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LEARN CHINESE IN CHINA: WHY KEATS USES FLASHCARDS IN CLASS

Everyone has a tip for learning Chinese in China and ours is flashcards.

While everyone learns a new language differently, we know that the use of flashcards have been a rewarding way for students to learn Mandarin in China.

At Keats School, we use flashcards in our classes. Our teachers use the latest and professional teaching methods created and tested by the Keats team. We have seen unprecedented results when using our flashcards during one-on-one classes.

Here’s why.

FLASHCARDS ALLOW FOR CONFIDENCE-BASED REPETITION

One of the most important reasons we use flashcards at Keats School is because it allows for repetition.

Since flashcards are loose papers, you can add them into piles based on whether you need to study them again or in more depth. This confidence-based repetition is proven to be one of the best ways to improve memory performance.

Study a flashcard over and over, and then study the next one. When you go back to the first card, chances are you will remember what the card says.

FLASHCARDS ENGAGE ACTIVE RECALL

This continues from our first reason we use flashcards for students who learn Chinese in China.

Active recall is the principle of efficient learning. To learn better, you need to actively stimulate memory during the learning process. By repeating flashcards, a switch goes off in your brain, telling you to focus and pay attention to what’s on the flashcard.

This allows you to remember the flashcard and actively use what’s on the flashcard in real life.

This means, when you look at the front of a flashcard with the Mandarin character on it, you’re engaging active recall to figure out what the character is. But simply reading a textbook, you won’t be engaging in the active recall. Therefore it’s easier to forget.

Studies have shown that active recall creates strong neuron connections for memory.

USE OF IMAGES AND WORDS

Like we mentioned, everyone learns differently. With flashcards, we’re able to tailor the card to the best way you learn.

Adding images to our cards can make them a lot more memorable, allowing people to remember the word associated with the image.

A study called The Picture Superiority Effect shows that people remember imagery better than they remember words.

But don’t skip the wording altogether. Our brains are interesting because the mixture of pictures and words works better than just words or just pictures.

While you learn Mandarin in China, flashcards will be used in our Keats classroom. We also encourage all students to create their own flashcards for studying outside of classroom hours.

This will improve your Mandarin language skills even more, and you can study with other students too.

SAYING ANSWERS OUT LOUD

When we use flashcards at Keats to study Chinese in China students, we know that using our voices helps with language learning.

By using flashcards with someone else in the room (teacher and student or student and student), you’re using another way to learn Chinese; verbally.

When we have a student speak the answer on the card, the memory is getting engaged again while also working on pronunciation. A win-win!

LEARN MANDARIN IN CHINA AT KEATS

 

We’ve seen such great success with our teaching methods at Keats. Our students believe that their success in learning the language has to do with Keats teaching.

If you’re interested in applying to Keats and experiencing learning Mandarin through flashcards and other teaching techniques, apply online. If you have any questions, contact us today.

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Sully

Sully | France

Small Group Chinese Class

All my classmates stay together for one year and we improved so much! The teachers at Keats are all very great. They like to organize a lot of activities to help us learn Chinese. I like Keats! I like Kunming!

Andrew

Andrew | USA

Intensive One-on-One Chinese Classes

I am a graduate student working on my doctorate degree at Columbia University. We were able to really focus on speaking especially interview-style speaking and we are able to really up my Chinese reading and writing skills, so when I go back to Columbia, I can take formal Chinese classes. It has been a really good experience and I really love my teacher.

Filbert

Filbert | Indonesia

Small Group Chinese Class

Before I came to Keats School, I had no confidence in my Chinese proficiency. I did not have the confidence to speak Mandarin Chinese and chat with Chinese people. However, after 4 months of study at Keats, I become more and more confident in speaking Chinese now. Studying Chinese in China at Keats School has been the best decision I have ever made. There are many games in the class, and my teacher’s teaching methods are also very interesting. My experience at Keats School has changed my view of China and Chinese people.

 

Judith

Judith | USA

Intensive One-on-One Chinese Classes

Listening and speaking in the classroom every day has improved my communication skills. After three weeks, my new words and sentences became more and more natural and fluent. Now I am used to thinking in Chinese, and I understand better what other people say, to be able to have real conversations with other people.

Nicholas

Nicholas | Canada

Intensive One-on-One Chinese Classes

At Keats, I have a lot of opportunities to practice what I have learned. I really like this school, because I can learn Chinese in one-on-one style, so I think this is the best immersion program in China and my teacher is the best teacher. I feel that without my teacher, my Chinese will definitely not improve so much. I’m very happy because, at Keats, I have improved my Chinese significantly.

SJOERD

SJOERD | Netherlands

Small Group Chinese Class

We use a lot of games to learn grammar and new words. We have really good teachers, really patient. She helps us a lot. Our class is really nice and we have people from all over the world, different countries. We often discuss topics in Chinese in our class. I live in the dorm of Keats. It is very convenient. I don’t have to spend time traveling. You can just focus on learning Chinese.

Jean

Jean | USA

Intensive One-on-One Chinese Classes

I can’t tell you how much I liked it. The thing I liked about the teachers and the teaching method is that there is so much flexibility. The other thing I liked about the teaching is the combination of classic textbook learning and going outside. I loved it! I like getting to know other students. Everybody shared the same goal and that’s making their Chinese better. Kunming is a big city, but it is very safe to live here. Another thing I liked about Keats is the idea that people here help you. I can’t recommend it enough. I think it was a valuable experience. Looking forward to coming back!

Richard

Richard | UK

Intensive One-on-One Chinese Classes

This is my second time coming. Last year, I also came for about 12 weeks. This time I came for 13 weeks of a summer program in China. The reason why I particularly want to come to this school was because of the one-on-one classes. I was able to increase my level and learn Chinese more quickly than in group classes. If I have a chance again to come next year, I certainly will.

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