If you’re planning on learning Chinese, you’re about to embark on an exciting and fulfilling journey for the long term. There are millions of people around the world who speak either Cantonese or Mandarin or even both! And choosing to learn one of these is a very respectable decision.
Are you familiar with your specific goals? Do you know what habits you can establish if you want to know how to learn Chinese? If you’re looking for a few tips and tricks for learning either Mandarin or Cantonese, allow me to break down how to learn Chinese as a beginner.
Determine Your Specific Goals
If you don’t know what your specific goals are, you might have a tough time figuring out how to learn Chinese. If you want to learn how to learn Chinese, you’re first going to need to determine what your primary goals are. Do you want to be able to speak with your family or friends? How about learning how to understand conversations happening around you? Are you aiming to learn how to read Chinese? Or do you want to be able to write with a pen pal around the world?
Once you figure out your individual goals, determining how to learn Chinese for you will likely become far more simple. This will allow you to prioritize the parts of language learning you care about most and might make it easier for you to speed up your learning for your particular goals.
Dedicate Time to Learning Every Day
It would be wise to dedicate time every day to learning Chinese, at least if you would like to learn quickly and avoid losing pieces of the language slowly over time. Building a habit of learning your new language as often as possible will allow you to become more likely to learn quickly, as well as get used to using the language on a more regular basis. Utilize tools such as Youtube videos and language learning apps to help you.
The more you use your brain to learn Chinese, the stronger the neural pathways are likely to become over time. This makes your new language far easier to recall even after long breaks of not using it, meaning Chinese will be far more useful to you the more you use it.
Get a Study Partner
If at all possible, you may also want to consider finding a study partner. This will allow you to discern which vocabulary words might be most useful to your day-to-day conversations on an individual basis, as well as get the language into your ear a little more frequently.
A study partner may also make you more likely to study more regularly, as there might be a sense of obligation or responsibility if you report your progress to another person on a regular basis. Many find this process extremely helpful, and it may also allow you to become more conversational over time. If you’re unable to find a study partner who is at your level, it may not hurt to find a “tutor” who is more advanced than you are, as this person is more likely to catch you on your mistakes.
Speak or Write as Much as You Can
Depending on your personal goals with Chinese, you may want to write or speak as much as possible. This may allow you to become more familiar with common words, allow your hands to get into muscle memory for important phrases, and allow you to progress far faster in your personal studies.
If you’re interested in being conversational or understanding conversations occurring around you, you may find it helpful to speak in Chinese as often as possible. Similarly, if you’re interested in getting better at reading or writing, try to write in Chinese as much as you possibly can.
Get the Language in Your Ear
Especially if you’re looking to understand or speak the language, you should consider getting the language in your ear as much as you can. If you don’t happen to live around many people who speak Chinese, you should be able to find video and audio files online. By hearing Chinese from many different people, you’re allowing yourself to learn how to understand multiple people more easily.
If you only listen to the voice of your instructors or your single study partner, you may get used to the sound of one voice. While this is certainly not unhelpful, it’s not as educational as being able to understand others as well.
Learn the Different Tones
If you want to understand or speak Chinese, it’s necessary to learn the different tones involved. Most commonly noted, the words for “mom” and “horse” sound remarkably similar in Mandarin, so it’s necessary to know the differences between the words that sound extremely similar. The difference between these two separate words is their tones, and no one wants to accidentally call their mother a horse.
By learning tones, as well as building up these other strong habits, you’ll enable yourself to learn the Chinese language fairly quickly and effectively. Hopefully, this sends you on the correct path for learning the language well, and you’ll be using Chinese in no time.