Free Online Korean Language Learning (Part 2)

FSI Korean Course

Source: 101languages.net

FSI Korean course was developed by the U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI). This course is divided into two parts. There are total of 47 lessons where each lesson comes along with audio file. You can download the course's texts and of course the audio files to learn Korean offline. This course is totally FREE and suitable for busy people study at home or certain places where Korean course is not provided.  In addition, you can choose the other Korean language sections from the menu which basically to assist you throughout the Korean language learning progress.  For instance, Korean Radio, Vocabulary Builder, Quick Translator, Korean Newspapers, Useful Phrases, and etc. It provides the summary of essential phrases and vocabulary needed by Korean language learner.

Free Online Chinese Language Learning (Part 4)

Chinese-iLAB.com

Source: Chinese-iLAB.com

This comprehensive website offers a lot of free stuffs for you as a beginner to learn Chinese language. There are lessons in the form of videos, audio, interactive games and quizzes for you to discover the beauty of Chinese Language. A total of 10 lessons in Beginner Chinese Lessons and Elementary Chinese Lessons respectively. These is also a section for you to build your Chinese vocabulary through the highly instructive video slides. Besides, if you want to teach or learn together with your children, you are welcome to choose the Kids Chinese section. 

Chinese language is not a difficult language to learn. If you think this site is not suitable for you, you can always have your spare time to go through my other recommendations (Free Online Chinese Language Learning Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). 

5 Easy Biology Study Skills

Biology - The Study of Life

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

Biology, the study of life. It teaches us about ourselves, animals, plants and the environment around us. In my view as a Biology tuition teacher in my home country Malaysia, a good starting point when studying biology is to appreciate the perfection of nature and the principles of life. With this fundamental mindset, you can understand Biology with stress less.

However, if anyone wish to have a strong foundation in Biology, you need to practises in these 5 ways regularly to level up your understanding.

1) Terminology is Very Important!

If you want to understand what you are studying, then you need to familiarise yourself with all the scientific terms first.  These is the hardest part of students in Malaysia where everyone is loaded by a lot of works from different subjects, causing the students choose to "memorise" the terms rather than understand them. Thus, a better way to understand while memorising the terms is to break down the complex words into small portion and identify their root or origin.

2) Start from General to Specific

You should master the general concepts before being able to tackle specific ones. In this sense, I recommend you to study the processes thoroughly before going to the next level. Mind Maps are an effective tools to speed up your memorisation in the visual way.

3) Do Something in the Laboratory, Don't Sleep!

Try to apply your Biology theory into practise in the laboratory. The experiments you done in laboratory can be a guideline to you on how the natural world works. Remember, the act of doing will stay with you longer than the act of reading.

4) Draw for Your Own Notes

Similar with Mind Maps, you can draw a picture or diagram for your own to summarise the information obtained throughout the specific topic such as circulatory system, human brains, and etc. Drawings can help you to understand a concept and remember information that would be difficult to define in words.  

5) Do Past Year Exam Questions

Doing past year papers is better than simply grabs an exercise to do. Past exam papers can be used to predict the style of questions asked or the frequent of the same topics tested. Besides, it is important to evaluate yourself by doing past year papers so that you know your strength and weaknesses in certain topics. Practise makes PERFECT!

Free Online Korean Language Learning (Part 1)

Are you the K-pop, K-dramas or variety show's fans? Then you sure familiar with Big Bang, 2NE1, Girls Generation, Rain, Running Man, 2 Days & 1 Night, We Get Married and etc. Although I am not K-addict, but I like to watch Running Man and Family Outing since 2010.

Running Man

I always want to know what they are talking about any funny things without translate, because the translation sometimes does not work well for me. So, I used to search GOOGLE to find a place to study Korean language. There are thousand of websites offering the service for beginner, but most of them need me to sign up or pay for study course or materials in the half way of my learning. So, I try to find the really FREE and useful websites to learn basic Korean language without giving out any cents. In the end, I found this.

Click Korean

Source: http://language.snu.ac.kr/

This FREE online Korean language learning programme is developed by Korean National Open University and the Korean Language Education Center (KLEC) at the Language Education Institute of Seoul National University. The programme is designed to teach Korean as a foreign language for people who have not been exposed to the language before.

Click Korean has a total of 20 unites. Each unit consists of 6 sections which are Introduction, Vocabulary, Dialogue, Grammar and Expressions, Reading and Culture. It also includes exercises and English translations to facilitate us throughout the learning path.

