Learning Chinese is an intimidating feat at first. However, there are many benefits that would lead someone into learning Chinese. Whether you want to take advantage of the many free Chinese courses online or trying to enter China’s widely open doors for foreign trade as an entrepreneur. These 5 ways to learn Chinese quickly are what you need channel your inner superhero and get pumped up to start your journey.
But first, you are the challenges.
On your quest to learn the language of the land of Kungfu, you will obviously have a few huddles to jump over. Written Mandarin Chinese does not use the Roman alphabet! It may look like Alien encryption to an English speaker who encounters it for the first time. The simplified traditional characters are not that ‘simplified’ too. However, we are not here to discourage you today. There is always a way around it. That’s why you need this guide of 5 ways to learn Chinese quickly.
5 ways to learn Chinese quickly
You will need to read more, listen more and practice more. You can only become familiar to the language when you get exposed to it. As soon as fear is out of your way, you everything will begin to make sense. Music is a worldwide phenomenon. It crosses from one border to the other without worries of language barriers. Music is a great tool to learn a new language because it’s fun and interesting! Music videos are better because they give you context to better understand the song. They are also a great peek into the culture. But the biggest benefit is that you can have a preview of the Chinese characters and follow along with the lyrics. If you want to learn Chinese quickly with music videos, check out the paid service FluentU. FlentU uses real-world videos such as music videos, movie trailers and inspiring talks and turns them into personalized language learning lessons. Words are carefully annotated with an in-context definition. Watching these music videos will really help you become familiar with the pronunciation, as intonations are learned over time with more exposure. Okay you’ve watched the music videos. Time to watch some Chinese movies, with Chinese subtitles. I strongly advise you watch more dramas and romantic comedies than fast paced Action movies. They’re simple to understand. Sites like dramafever.com and maplestage.com feature shows with Chinese subtitles. Watching with subtitles will greatly help your character recognition skills. FlentU can also help you here because you’ll learn the pronunciation in pinyin along with an accompanying English explanation. It is simpler to learn from a person who already knows Chinese. This is important because you get to cover more areas than the ones taught in class or online tutorials. You can learn slang, various expressions and become acquainted with their actual way of talking. You don’t have to go to China to get a conversation partner. Is there one at your work place, or in your neighborhood? Just look around. If all fails, then turn your search to social media and find you a conversation partner. Real-world interaction with someone in Chinese will motivate you to expand your knowledge and walk on unfamiliar ground. Trust me, it’ll do you wonders. Most of these ways are to help improve both your listening and reading skills. To learn Chinese quickly, consider listening to audiobooks. For starters, you can download Chinese course textbooks which have an accompanying audiobook. This will help you grasp the basics of the language. However, if you rather use novels and comics, checkout some available in 书声bar (Audiobook Bar), 天方听书网 (Tianfang Book Listening Web) and VeryCd. Podcasts discuss a lot of topics. Luckily, there are plenty of them focused on teaching the Chinese basics to beginners. Choosing podcasts geared towards specific interests will help you get a wider range of vocabulary within that section. Check out 黑米公主 (Princess Remy) podcasts. It covers a variety of topics from culture to arts to daily news. However, you must possess some intermediate level of Chinese to listen to them. And that completes the list of 5 ways to learn Chinese quickly! Time to make your mark in the world.
