Learning Chinese Survey

Thank you for choosing to participate in this survey. The purpose of the survey is to gather information for a thesis and to get an understanding of how Chinese characters are taught to westerners who are learning Chinese and how practical that method is to the western student of Chinese characters.

The survey should only take about 5 minutes to complete. To make the survey quicker to complete, the majority of questions are multiple choice. There are also options for adding extra information if you wish.

The survey is completely anonymous and no contact details are collected.

If you have only studied Chinese characters at one school or university please proceed directly to the survey.

If you have studied at more than one, please click here for instructions (this will open a pop-up window).

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1	Your nationality
2	Which school or university did you study Chinese at? (instructions for more than one school) If entering more than one, please number the schools starting from the first school you attended.
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3	Which country was the school in? If you are entering information for more than one, please use the same numbering as per question 2.
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4	Are you learning/did you learn traditional or simplified characters?
5	Are you learning to read and write?
5	No Read only Read and write.
6	If you are not learning characters, why did you choose not to? (You may select more than one answer.)
	Too difficult No interest Too time consuming.I don't see a need to learn characters
	I want to learn to speak first and then learn characters Other reason.
7	How many Chinese characters would you estimate that you can recognise?
8	How many characters did/do you learn each week at school?
9	Was the pace of learning characters...
10	Was the pace of study in general (characters, vocabulary, grammar, etc.) ....
11	How long have you been studying Chinese at formal institutions? (This is the total time, regardless of how many schools.)
12	Was your main teacher a westerner or Chinese? All Westerners Mostly Westerners Even Mix Mostly Chinese All Chinese
13	Why did you start studying Chinese? (You may select more than one answer.)
	I live/d in a Chinese speaking country.I am interested in Chinese culture.I want to read/study Chinese classics.
	Because of friends / boyfriend / girlfriendI like Chinese characters.Business opportunities.
	Other (please specify)
14	What is your Chinese level?
15	How often does/did your teacher teach you character STROKE ORDER?
16	For how many weeks/months does/did your teacher continue teaching you about STROKE ORDER?
17	How many hours a week does/did your teacher spend teaching you about STROKE ORDER?
17	Please specify if other:
18	How often did your teacher teach you about RADICALS?
19	For how many weeks/months does/did your teacher teach you about RADICALS?
20	How many hours a week does/did your teacher teach you about RADICALS?
20	Please specify if other:
21	How often does/did your teacher teach you about the SIX DIFFERENT TYPES of characters?
22	For how many weeks/months does/did your teacher teach you about the SIX DIFFERENT TYPES of characters?
23	How many hours a week does/did your teacher teach you about the SIX DIFFERENT TYPES of characters?
23	Please specify if other:
24	How often did your teacher focus on the PHONETIC COMPONENTS of characters?
25	For how many weeks/months does/did your teacher focus on the PHONETIC COMPONENTS of characters?
26	How many hours a week does/did your teacher focus on the PHONETIC COMPONENTS of characters?
26	Please specify if other:
27	How often did your teacher teach you about the regular RECURRING COMPONENTS in characters?
28	For how many weeks/months does/did your teacher teach you about the regular RECURRING COMPONENTS in characters?
29	How many hours a week does/did your teacher teach you about the regular RECURRING COMPONENTS in characters?
29	Please specify if other:
30	How often does/did your teacher break the characters down to their BASIC COMPONENTS?
31	For how many weeks/months does/did your teacher continue breaking the characters down to their BASIC COMPONENTS?
32	How many hours a week does/did your teacher spend breaking the characters down to their BASIC COMPONENTS?
32	Please specify if other:
33	How often does/did your teacher teach you about the HISTORY / DEVELOPMENT of the characters you were learning?
34	For how many weeks/months does/did your teacher teach you about the HISTORY / DEVELOPMENT of the characters you were learning?
35	How many hours a week does/did your teacher spend teaching you about the HISTORY / DEVELOPMENT of the characters you were learning?
35	Please specify if other:
36	Do you feel that your teacher explains how to recognize/write characters thoroughly ?
37	In regards to teaching characters, what do you think teachers should spend more time teaching? (You may select more than one answer.)
	Stroke order Radicals The six different types of characters Phonetic components Basic components
	Recurring components The history/development of the charactersI think that my teacher has a good balance, so no change necessary.
	Other Please specify if other:
38	Do you think that the books you use at school explain how to write characters thoroughly?
39	If you feel that your school books explain how to write characters thoroughly, which books are they?
40	What other aspects of Chinese do you think teachers need to spend more time on? (You may select more than one answer.)
	Tones (speaking) Tones (listening) Reading Writing Speaking Listening Pronunciation pinyin/bo po mo fo
	Other Please specify if other:
41	What sources do you think have been the biggest help in helping you get a better understanding of characters? You may select more than one answer. (source* = books, teacher, computer, etc. If you want to make a comment on method, e.g. flashcards, reading, repetition, etc. please enter at question 44.)*
	School books Books other than those used at school Teacher Friend Computer Program
	Other. Please specify if other: If it was a book or computer program that helped you get a better understanding of characters, which book or program was it?
42	What sources do you think have been the biggest help in helping you to remember how to write or recognise Chinese characters? You may select more than one answer. (source* = books, teacher, computer, etc. If you want to make a comment on method, e.g. flashcards, reading, repetition, etc. please enter at question 44.)*
	School books Books other than those used at school Teacher Friend Computer Program
	Other. Please specify if other:
	If it was a book or computer program that helped you remember how to write or recognise characters, which book or program was it?
43	If you have any additional thoughts, suggestions or clarifications you would like to add, please enter them in the box below. (If you are adding to or clarifying an answer to a question, could you please include the question number.)

If you would like to contact me about this survey, please go to https://forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?t=31765 and send a personal message (PM) to GangChangZhang. Thank you very much for your time in completing this survey. I wish you all the best with your Chinese studies.

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Learning Chinese Survey

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