Free Online Chinese Language Learning (Part 3)

China has developed drastically over the last 10 year. In my opinion, nowadays, learning Chinese becomes a necessity for business in today's economic development. There are hundreds of open sources to learn Chinese language, and this course, Diploma in Basic Chinese Language Studies published by Cambridge University in Alison is suitable for you to familiar with Chinese language.

Diploma in Basic Chinese Language Studies 

Source: Alison.com

In this FREE online course, you will learn the basics of written and spoken Chinese. The course provides an overview of the Chinese language and pronunciation through the use of Pinyin. You will also learn about the formation of the written Chinese characters and the formation of words. All the topics are presented using audio, Chinese script, Pinyin and English to facilitate your learning. This course is useful to those who want to travel to China or having regular contact with Chinese colleagues. Certification is provided after you finish the modules.

There are total of 9 modules including 3 assessments to complete this course, namely:
1. Introduction to the Chinese Language - First Contact
2. Basic Chinese - Talking About Yourself
3. Basic Chinese - Talking About Your Family
4. Diploma in Basic Chinese - First Assessment
5. Basic Chinese - Restaurants and Hotels
6. Basic Chinese - Using Transport: Travelling by Bus, Taxi and Train
7. Basic Chinese - Social and Leisure Activities
8. Diploma in Basic Chinese - Second Assessment
9. Diploma in Basic Chinese - Final Assessment

Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK)

HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi / 汉语水平考试) is an international exam that test and rates the learner's Chinese language proficiency. It is used to examine non-native Chinese speaker's abilities and understanding in using the Chinese language in their daily situation. HSK is an important tool for Chinese language learners to assess and improve their proficiency in Chinese.

HSK consists of 6 levels and these correspond to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF). Level 6 is the highest level test. Participants who pass this level are able to express themselves easily in Chinese, in term of speaking and in written form. You can find out more about HSK in Chinese Tests - HSK such as the testing regulation and the test structure. This site provides mock test, thus you can have a self test before register or sit for the exam, or you just can test your own proficiency level on Chinese language. Have a try!

Source: english.hanban.org

Free Online Chinese Language Learning (Part 2)

CCTV Learn Chinese 学汉语 - Free Mandarin Video Lessons
CCTV.com (央视网) is a national web-based TV broadcaster developed by China Central Television. This is a platform where you can discover China world including recent China news, business, science discovery, travelogue, China culture, and for the learner, FREE Chinese learning lessons.

Source: CCTV.com

There are several programmes teaching Chinese Language in multiple ways. For example, <Growing up with Chinese 成长汉语> series consists of 100 episodes and each of it takes about 15 minutes; <Survival Chinese 跟我说汉语> provides basics Chinese conversation and vocabulary for foreign travellers. Besides, you can also learn Chinese Language through listen to the news. You also have the chance to watch some of the famous Chinese movies to improve your listening skills. If your interest is the food or the culture in China, you can choose the special programme called <Travel in Chinese 旅游汉语> to learn the places and dishes in China.

Source: CCTV.com

This website comprises of anything you wish to know about China. Thus, it is suitable for those who want to travel or study in China, and also those who want settle down in China. Good luck and enjoy!

Free Online Chinese Language Learning (Part 1)

As native Chinese speaker, I often aware of the websites which teach people Chinese language as second language. Chinese language is the main spoken language in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Malaysia. There are different forms of Chinese language such as Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew where the pronunciation and the writing system are different. However, Standard Chinese (or called Mandarin / Huáyǔ) is often taught as second or foreign language to non-native speakers. Standard Chinese has two main kinds of writing system, first is traditional Chinese (華語), second is simplified Chinese (华语). The traditional Chinese characters is more complicated than the simplified Chinese. However, they are actually having the same meaning (Standard Chinese = 華語 / 华语).

If you are interest in the history of Chinese development, you can always GOOGLE and get the detail.

Here is one of the great websites for non-Chinese speakers to learn the basic conversation of Standard Chinese. FREE!

Discover China, learn Chinese - Chinese-Tools.com

Source: Chinese-Tools.com

You need to click the "LEARN CHINESE" tab to reach this page. You can learn to speak basic Chinese language through online lessons with audio. There are total of 40 online lessons which are the most complete guide to those who want to learn Chinese starting from the beginning. Each lesson includes grammar and vocabulary are which frequently used everyday. It also teach you how to spell the Chinese characters (pinyin) and the Chinese culture exploration. Depend on your native language, you can also learn Chinese in the other languages besides English. 

Source: Chinese-Tools.com

Furthermore, it provides a broad range of free tools such as Chinese translation, dictionaries, pronunciation, pinyin editor and etc. to make learning Chinese language easier. 

More posts on Chinese Language Learning will coming soon. Be right back!