There are many good methods can be applied to practice Chinese language, thus improving your Chinese language ability. Many foreign students know the method of sequencing after they learn in intensive Mandarin course in China because it is a very common grammar points practicing method related to the word order. First of all, teachers give a group of words or phrases which can be organized as a complete sentence but in wrong orders. Then the students are supposed to combine them together to form a meaningful sentence.

For example, the words 我家, 商店, 前面 and 是are given and the students need make a whole sentence logically. Generally speaking, in this practice, the words given should not be too many because it will greatly increase the difficulty level without the important point. In addition, since there is no fixed context, it is possible to have more answers.

Another method recommended to foreign students if they attend to school to study in China is dictation which is usually applied to the grammar practice for the main purpose of attracting the students’ attention to the word order and function words. To be specific, there are two forms of dictation, one of which is to dictate the sentences, demanding the students to write down the whole sentence after listening to the sentences. Another form is to listen to a passage and write down the general idea of this passage.

Let’s take some actual examples to illustrate the two forms of practicing. For the first form, the students need to dictate the sentences like 他唱歌唱得很好听. The purpose of this practice is to attract the learners to pay attention to the structure “VOV 得 C”. Such kind of practice can be arranged after explaining certain grammar points as a way of leading in and also after the grammar point explanation as a form of consolidating the points learned.

For the second form, a relatively long sentence will be given and it is possible to have several grammar points in it. After the students finish writing down the general idea, teachers can show the whole passage for students to make comparison. This type of practice is good to take control of the contents and grammar forms to make sure the grammar points can be practiced on the precondition of the whole context, making it more effective.