Tag Archives: writing

Why English writing skills matter to everyone

English composition formed an important part of my English language education when I was in Secondary school. We would be given a sheet with about 6 short topic introductions. We had to choose one topic to write a composition of … Continue reading

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Results of my second business Chinese test (BCT)

I took the Business Chinese test in October 2009 and again recently in June 2010, after taking an intermediate Mandarin course. The question was: did I improve at all? Continue reading

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Learning languages: Can I learn (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) without learning to read and write?

I am often asked question is whether it is possible to learn an Asian language without learning the script. My answer is that it depends on how you intend to use the language. Continue reading

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Business Mandarin course

It’s been two years ago that I followed a Mandarin course, but I have decided to start again. Three weeks ago, I started the BCT preparation course at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce. These are my experiences. Continue reading

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Should you learn writing Mandarin?

As computers are replacing the pen for word processing and even the Chinese themselves are forgetting how to write certain characters, should you invest your time in learning how to write Chinese characters? Continue reading

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Business Chinese Test (BCT)

I had earlier written about the various tests you could do to assess your Chinese language proficiency. As I took part in the Business Chinese Test (BCT) this weekend, here’s some more background of the test and my own experience … Continue reading

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Traditional vs. simplified Chinese characters

The topic of simplified vs. traditional Chinese characters can be confusing if you are new to the Chinese language. The difference between these two written forms of Chinese is not to be confused with the difference between the Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese: both can basically be written in either simplified or traditional characters. In this post, I’m giving some background as to what the difference is, why it occurred occurred and where each writing method is used. Continue reading

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How to send an SMS in Chinese characters

The Chinese are big fans of SMS. But how do you send an SMS in Chinese characters? Certainly a mobile phone doesn’t have enough buttons? Continue reading

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How to write Mandarin in Western script

When you first start learning Mandarin, you need a way to make notes and memorize. Since the Chinese language has thousands of characters, you would end up in a sort of chicken-and-egg situation. Luckily there is Hanyu Pinyin (Mandarin written in phonetics) which employs the same roman characters as are used for English and other European languages. Continue reading

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