I would like to take the TOCFL writing test next year. I am thinking of going in for level 2.
This is a computerised based writing test where you can use Hanyu Pinyin as the input method.
So with my goal in sight the next question is how can I improve my writing ability?
I do a lot of varied reading however I very rarely write anything because I have nobody to read it afterwards.
I have a Taiwanese friend who charges me $NT175 per hour to talk to him in Chinese. I was thinking of changing this arrangement to use MSN instant messaging for our communication to improving my writing. I would also hope that this would help to improve my speaking skills at the same time.
The title of this thread should be changed to improving one’s typed Chinese then. I’m working on a website to help users practice learning how to type Chinese. The lessons are mostly beginner now, but I hope to add more if there’s interest. The site is free at the moment, so try it out and let me know what you think.
No, the OP is talking about his ability to actually write in Chinese – to compose prose. Tyoing only takes care of the mechanical aspects of how to get the characters down on the paper (or file).
[quote=“Milkybar_Kid”]I would like to take the TOCFL writing test next year. I am thinking of going in for level 2.
This is a computerised based writing test where you can use Hanyu Pinyin as the input method.
So with my goal in sight the next question is how can I improve my writing ability?
I do a lot of varied reading however I very rarely write anything because I have nobody to read it afterwards.
I have a Taiwanese friend who charges me $NT175 per hour to talk to him in Chinese. I was thinking of changing this arrangement to use MSN instant messaging for our communication to improving my writing. I would also hope that this would help to improve my speaking skills at the same time.
Does anyonehave any ideas?
I cant write any characters by hand.
Many Thanks[/quote]
My suggestion is reading more. Of course nothing beats writing practice to help writing, and especially having a native speaker to check the quality, but reading is a great way to commit sentence structure and various syntactical words to memory. Just start with some newspaper articles, preferably online and using pera-pera mouseover dictionary. For double-benefit, write them down by hand as you read them, then read your handwritten version again a few times.
I’m confused. He’s planning to take the TOCFL where he can type. And he wants to hire someone to practice using MSN, which is also typing. Where does the writing fit in?
I’m confused. He’s planning to take the TOCFL where he can type. And he wants to hire someone to practice using MSN, which is also typing. Where does the writing fit in?[/quote]
I think it’s writing as in “compose prose”, not [hand]writing as in “oh crap, what’s the next stroke I should use?”. An ambiguity in the English verb “write”; I suppose if we want to be fussy the topic title could be “Improving one’s Chinese compositions”, although that’s not exactly elegant.
But yeah, I’m kind of confused as well, mainly because the final “can’t write any characters by hand” comment suggests he’s talking about handwriting; everything else suggests composing prose.
I’m confused. He’s planning to take the TOCFL where he can type. And he wants to hire someone to practice using MSN, which is also typing. Where does the writing fit in?[/quote]
Yes sorry I should have provided a link to the test information. Here it is: