Test Of Proficiency-Huayu

I have posted previously about my experiences with the TOP test:

TOP for Beginners May 3 2008

Test of Proficiency-Huayu: Testees left in the dark

Results in! Test of Proficiency Huayu (Mandarin) May 2008

The good news for testees is that finally, after five years, the Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP) has released targeted word lists for each of the four levels. I emailed SC-TOP many times complaining about the lack of resources and the Taipei Times published my letter about the issue.

I have one complaint about the word lists, there’s no Bopomofo. It seems to me to be an odd omission as almost every Mandarin student in Taiwan is required to learn it. I don’t think SC-TOP want to hear any more complaints/suggestions from me. Perhaps you could contact them and mention it!

Hopefully, with the new resources more test takers will pass the tests. Good luck!

TOP word lists

800 Chinese Words for Beginners (PDF 280kb)

Basic (PDF 280kb)

Intermediate (PDF 480kb)

Advanced (PDF 480kb)

2008 TOP schedule

Test Time

Testing Site

Mandarin scholarship students in Taiwan generally need to learn Bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ), the standard phonetic system used in Taiwan to teach Mandarin. It is also known as Zhuyin fuhao, jhuyin, Bopomo, Mandarin Phonetic Symbols and MPS! Confusing no?

I was browsing shuflies.blogspot.com, and came across a great online Bopomofo resource.

It has been setup on a Quiz based web application called Quizlet. Its stated mission:

“…to make learning vocabulary not a chore.”

The Bopomofo Quizlet has a few games which match English letters to the Bopomofo/Zhuyin symbols. It also has free Bopomofo flashcards.

There’s no audio but if you’d like to listen to Bopomofo/Zhuyin audio files visit this blog.

If you’re looking for Bopomofo learning software have a look at this post:

Learn Zhuyin fuhao/BoPoMoFo software

I’ve looked at several software/learnware packages and one stands out for those needing to learn Zhuyin/BoPoMoFo.

Chinese LearnWare for PC Windows

Text can be displayed in traditional or simplified characters, pinyin romanization, or zhuyin symbols. There are many interactive Zhuyin/BoPoMoFo games that help you to memorize the alphabet.

Other features include:

Over 1000 characters, Recorded conversations between native speakers, Voice Animation, Speech Recognition and Voice Record and Compare, Character writing, Exercises and games, Grammar notes, Flash cards, Vocabulary builder.

I’m done with my copy of Chinese LearnWare. If you want it I’ll send it to you.

Just found this easy to use Chinese character to pinyin converter/ translator at PurpleCulture.net.

It’s web based which I like and fast. It supports both Simplified and Traditional characters, which is great for those learning Chinese in Taiwan.

If you happen to need to convert/translate between one of the many different Romanization systems and Zhuyin (BoPoMoFo) the Chinese Romanization Converter over at MandarinTools.com works well.

How did people learn Mandarin before the internet revolution?

]]> http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/05/12/fast-online-chinese-character-to-pinyin-converter/feed/ 39 http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/05/10/chinese-flashcards/ http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/05/10/chinese-flashcards/#comments Sat, 10 May 2008 08:43:23 +0000 kang-wei http://mandarinscholarship.wordpress.com/?p=27

For those of you using Practical Audio Visual Chinese, which is the most commonly used Mandarin text book in Taiwan, you may be interested in the flash cards available at truant.net/flashcards.

They have traditional characters, Zhuyin (BoPoMoFo), Hanyu pinyin and English. There are DIY Print-Cut-Use Flashcards available for download. I downloaded the Practical Audio Visual Chinese Book 1 sample and laminated them. I found the flashcards very useful during my first few months. I didn’t purchase a set because my language center does not use Practical Audio Visual Chinese.

For those of you who use prefer to use a computer or hand held device, truant.net also offers ready to use Virtual Flashcards.

If you’re interested you can read a review of Practical Audio Visual Chinese here.

It is a comprehensive system that can transcribe all the possible sounds in Mandarin. The alphabet consists of 37 letters, each representing a single or a group of sounds: 21 for consonants and 16 for vowels and vowel clusters.

[Visit this blog for Zhuyin audio.]

If you are learning Chinese in Taiwan you will most likely have to learn Zhuyin. Personally, I have found that Zhuyin enables me to pronounce words much more accurately than pinyin. Another advantage of Zhuyin is the availability of Chinese learning materials. Every child in Taiwan learns Zhuyin/BoPoMoFo, as a result materials are cheap and available everywhere.

If you are studying in Taiwan and need a fast way (without software) to convert traditional Chinese characters into Zhuyin, I highly recommend http://tw.dictionary.yahoo.com/online dictionary.

You can paste in some characters and instantly get Zhuyin and English translation. It also provides a rudimentary Romanization without tone marks. I make flashcards and this has been by far the easiest way to get Zhuyin translations.

Here’s an example:

部落格

ㄅㄨˋ ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄍㄜˊ

bu luo ge

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Using Yahoo Taiwan’s online dictionary, MDBG free online Chinese-English dictionary, Babel Fish Translation and Google Pinyin certainly makes studying Chinese much easier.