As an alternative, for training up, you can print up circular labels of the appropriate size with the Chinese characters and their English meanings and stick them on the bottom of the playing pieces. Just play with the pieces upside-down until you’re used to the characters.
You can find sets that use pictures or shaped pieces instead of Chinese characters, which will make it a lot easier to keep track of the board state.
As an alternative, for training up, you can print up circular labels of the appropriate size with the Chinese characters and their English meanings and stick them on the bottom of the playing pieces. Just play with the pieces upside-down until you’re used to the characters.