How to start learning Mandarin

 

Methods to Begin Learning Mandarin



Mandarin-Chinese is regarded as one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn but there are different things that you can do at the important beginning stages to set a solid foundation for learning. The most important thing to do is to spend 3 - 6 months in an intensive study period at the start where you are doing nothing but working on the language and living in China or Taiwan. Obviously though, this is not practical for everyone to do so down below I have included some broad suggestions that can work in either an intensive or casual study setting.

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1) Study the pinyin method and basic pronunciation

Pin-yin is basically how the Chinese words and sounds are spoken in the western alphabet. When you are introduced to pinyin you will also learn about the four tones of Mandarin-Chinese and how several sounds are made. This is a logical place to begin and you will probably also get some simple words.



2) Phrases for getting around and straightforward dialogues

A few classes will then move onto a big list of easy vocabulary words to remember. I instead advise that you change over to a China travel phrasebook and extract out of there a lot of simple phrases and sentences for getting around. These examples are usually chock full of good vocab and are a solid idea to memorize. Having some of these sentences at your disposal will ensure that you can begin using Chinese in your daily life as soon as possible.



3) Zoom in on on essential 'sentence-making' words

It upsets me how many classes and text books wait to teach important words and phrases. As soon as you have a long list of words active vocab list you can start using them like building blocks to construct simple sentences. While you will probably still have problems with grammar some of these basic 'transition' words can be extremely frequently-used as you try to communicate with others.



4) Review the stroke order and basic parts of Chinese characters

As a result there are quite a few technologies available to learn Chinese on the ipad or iphone, many people are tempted to skip the process of learning to write Mandarin-Chinese characters by hand. This is a bad idea because the actual process of moving your hand and feedback from the sheets and pen actually helps to preserve the characters in your mind. It's quite strange that such a basic thing as moving your hand can improve with memorizing the characters.



5) Practice each and every day for 20 minutes

After doing some of the above, you must to get into a frequent habit of studying Chinese every day. What you want to do is review for at least twenty minutes and that can even be just before sleep. The essential part is to commit to doing it every day to make sure that you have daily exposure.



6) Hire a language partner or private teacher

As you continue studying in class or online, it's crucial to start expressing yourself by speaking the language in face to face conversations. There are fun sites to help you find language exchange partners where you can even find instructors. The crucial part here is to find a problem that will force you to start speaking, even in basic sentences, just so that everything you study can begin to form in your mind as real communication.

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If you follow up these tricks with a solid program and find ways to pursue your natural inclincation, just in Mandarin, then you should find several ways to spice up your Chinese language program. If you like rap music, then listen to that in Chinese. If instead you like to read fashion or news magazines, then look for those in Mandarin. You will have zero problems memorizing the language and learning faster than your classmates. Good luck.