Techniques to Help You Learn Chinese

By Athena Hunter


No one would claim it's easy to learn Chinese, especially if you are starting from scratch as an adult.

At the same time, it might not be as hard as you imagine. Like anything else, you have to take it step by step and build upon your knowledge. Learning Chinese takes patience, diligence and determination (and using the tips we're about to share).

With the differences between the characters of the Chinese alphabet and the letters of the English alphabet it's no surprise the Chinese "picture" alphabet is hard to grasp the concept of. Radicals are the groups of characters you will learn to recognize. You will want to become familiar with these radicals in order to understand the written language of Chinese and become capable of mentally indexing the characters for similarities. As you begin learning the language, you will probably be focusing mainly on the vocabulary and pronunciation, but you should also start to become familiar with radicals and characters. After accomplishing this you will have a better understanding of what the characters mean when you see them in written form. One of the first things you can do when you want to learn Chinese is to get a good online computer course. These generally unite audio and visual lessons, permitting you to begin to be familiar with characters as well as how to say words. When you are in the beginning stages of learning, you should direct your attention toward the sounds, as pronunciation is the answer to learning a new language, markedly Chinese. When you find a good computer language program, it's important to practice every day. You have to perform and listen to the sounds every day, if you want to learn a new language, particularly one as tricky as Chinese.

Look for a total immersion program to speed the progress. This type of program immediately immerses you into using the new language over the life of the course. Large cities, universities and locales can offer the best immersion courses. Using an immersion program can accelerate your course of study in Chinese. If you feel a bit intimidated by this method just remember you are not alone. When trying to experience a new language this way forces your mind to speak and think in this new language.

There is a plethora of strategies for learning Chinese and your most wonderful tactic is to mix together all of them. With this technique you'll pick up both written and verbal talents. Also, it keeps your studies exciting when you use a plethora of different study implements, like audio programs, films, classes and voyages. We have covered some ways to learn Chinese as quickly as possible, but no matter what techniques you use, it's necessary to be willing to devote many hours to this challenging language!




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