Introduction:

Many people are getting attracted to the Chinese language due to countless reasons. The Chinese language is home to over 1.2 billion speakers, as a second language. This most widely spoken language can benefit both your personal life and professional career greatly. Knowing a foreign language like Chinese, can not only bring a sense of accomplishment to the learner but also make it possible to reach a multitude of new opportunities. 

Now while learning Chinese the question arises, Is two years enough time to learn functional Chinese? To tell the truth, there is no appropriate answer to this question. This completely depends on the way of learning, methods of learning, how much time is spent and effort is given to learning the language, and various other factors. To some, it may take several years to learn functional Chinese. I have come across several people who have put 2+ years of intense study into Chinese only to get really limited results, have poor conversational skills, and retain very little after some time passes. Whereas on the other hand there are people who have put in a lot less effort than that and got a lot more. With the right approach, you can definitely learn functional Chinese in a shorter span of time. So, in this blog, I will discuss what are the methods you need to follow to learn Functional Chinese in a shorter time span.

• Let’s have a general discussion

If you see theoretically, you can get to a reasonable level with roughly 700+ hours of training, which could be enough to survive most situations in China. But do remember that this is highly theoretical. This will vary a lot depending on learning experiences, skills, and aptitudes. And also your learning resources, your teacher or the course you visit, access to patient native speakers can contribute a lot to your success.

Let’s check out some advice regarding how you can learn functional Chinese in a short time. 

• Don’t try to mug up too much at a time

Learning a lot at a single time is not generally practical work. This will generally lead you to end up forgetting everything. I would never suggest you learn 50 new words daily as this is not at all realistic. Instead, I would advise you to learn 5 to a maximum of 10 new words daily and practice the old ones regularly. 

• Keep repeating

Repetition leads you to success. Repeat as often as you can. Not only the vocabulary but also the larger expressions, grammar points, speech sounds, everything. But you are advised to not just mechanically repeat what you have learned. You need to use your vocabulary in new settings and new situations. You can watch a small video on Youtube, google a word on Google images search and see what images are associated with that word.

• Concentrate on a few resources at first

You will find a lot of apps, lots of videos, lots of websites, etc. to learn from, for free. But consuming all of them will require a lot of mental shifts. Ideally, your most important resource is going to be a textbook that comes with the dialogues recorded on CD/mp3 files. You need to make that book your guide. Listen to the audio as often as you can, and until you have worked yourself through it, consider everything else secondary or supplementary.

• Use learning resources appropriate for your level

You are advised to Use learning resources (books, apps, videos, magazines) that are appropriate for your level. If you are trying to watch a movie or read a book in Chinese after 2 months of learning, it is really horrible wastage of time. unrealistic textbook dialogues are very boring, but you have to bite yourself through them to build a foundation for real-life media you want to use.

• You should never underestimate the pronunciation part

You need to practice pronunciation throughout your course to master it. Your phonology is going to improve gradually, but until then don’t be surprised if native Chinese speakers find it difficult to understand you. Good study material will give you enough background information about the speech sounds and tones, as well as training audio that you can analyze, imitate, and repeat. You need to pay attention to all the details and don’t just repeat mechanically without understanding. Gradually your ear will start to pick up things and you will be able to pronounce in a way that Chinese speakers will understand. Keep on practicing to refine your accent. 

• Be regular

It is important to be regular in your studies. Study Chinese every day and be very much regular. Regularity is essential to successful learning.

• Make your Chinese learning interesting

I would advise you not to make your studies of the Chinese language a boring task. Don’t make it a tedious task. Make it interesting for you. Take advantages of the apps as well.  Make your studies more lively.

Finally,

You should realize that the more time you put in, the better you will learn. Make sure to pick the best resources.  Also, don’t expect to understand everything in Chinese after 2 years of learning. It is easier to reach an advanced level but it is much harder to make progress after that because Chinese vocabulary is huge and the language is quite diverse. I would definitely recommend you to take up an online Chinese learning course with Multibhashi for better results. They provide online audiovisual classes by experienced teachers. So, start studying now! The earlier you will start, the more time you will get to learn, study, and practice. Wish you great luck!

• Let’s have a general discussion

If you see theoretically, you can get to a reasonable level with roughly 700+ hours of training, which could be enough to survive most situations in China. But do remember that this is highly theoretical. This will vary a lot depending on learning experiences, skills, and aptitudes. And also your learning resources, your teacher or the course you visit, access to patient native speakers can contribute a lot to your success.

• Let’s check out some advice regarding how you can learn functional Chinese in a short time. 

Don’t try to mug up too much at a time

Learning a lot at a single time is not generally practical work. This will generally lead you to end up forgetting everything. I would never suggest you learn 50 new words daily as this is not at all realistic. Instead, I would advise you to learn 5 to a maximum of 10 new words daily and practice the old ones regularly. 

Keep repeating

Repetition leads you to success. Repeat as often as you can. Not only the vocabulary but also the larger expressions, grammar points, speech sounds, everything. But you are advised to not just mechanically repeat what you have learned. You need to use your vocabulary in new settings and new situations. You can watch a small video on Youtube, google a word on Google images search and see what images are associated with that word.

