's method is in devising an approach whereby he breaks the characters down into component parts and then systematically teaches the student to build them up again in a skillful way that results in the learner knowing the characters.
The first volume presents the most commonly used 1,500 Chinese characters. This will get you through 90% of any common Chinese text which is a nice place to start. The second volume, which is in the works, takes us through an additional 1,500 characters for a total of 3,000. With 3,000 characters the reader can tackle 99.5% of written Chinese.
One thing which is important to understand ahead of time is that this book does not encourage repetitive writing of the character being learned. Indeed, with Dr. Heisig's approach one need only write the character one time. What we are doing here is learning English-language keywords that are related to each character. These are attached to mnemonics or little stories which help fix the necessary keyword(s) and primitive elements ( smaller particles necessary to write the characters). Thus, the concentration here is on learning material in English which will automatically produce a perfectly written character. There is also an emphasis on stroke order which pays off richly later on in one's studies.
By concentrating on teaching and learning in English, the anxiety level is kept quite low.
In order to get the most out of this book I recommend reading the following pages first: Introduction, 105-107 (the best and clearest explanation of the method) as well as 260-261 ( the fruit of the method is finally revealed). Also, make the flash cards described ( p.47-48) and use them as suggested; from Keyword to mnemonic story to actual character and NOT the other way around. This approach will get you the desired result.
There are also two lists in the back of the book providing pin yin pronunciation for each character. However, Heisig does not recommend attempting to learn these the first go around.
This is the most extreme deviation from traditional teaching of Chinese characters ( han zi) that I know of. However, if faithfully followed you will learn 3,000 characters in record time and, more importantly, remember them.
At some point the mnemonic stories and keywords just drop away and you are left with the characters. You just have to understand this when you begin.
Don't go too fast. Find your own pace and be gentle with yourself. Some days you will do more, others less. The important thing is to keep at it.
Until something better comes along this is the only book I would recommend for anyone desiring to learn Han zi.
25 of 32 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Effective concept.Though, don't be misled into thinking the book contains 'stories' for the full 1500 characters.
June 27, 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The writer introduces well the concept of using "stories" to memorise each of the 1,500 characters from their component parts, and starts off by providing effective stories for the first few hundred characters.
However, after the first few hundred characters, the writer reduces the work on his part and increases the work on the part of the reader. That is, for each character, the story "plots" become more basic - i.e. without the vivid imaginary embelishments that the writer insists are required for effective recall. Eventually (by character #476), this gets worse with the reader having to do 90% of the time-consuming work in thinking up an effective story from only a few key words ("elements") for most of the remaining characters. The number of really useful characters is finite (1,500 in each of the two volumes), so the skill and effort of creating memorable stories should not be seen as necessarily useful for the normal learner.
Here's an analogy to decribe my disappointment: On your journey to a popular beach resort, you start out driving for 15 kilometers on a freeway (effectively learning characters - many of which BTW you've likely already learnt from having studied some Chinese), then (by character #268) you are directed to leave the freeway and drive along a winding country road for another 10 kilometers, then after character #476 you're told to drive over sand dunes and to keep driving over them for another 50 kilometers (until #1500, or until you blow a gasket). I guess it beats walking! I prefer a longer freeway (and I wouldn't mind paying the toll for it). At least that's what I thought I was buying. I should have read the fine print! (it's buried in the Introduction on page 13).
However, after the first few hundred characters, the writer reduces the work on his part and increases the work on the part of the reader. That is, for each character, the story "plots" become more basic - i.e. without the vivid imaginary embelishments that the writer insists are required for effective recall. Eventually (by character #476), this gets worse with the reader having to do 90% of the time-consuming work in thinking up an effective story from only a few key words ("elements") for most of the remaining characters. The number of really useful characters is finite (1,500 in each of the two volumes), so the skill and effort of creating memorable stories should not be seen as necessarily useful for the normal learner.
Here's an analogy to decribe my disappointment: On your journey to a popular beach resort, you start out driving for 15 kilometers on a freeway (effectively learning characters - many of which BTW you've likely already learnt from having studied some Chinese), then (by character #268) you are directed to leave the freeway and drive along a winding country road for another 10 kilometers, then after character #476 you're told to drive over sand dunes and to keep driving over them for another 50 kilometers (until #1500, or until you blow a gasket). I guess it beats walking! I prefer a longer freeway (and I wouldn't mind paying the toll for it). At least that's what I thought I was buying. I should have read the fine print! (it's buried in the Introduction on page 13).
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Greg
Format:Paperback
The teaching method used in this book has already been covered so I will not include it here. What I would like to say is that as a native English speaker who began learning Chinese characters with Heisig's book, I have already learned hundreds of "elements" and more complex characters. Because of the logical way it explains the Chinese writing system, if I see a character I do not know, I can at least guess the gist of it. I feel sorry for the Chinese students who are forced to learn long lists of complex characters with no rhyme or reason, there are too many of them.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
My time learning the 3036 characters was totally worth it -- my...
First, thanks a lot to Aphasiac, Vorpal, Swilkins, Haraksha and everyone else whose stories helped me make it to the end of these two books. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kenneth Burchfiel
5.0 out of 5 stars
一個禮物 -- A Gift
Bottom Line: This book is an absolute Gift to the dedicated Student of Chinese. Both the time and the money spent on this book are nil when compared to the feelings of... Read more
Published 3 months ago by C.C. Ryan
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not really a good investment of time
I have to agree with the more critical reviews of this book. It is clear that this was developed out of a series books for remembering Japanese Kanji, because the Mandarin... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Steven J. Pieragastini
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Resource
This book provides an excellent introduction to chinese characters. The "stories" provided to describe each character aren't always that memorable (at least for me), but the... Read more
Published 13 months ago by R. Gray
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even After 2 Years Studying Chinese, This Book Was a Worthy Purchase
I began taking Chinese courses at my university almost two years ago. I loved the language, but I had difficulty memorizing characters. Read more
Published on July 4, 2010 by J. Lugo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic mnemonics
This is a fantastic book, and I've been amazed at the ease with which I recall characters based on the mnemonics as listed in the book. Read more
Published on April 9, 2010 by Z. Sheffler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comparing Two Authors Who Use This Approach For Learning the...
Becoming literate is uniquely different in Chinese because it is easy to forget how to read or write a word that you can confidently speak. Read more
Published on August 31, 2009 by Senmu
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good attempt, but lacking in usability
I feel as if Heisig took a good idea from his experience with the Japanese language and tried to superimpose it onto Chinese without much thought. The results are mixed. Read more
Published on January 4, 2009 by Nathan Dummitt
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