Many Chinese learners want to know how to learn Chinese fast. "Fast" and "learn Chinese" aren't words that typically go well together. Chinese isn’t an easy language to learn, and moving too quickly doesn’t help. The Chinese language requires lots of time if you want to learn it well. However, any language can be learned faster if you set some efficient study methods from the beginning. Chinese is no exception. Smart studying methods will definitely shorten the time in your Chinese learning. Here are three tips:
1. Set up a detailed study plan:
● Choose appropriate textbooks based on your Chinese level.
● Make a study schedule: how many hours per week/day you will set aside for your studying?
● What to learn and how to start: focusing on maximizing vocabulary and pronunciation exercises. You'll want to use a variety of different learning styles in order to keep your mind from getting bored (and not taking in too much). Are you planning to learn speaking-only with pinyin, or do you plan to incorporate character recognition into your plan as well? Depending on your time frame, trying to learn Characters on top of everything else could quickly overload and overwhelm you and actually hinder your learning. You can focus on accurate pronunciation (speaking/listening) as much as possible, and worry about writing/reading once you have more time.
● Useful resources and tools: lots of learning materials like e-books, audio and video lessons can be found online. Most of these materials are free. Making full use of them will save you money and time. As for study tools, you may try some apps like Anki, a flashcard system. Anki is an "intelligent" program, meaning the more you've mastered a flashcard, the less it'll show up in your deck. Not bad.
2. Immersion:
Don't just dip your toes into the water, jump right in! Then, slowly move toward the deep end of the pool. If you can't travel to China, look for a Chinese student interested in a language exchange. If you live near a university in the English-speaking world, you can bet there are Chinese international students who'd love to improve their English and help you learn their language, too. Reach out to the university's international department to get started. You should also consider online classes oriented toward business Chinese taught by a native speaker. If you can't be in China, learn from someone who lives there. Watch Chinese films and, if you can, get hooked on one of the TV series, too. It's a great way to sharpen your listening and cultural skills.
3. Get a teacher:
This is easily the best advice I can give you. Working with a teacher will help you hit the benchmarks you want at the speed you're comfortable with, particularly if you want to focus on spoken Chinese. Actually using the language is an important part of committing it to memory. A native-speaking instructor will guide your pronunciation and you'll quickly find just talking in Chinese will make it stick easier. You're a language-learning vet, so you know learning any language is a lifelong journey. That doesn't mean you can't hit the ground running with an instructor, and you can begin now from anywhere in the world.
