I’ve done the search and couldn’t find anything, so I apologise if I’ve missed it.
I have just started my second course of “basic literacy” studies at the local elementary school, where we learn how to read, write and use Zhuyin fuhao.
My question is, does anyone know of a computer program that I can use to teach me how to type faster. I’m thinking of the tetris-type game that we used to learn typing with, some years ago…or something like that. It is taking me forever to find the Zhuyin characters on my keyboard and I’m getting pretty frustrated!
There are a number of them, but you have to find them on taiwan sites–which means you have to search the internet in Chinese. I’ve also bought some elementary school textbooks and they’ve had games to learn…with those, though, you have to have a Taiwan OS on your computer.
I’ve looked for years for a book that helps adults type faster, but the only ones I’ve found are for typing with the radicals.
I learned how to improve my zhuyin typing skills using the following Flash games. The main website is at: http://www.kiec.kh.edu.tw/typing/index.asp. It has flash games for teaching both the English keyboard and the Zhuyin keyboard. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and look for the pink numbers. Games numbered 22, 23, 24, and 25 are going to teach you row by row how to type in Zhuyin. Game 22 teaches the A row, 23 teaches the Z row, 24 teaches the Q row, and 25 teaches the 1 row. Game 28 is a great way to review the entire keyboard at one time.
To play the games make sure your Chinese keyboard is not selected, you need to be in English input mode. Click the link for the game you want to play. The game’s starting screen will display a big Kai1 Shi3 button. Don’t be a afraid to click that button to start. Once the game starts, at the top of the page, there will be a circle with a zhuyin character inside and at the bottom there will be a picture of a keyboard. The keyboard at the bottom will show you where that character is located. As you get better try not to look at the keyboard. As soon as you see the zhuyin in the circle press the key on your keyboard. The game is timed. The more keys you can press within the time limit; the higher your score will be.
There are more Zhuyin games on that web page but I’ll let you find those yourself. They are at the top of the page.
Everyone studying Chinese in Taiwan should learn both Zhuyin fuhao and Hanyu pinyin. Zhuyin is incredibly useful because you can use it to ask Taiwanese people how to read characters without looking them up by radical (a horrible waste of time).
But you should also learn Hanyu Pinyin. Now that you know Zhuyin, it will take you a couple hours at most. Then you will be able to type using the keyboard you already know rather than learning a new one, which will take far longer than learning Hanyu pinyin.
Why should you learn Hanyu pinyin? There are many important reference materials such as John DeFrancis’s ABC Chinese Dictionary that are organized or use Hanyu pinyin. And Taiwan will switch over to Hanyu pinyin for addresses etc. It also makes it easier to talk to other foreigners about Chinese if you can spell the words correctly.
Your Chinese teachers will preach the gospel that Zhuyin fuhao is somehow better and more accurate for pronunciation. Don’t listen to them on this one. It’s a myth, an example of Sinocentrism, and based on ignorance, since they probably don’t know Hanyu pinyin themselves.
I realize this is a long-standing debate, but I second the OP in not wanting to learn Pinyin. Call me stubborn and a believer of the “myth”, but I feel pronunciation IS better with bpmf. Saying that the bpmf system is better may be “sinocentric”, but it is “anglocentric” to believe an abc system is better because it is “easier” for the learner.
How about we just leave this post as it is: a search for a typing skills program.