What helped you learn Chinese fluently?
Have you ever heard of people learning a language in only one week?
Well most of the polyglots, people who speak several languages, start speaking new languages quickly, yes of course many thanks to their previous experiences. But is it that quick and easy for an English or native language speaker, who is out of teens, to learn the language like Chinese and pick up tones and produce the same tones, when speaking? It takes patience and devotion to learn a language like Chinese.
There are no sure shot ways to learn Chinese faster. But by laying down the solid realistic and concrete plan, you will improve with time and learn Chinese.
Let's have a tour of the ways which helped me learn Chinese fluently.
Setting up a goal:
This is the much-needed step before starting to even think of learning Chinese. Goals helped in keeping me focused, while I was on the journey of achieving what I wanted to. Goals will save you a lot of time and make it easier to pinpoint the information that you want to learn first. My goal was to focus on spending my energy on learning words directly related to the day to day conversations in the Chinese language, rather than memorizing Chinese vocabulary that is not used in day to day life.
Setting up goals helps in identifying the progress you are making in learning the language. It made me feel good about the work that I was doing. Set up a goal to be focused on tangible tasks rather than the amount of time you plan to spend studying. Instead of setting a goal of studying for 30 minutes a day every day in a week, set a goal of learning all the basic vocabulary words, used in daily life, like ordering a cup of coffee at a cafe, or buying grocery from the supermarket.
Cover all aspects of language learning:
I tried to combine the listening, reading, writing and speaking aspects of learning Chinese. This is the best way to work on activities that combine different areas of language learning in order to master the language.
Combining reading and speaking – When, as kids, we started reading our teachers encouraged us to read aloud as we were picking up on the pronunciation of different kinds of words. Same way, now when we need to learn the language, we need to read aloud. Reading aloud ensures that we practice Chinese tones properly and can be more critical on how we are pronouncing the words.
Combining Listening and writing – Be an active listener by noting down what you hear. This will help you in active comprehension and good retention. Making notes will lead you closer to the writing world too. You can note down the topic of the content, the character’s name, if any, or what interests you. Another more informal way to get in your listening and writing is to simply listen to Chinese talk radio or watch a movie or any Chinese program and write down what you hear. This practice will keep you glued to the content and will ensure effective learning.
Flashcards were my favourite!
Making Flashcards:
I am not talking about just any flashcards available in the market, rather make them on your own! This way as you make them when you have questions about the content or vocabulary or any sentence you’re learning you can go step by step with it and see what you don’t understand, prior to writing the translation on the back. You can write Chinese characters on one side of the card with pinyin written on the same side. And on the other side, you can write its translation, so that you know what’s being written. So as you learn new things or phrases make a flashcard, so you don’t forget and don’t get confused with learnt words/vocabulary.
You can also make flashcards to be carried to various places like grocery shop pr salon etc. Categorize those words, so they are related to what you’re doing at the moment. For example, you have a list ready of words for types of transportation for when you’re on the road, or words to spoken when at a salon or another list of Chinese work-related terms in the office. Try to practice those words by saying them to your self.
Do Vocabulary practice pertaining to your interest:
List out the areas of your interest and try to write down related Chinese vocabulary. Because growing your Chinese vocabulary is so foundational to learning Chinese. Also, the repetitive calling of the vocabulary works wonder, testing your memory over and over until you can consistently remember. Being observant repetitively to the same vocabulary will help you in grasping vocabulary, phrases and pattern of the language. It will also help in learning the way of pronunciation of Chinese words.
Practice making phrases:
For every learnt character or a vocabulary try to add a phrase or a sentence that use the character or that vocabulary words to provide the proper context. When you recognize different phrases and sentences, you will be able to differentiate between them and will know when to for what context. It will become a much easier task for you to start using them in relevant conversations or talks.
It may become daunting when starting out with a language resource having hefty content when your Chinese-speaking skills are still in the very early stages. Don’t let this be an obstacle in your way of learning the language. Instead, be focused and specific on what you want to learn in that particular hour, and try coming in the planned way.
Finally,
Just keep yourself focussed, do your best and don’t give up.