How to learn Chinese fast

1.Tips to how to learn chinese fast

Be positive. Remove the naysayers.

Friends from back home (the UK) have often remarked at how difficult Chinese is. I feel a lot of this has to do with them being accustomed to languages from the Indo-European or Germanic tree.

First of all, as with any other language around the world, Chinese takes time to learn. However, I have found that with the right motivation, the language-learning process is actually quite satisfying, and you can learn Chinese fast than you think.

Here are two characteristics of Chinese that are not used found in English, and how you can embrace them.

a Tones

You only have to look at Cantonese and its 9 tones to realise that Chinese isn’t all too bad. 9 times out of 10 the local recipient will understand what you are getting at from the context anyway.
At the end of the day, the word that you mistakenly mispronounce will probably make the sentence a whole lot funnier than what it was meant to be! You inadvertedly learn a new word and cause some giggles.

b Hanzi

The Chinese characters are much more manageable than you would think. You’ve had to deal with similar signs in the Western world that denote certain meanings. Admittedly I have not gone into writing yet, as to be honest I have not had the chance to do it when you communicate in written form via WeChat.

2.Know your learning medium

My favourite way to learn a language, and as a result, the culture itself, is to be immersed in the country where the language originates.

However this isn’t the same for everyone. Are you a classroom-textbook-contextual-teacher-student learner? Perhaps signing up for Mandarin classes with Mandarin house is a good option.

Are you a one-on-one private learner? Perhaps finding a tutor to speak Mandarin with is a viable option.

Are you a drop-me-on-the-Great-Wall-from-a-helicopter-and-see-if-I-survive type of person? Aka deep and immediate immersion? Then perhaps living in China (or Taiwan) is a preferred option.

You know yourself best. You also know how you learn new languages the best.

3.Practice Practice Practice, that`s how to learn Chinese fast

I arrived in Shanghai with no Chinese at all. The only way I was able to improve and step up my language skills was to practice. Incessantly. And with driven persistence and determination.

Like with any challenges in life, it takes time and habitual practice in order to overcome such challenges and thrive on your success over it.

You can practice speaking by:

a. Hanging out with your Chinese friends and asking them to speak Chinese with you.

b. Eat out more often at local joints to practice reading those Chinese menus.

c. Watching Chinese movies or TV shows. Though I don’t watch TV, this is one of the best ways to continually hear Chinese being spoken. You need to hear it, hear the proper tones, hear it in context to the storyline and in relation to the human connections being made, in order to really encompass more of the language as a whole. Just reading about Chinese won’t make you start speaking it like a native. You need to hear it too.

d. Listening to Chinese songs. On top of that, try karaoke! It’s truly entertaining and a great way to learn Chinese language.

e. Teaching English while living in China. Many foreigners enjoy teaching English in these places, where they are supported by the organization or school they are teaching for, as well as taking Chinese classes all the while. This is a great way to combine immersion in the country while still supporting yourself.

f. Visiting and traveling throughout China. You will be forced to speak Mandarin (most locals do not speak English and even if they did, it can be quite broken and minimal), realize that simply by being in the local element, you are already learning, every single minute, every single day.

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