What Is the Most Effective Way to Learn Mandarin Online?

1. About Learning Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan. There are many versions of Chinese spoken throughout China; including Cantonese (spoken in Guangdong province), the Beijing dialect and the Shanghai dialect; but Mandarin Chinese is most common dialect spoken by Chinese people from all areas.

Mandarin Chinese is known as “普通话 (pŭtōnghuà) or the ‘common language’ in Mainland China,” “国语 (guóyŭ) the ‘national language’ in Taiwan” or “华语 (huáyŭ) ‘Chinese language’ in Singapore and Malaysia.” Most of learners of Chinese choose to learn “普通话 (pŭtōnghuà),” and they tend to learn Mandarin Chinese online because they can progress in their Chinese learning very quickly.

2. How to learn Mandarin Online?

Online Chinese classes are unparalleled in their flexibility in scheduling and mobility. Classes with native Chinese teacher from China can be taken anytime and anywhere as long as you have access to the Internet, a webcam and headphones.

Using Skype or MSN, you can hear what the teacher says and how the teacher pronounces a word exactly. Our online Chinese teachers design the lessons according to students’ needs, and students also can arrange lessons that the lessons to fit their schedule.

3. Tips on Four Aspects in Learning Mandarin (Listening, speaking, reading and writing).

As for Listening:

How do I improve my Chinese Listening? This question is often asked by Chinese learners. There are three steps to improve Chinese listening.

Ⅰ. Listen a lot. To improve your listening, you need to listen to native speakers and what they said as much as you can. You can listen to Chinese tapes or Chinese CDs, but students need to get as much natural speed input as they can.

TV or radio news broadcasts, joining local clubs, watching Chinese movies and TV shows are good ways to practice listening.

Ⅱ. React to what you hear: Listening isn’t enough. A student needs to react to what they have just listened to. The reaction allows students confirm that they heard correctly, understood correctly, and can respond appropriately to the situation.

Ⅲ. Repeat: Repeat what you hear. Repetition seems dull and you may feel bored, but the more you repeat a word, the more it will stay in your memory.

As for Speaking:

Communication is quite important in language learning. There are three tips on mastering Chinese speaking.

Ⅰ. Speak daily: Practice makes perfect! You will never be able to speak Chinese perfectly, but you will be able to come pretty close if you take the time to practice every single day.

Ⅱ. Sing Chinese songs: Many people have a natural ability to hear tones in songs that are difficult to hear when spoken. When you practice singing in Chinese you’ll learn the language more quickly, because you will become more accustomed to using Mandarin tones in the songs. After you’ve learned to sing a few Chinese songs, you’ll find that you are able to speak Chinese better.

Ⅲ. Practice with a native speaker: You can find some native Chinese speakers around you. If there aren’t any native Chinese speakers around you, you can find some language partners online or find an online Chinese tutor.

As for Reading:

Read aloud and look at the Pinyin to help you pronounce the words. Underline or highlight the words or phrases that you have difficulty reading. Practice as many times as it takes until you are able to read aloud without any guides.

Reading Chinese means understanding and pronouncing the words by looking at the characters. If you enhance and improve your reading skills in Chinese by practicing you will be able to read the text without the help of Hanyu Pinyin.

As for Writing:

Ⅰ. Learn a new word or a new sentence every day. Over time, you will accumulate a large vocabulary and sentences structures that can help you write Chinese articles easier.

Ⅱ. Read more. The best way to improve your writing is to read a lot and become familiar with Chinese expressions. Go to the library and borrow some journals and essays written by current writers. Read them carefully, and then imitate their style, substituting events from your own life.

Ⅲ. Self-correction. If you just write and ask someone to correct you, you will probably not internalize the learning. Self-correction is necessary. When you begin to realize that something “doesn’t sound right” based on what you have read in books, your writing will begin to improve.

Source: eChineseLearning