Concentrate on a few resources at first

You will find a lot of apps, lots of videos, lots of websites, etc. to learn from, for free. But consuming all of them will require a lot of mental shifts. Ideally, your most important resource is going to be a textbook that comes with the dialogues recorded on CD/mp3 files. You need to make that book your guide. Listen to the audio as often as you can, and until you have worked yourself through it, consider everything else secondary or supplementary.

Use learning resources appropriate for your level

You are advised to Use learning resources (books, apps, videos, magazines) that are appropriate for your level. If you are trying to watch a movie or read a book in Chinese after 2 months of learning, it is really horrible wastage of time. unrealistic textbook dialogues are very boring, but you have to bite yourself through them to build a foundation for real-life media you want to use.

You should never underestimate the pronunciation part

You need to practice pronunciation throughout your course to master it. Your phonology is going to improve gradually, but until then don’t be surprised if native Chinese speakers find it difficult to understand you. Good study material will give you enough background information about the speech sounds and tones, as well as training audio that you can analyze, imitate, and repeat. You need to pay attention to all the details and don’t just repeat mechanically without understanding. Gradually your ear will start to pick up things and you will be able to pronounce in a way that Chinese speakers will understand. Keep on practicing to refine your accent. 

Be regular

It is important to be regular in your studies. Study Chinese every day and be very much regular. Regularity is essential to successful learning.

Make your Chinese learning interesting

I would advise you not to make your studies of the Chinese language a boring task. Don’t make it a tedious task. Make it interesting for you. Take advantage of the apps as well.  Make your studies more lively.

Finally,

You should realize that the more time you put in, the better you will learn. Make sure to pick the best resources.  Also, don’t expect to understand everything in Chinese after 2 years of learning. It is easier to reach an advanced level but it is much harder to make progress after that because Chinese vocabulary is huge and the language is quite diverse. I would definitely recommend you to take up an online Chinese learning course with Multibhashi for better results. They provide online audiovisual classes by experienced teachers. So, start studying now! The earlier you will start, the more time you will get to learn, study, and practice. Wish you great luck!

Let’s have a general discussion

If you see theoretically, you can get to a reasonable level with roughly 700+ hours of training, which could be enough to survive most situations in China. But do remember that this is highly theoretical. This will vary a lot depending on learning experiences, skills and aptitudes. And also your learning resources, your teacher or the course you visit, access to patient native speakers can contribute a lot to your success.

Let’s check out some advice regarding how you can learn functional Chinese in a short time. 

Don’t try to mug up too much at a time

Learning a lot at a single time is not generally practical work. This will generally lead you to end up forgetting everything. I would never suggest you learn 50 new words daily as this is not at all realistic. Instead, I would advise you to learn 5 to a maximum of 10 new words daily and practice the old ones regularly. 

Keep repeating

Repetition leads you to success. Repeat as often as you can. Not only the vocabulary but also the larger expressions, grammar points, speech sounds, everything. But you are advised to not just mechanically repeat what you have learned. You need to use your vocabulary in new settings and new situations. You can watch a small video on Youtube, google a word on Google images search and see what images are associated with that word.

Concentrate on a few resources at first

You will find a lot of apps, lots of videos, lots of websites, etc. to learn from, for free. But consuming all of them will require a lot of mental shifts. Ideally, your most important resource is going to be a textbook that comes with the dialogues recorded on CD/mp3 files. You need to make that book your guide. Listen to the audio as often as you can, and until you have worked yourself through it, consider everything else secondary or supplementary.

Use learning resources appropriate for your level

You are advised to Use learning resources (book, apps, videos, magazines) that are appropriate for your level. If you are trying to watch a movie or read a book in Chinese after 2 months of learning, it is really horrible wastage of time. unrealistic textbook dialogues are very boring, but you have to bite yourself through them to build a foundation for real-life media you want to use.

You should never underestimate the pronunciation part

You need to practice pronunciation throughout your course to master it. Your phonology is going to improve gradually, but until then don’t be surprised if native Chinese speakers find it difficult to understand you. Good study material will give you enough background information about the speech sounds and tones, as well as training audio that you can analyze, imitate and repeat. You need to pay attention to all the details and don’t just repeat mechanically without understanding. Gradually your ear will start to pick up things and you will be able to pronounce in a way that Chinese speakers will understand. Keep on practising to refine your accent. 

Be regular

It is important to be regular in your studies. Study Chinese every day and be very much regular. Regularity is essential to successful learning.

Make your Chinese learning interesting

I would advise you not to make your studies of the Chinese language a boring task. Don’t make it a tedious task. Make it interesting for you. Take advantage of the apps as well.  Make your studies more lively.

Finally,

You should realize that the more time you put in, the better you will learn. Make sure to pick the best resources.  Also, don’t expect to understand everything in Chinese after 2 years of learning. It is easier to reach an advanced level but it is much harder to make progress after that because Chinese vocabulary is huge and the language is quite diverse. I would definitely recommend you to take up an online Chinese learning course with Multibhashi for better results. They provide online audiovisual classes by experienced teachers. So, start studying now! The earlier you will start, the more time you will get to learn, study, and practice. Wish you great luck!