This is a list of useful techniques that you can include Mandarin Chinese in your everyday life so that you have more exposure than you would have just by studying alone. The tips here are not meant as an alternative for normal language learning but rather to supplement and increase your retention.
Watch movies you recognize, just in Chinese
One enjoyable way to practice your language skills is by watching movies that you know already but with a Chinese soundtrack and subtitles. Some people advocate watching new shows and dramas from China or Taiwan but often times these programs are too difficult for an intermediate learner to follow. Instead you can search Chinese video sites online for movies that you have seen repeatedly. The advantage of this is that you already know what who the characters are, what will happen in the movies and the context for conversations. That way even if you aren't able to follow all of the dialogue in real time, you can still easily catch up learning Chinese and piece things to together based on everything you already know of the movies.
Listen to podcasts when you are playing videogames
If you are going to slack off and not study Chinese you might be tempted to play video games to pass the time. Although it won't be as productive as dedicated study, what you should do is try to force yourself to listen to podcasts about the language while you play. It's a way of turning that time into something more than just putting things off. You can easily play most video games with shows like chinesepod or popup chinese. Both are quite good for education and improving your listening comprehension.
Download Chinese language apps, games & dictionaries
We all have a daily grind that you we go through and that's where the best apps for learning Chinese can come in handy. In the app store you can find everything from dictionaries to flashcards to even games that try out your capability to remember characters. The important component is to discover good iphone app that you can easily do throughout your travel or while you wait in various lines and, if you have an ipad, to download something you will want to use while you're on the couch. Similar to podcasts suggestion above, if you can't resist watching some English language television then force yourself to at least have the vocabulary app open in your lap when you watch.
Rewrite example sentences to be regarding your own life
In many cases the books that are written for Mandarin are carried out by native speakers, who you probably don't have a lot in common with. What you can do though to practice and improve your writing skills is to take the example sentences you find in books and rewrite them to be about your personally. You can practice keeping the structure and the grammar the same and just introduce new words. The vocabulary, names and places will have a strong connection to you, which can make the teachings much easier to remember and use later in the real world.
Play Chinese music while you work
You can find quite a few alternatives for international music and it's a good way to keep the langauge bouncing around in your head. Sites like last.fm, youtube and douban.com all offer a wide selection of Mandarin language music that you can stream while you work. I have found that audio podcasts with people talking is too distracting but that music can blend into the background while knee deep in excel spreadsheets. Again, the important piece is to make the language an every day part of your life. Plus certain lines and refrains can get stuck in your head, becoming easy to use phrases for daily life or flirting.
If you possibly could manage to do all of the items listed above you'll be well on your way to improving your language abilities and retention. Practice makes perfect and with a language like this, you really need to put in the hours and make it interesting to stand a chance of becoming fluent.
Watch movies you recognize, just in Chinese
One enjoyable way to practice your language skills is by watching movies that you know already but with a Chinese soundtrack and subtitles. Some people advocate watching new shows and dramas from China or Taiwan but often times these programs are too difficult for an intermediate learner to follow. Instead you can search Chinese video sites online for movies that you have seen repeatedly. The advantage of this is that you already know what who the characters are, what will happen in the movies and the context for conversations. That way even if you aren't able to follow all of the dialogue in real time, you can still easily catch up learning Chinese and piece things to together based on everything you already know of the movies.
Listen to podcasts when you are playing videogames
If you are going to slack off and not study Chinese you might be tempted to play video games to pass the time. Although it won't be as productive as dedicated study, what you should do is try to force yourself to listen to podcasts about the language while you play. It's a way of turning that time into something more than just putting things off. You can easily play most video games with shows like chinesepod or popup chinese. Both are quite good for education and improving your listening comprehension.
Download Chinese language apps, games & dictionaries
We all have a daily grind that you we go through and that's where the best apps for learning Chinese can come in handy. In the app store you can find everything from dictionaries to flashcards to even games that try out your capability to remember characters. The important component is to discover good iphone app that you can easily do throughout your travel or while you wait in various lines and, if you have an ipad, to download something you will want to use while you're on the couch. Similar to podcasts suggestion above, if you can't resist watching some English language television then force yourself to at least have the vocabulary app open in your lap when you watch.
Rewrite example sentences to be regarding your own life
In many cases the books that are written for Mandarin are carried out by native speakers, who you probably don't have a lot in common with. What you can do though to practice and improve your writing skills is to take the example sentences you find in books and rewrite them to be about your personally. You can practice keeping the structure and the grammar the same and just introduce new words. The vocabulary, names and places will have a strong connection to you, which can make the teachings much easier to remember and use later in the real world.
Play Chinese music while you work
You can find quite a few alternatives for international music and it's a good way to keep the langauge bouncing around in your head. Sites like last.fm, youtube and douban.com all offer a wide selection of Mandarin language music that you can stream while you work. I have found that audio podcasts with people talking is too distracting but that music can blend into the background while knee deep in excel spreadsheets. Again, the important piece is to make the language an every day part of your life. Plus certain lines and refrains can get stuck in your head, becoming easy to use phrases for daily life or flirting.
If you possibly could manage to do all of the items listed above you'll be well on your way to improving your language abilities and retention. Practice makes perfect and with a language like this, you really need to put in the hours and make it interesting to stand a chance of becoming fluent.
About the Author:
Want to see a fewlearn chinese apps or maybe you want to start listening to some mandarin chinese music?
