How To Start Learning Chinese

People are starting to learn Chinese everyday.This is no wonder as Chinese becomes more usefull everyday, although some have claimed otherwise. But often there is confusion how to get things going. Here I’d like to provide quick guide on how to start.

First of all, enlist in a Chinese class. In the very beginning You don’t know anything about pronunciation and self-study is not a viable option at this moment. There are a few products out there, that claim to get Your pronunciation right without a real teacher, but I highly doubt these claims. Most universities offer beginner courses for free and the quality is quite good. Often these classes are rather small compared to Spanish and French classes. The other option is going to an evening school. The quality of learning Chinese at the evening school is pretty much similar to learning it at university, except it costs You some money and the course is in the evening. Be aware, that in some classes Your teacher’s only qualification is that he is a Chinese native speaker. Quite often they do not have any formal education about learning theory or special teacher education. Still most of them do their jobs very well. If You feel Your teacher is not able to teach, don’t waste Your time and switch classes immediately.

Then You need an integrated Chinese learning textbook. This book offers You texts for reading with vocabulary and of course grammar explanations. The market is full of countless books for learning Chinese, Your teacher will help select one.

Next up is a dictionary. My personal favourite is the Oxford English-Chinese Chinese-Englsih Minidictionary. It’s a pocket dictionary which has enough entries to accompany You during Your first or even second year of learning, depending on Your learning speed. If You encounter some more difficult rare words I recommend You to use online dictionaries like chinese-tools.com instead of a heavy expensive paperbook. At least in the beginning. Special words like those of quantum physics are most easily translated into Chinese by using Wikipedia.

Electronic dictionary. No. In my opinion it’s not really necessary and is not worth its price. If You really feel the need for such kind of tool, consider one where You can input Chinese characters directly on the screen. Most electronic dictionaries come without this, as they are intended to be used by Chinese who need an English translation.

Online resources for learning Chinese. There is an insane amount of material on the internet to learn Chinese. I just want to give You a few hints, this list is by no means complete. A nice forum for learning Chinese at any stage are the Chinese-Forums.com. A good online course can be found at Chinesepod.com. You can check out their service for free for a while, then You can subscribe quite cheaply if You like it. Personally I use Chinesepod as one of my main tools for learning Chinese.

Some people have hear some things about Chinese already and they wonder. They heard about Traditional and Simplified Chinese Characters. Well, don’t worry. If You plan to go to Hong Kong or Taiwan, traditional characters will serve You best, otherwise stick with simplified. If unsure, stick to simplified, as most people learn simplified today. People seriously interested in Chinese history should consider learning both, simplified and traditional. The other typical question is about which dialect to learn. For the vast majority Mandarin is the way to go, a few people might consider learning Cantonese. Read more about Cantonese vs. Mandarin.

Finally I encourage You to go to China after 1 or 2 semesters learning in Your homecountry. At that point hearing Chinese all day long and immersing Yourself into the Chinese society will make Your Chinese skill leap forward. You might also consider finding a Chinese boy/girlfriend to help You learn Chinese. Enjoy the learning. If You are unsure, just give it a try, start learning Chinese right now. You can only win something.

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