Here’s another story in our iOS app tester experiences series. Last up we heard from junglegirl in Ethiopia, and now we have Alex Louis in Xi’an.
I have been serving in the Peace Corps in China since the summer of 2010. Integrating into the local culture is crucial for a successful volunteer, and that means learning the language. Fortunately, the Peace Corps provides the best language training out there–in two short months, I was able to order food, buy train tickets, and have short, simple conversations, all in Chinese.
The only catch is Peace Corps language training doesn’t teach reading or writing. Since we only have two short months, they have to cram as much as they can, which means no time to labor over radicals and stroke order. So while I could order food in Chinese, menus were gibberish. And if I ever missed my train, I couldn’t read a train schedule to find an alternate route. When I first went to my work site and couldn’t tell which bathroom was the men’s room, I knew I had to learn to read.
Luckily a fellow volunteer recommended Skritter during those first few months at my site, and I’ve been hooked ever since. In just 17 months of studying Chinese–12 of those with Skritter!–I just passed the HSK level 4. But Skritter’s biggest downside was I had to sit in front of my computer at home to study. I’m in a remote city in Gansu province, one of the poorest in China–there are no Starbucks with WiFi where I could take my laptop. And I came to China to see China, not to stay in my bedroom to stare at my laptop. When the sun was shining and people were out in the streets, using Skritter came to be a chore.
Then I was offered a chance to test out the Skritter iOS app. It has completely changed how I study. You won’t find me cooped up inside anymore. You’ll find me at the wetlands surrounding the city, using my iPod to Skritter and chatting with the people strolling on the path. Or I’ll be at the local dumpling joint, the owner’s kids grabbing my iPod to play with the app and “teach” me how to write correctly. I recently took a weekend trip to the provincial capital Lanzhou, which normally would mean I’d get behind in my studying. But I had my iPod with me, and I could Skritter the whole 7 hour train ride. The app has gotten so good that I don’t remember the last time I used the website to study. I bought a cheap stylus and write with it; it’s just like pen on paper. Most importantly, in three short months of using the app I’ve learned nearly 500 new characters. I never learned that fast when I was on my computer.
Even though the app is still in development, it’s pretty much good enough for me right now. But the Skritter team are perfectionists and won’t quit improving it, so I know when it’s finally released, it will be awesome!
If you haven’t already, go check out the Skritter iOS app teaser page and sign up to get an email when we launch the free app. You’ll also be entered to win a free iPad to Skritter on.