Chinese is a great language, however, it is typically very difficult to master, which means you cannot just get right into any old language learning system. You'll have to plan, and the proper way to do this is to ask three very important questions. This informative article is going to provide and describe those questions.
The First Question: What's the most effective learning strategy for me?
People learn a variety of things, however, they seldom take a moment and discover the best ways to gain knowledge. Don't do this! Before you dive into a Chinese language program, determine which kind of learner you happen to be. After that, construct a learning method that best suits you. I'll provide a personal illustration. If you happen to reveal to me that the Mandarin word for "apple" is "pinguo" I'll listen to you, and I'll realize what you're saying, however , thirty seconds later I'll forget what you explained.
If, on the other hand, I learn using a flash card featuring a photo of an apple on one side and the Chinese word "pinguo" on the other, that vocab word will stay in my head permanently. I'm a very good visual learner, but not a great great audio learner. Comprehending this, what sort of learning system should I utilize? Should I invest loads of time using MP3 dialogues? No! That would be a big waste of energy for me personally. To uncover what kind of learner you are, just complete a Google search for "free learnining style test."
The Second Question: For what reason am I studying Chinese?
This is an important question to ask yourself since you do not need to understand Chinese characters to be able to communicate verbally in Chinese. This is certainly different, for example, for Chinese folks who want to understand The English language. In their case, the first thing most do is learn about the English alphabet. Why? Because it helps them pronounce English language terms. This is simply not the way it is, though, with Chinese characters; discovering them is not going to help you to communicate verbally.
Consider that with the fact that Chinese characters can be complicated and time-consuming to sit and learn, and you might begin to realize that mastering them is not really the most effective use of your time and effort. Exactly who should master them? Well, if you're arranging a holiday to China, I recommend that you concentrate on getting to know survival phrases, not roots and radicals. Business trip in China? Once again, developing your verbal conversation skills will be much more useful to you than learning Chinese characters. If you happen to be organising a long-term move to China, then you may want to get into Chinese characters, combined, of course, with learning to communicate verbally.
Just so you know, I'm certainly not saying that travelers and short-term businesspeople wouldn't gain from working out read Chinese characters--they definitely would. Like most things in life, however, it's a matter of time, and I believe your time will be used smartly should you focus your energy on spoken communication.
The Third Question: When am I going to find time for this?
I have resided in several different countries; consequently, I've spent lots of time learning new languages. With some endeavors, I've had success. With others, I've failed miserably. What's usually the deciding factor? Persistence. In order to master Chinese, you have to reserve a certain amount of time every day to learn. You cannot work hard one week, and then have a week away. You can't practice for five hours on a Saturday and then store the books away until the next weekend. You have to be persistent. You've got to learn and review a little bit day after day. If you do not you'll have poor progress. That's simply how it is when mastering foreign languages.
So, immediately, ask the question, "When am I going to set aside time to study?" For me, the optimum time is the first 60 minute block of every weekday. I get out of bed. I get it done. After that, I move on with the remainder of the day. When is the most productive time for you? Well, I hope you are deciding that right now.
And ideally you are figuring everything else out as well, asking, "Why am I studying," "What is the perfect learning strategy in my case," and, as I just described, ""When am I going to set aside time to study?"
Author Resource:
Ready to learn Chinese? Not so fast! First learn the 3 Steps to learning Chinese . You must follow them to learn Chinese.
Also, check out my Cool Rocket Chinese Review . It's full of great screen shots and in-depth analysis.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")