Tips for Learning Chinese

I’ve been learning Chinese for just over a year now, and along the way picked up a few habits that might prove useful for other learners. I don’t claim to be any sort of authority on this, and everyone learns differently, although had I started some of these things earlier it would have helped me progress at a faster rate.

1. Enroll on a Chinese Programme

In order to be properly motivated to learn Chinese I had to join a Chinese class at the local University’s language centre here in Kaohsiung. When I first arrived in Taiwan I tried to start learning by myself, and although this might work for some people, my progress was slow and unorganised. You also need to be speaking and thinking in Chinese for a few hours every day, and a Chinese class provides the perfect opportunity for this, in addition to making new friends!

2. Buy an electronic dictionary

One of the hardest things for westerners is Chinese characters. Not knowing how to pronounce a word from looking at it can be very frustrating, and due to this learning new words from street signs and advertisements is difficult. When I started learning Chinese I immediately learnt the Zhuyin phonetic alphabet, which is something else I would advise learning as Zhuyin provides new symbols to go with the new sounds you’ll be learning. This is opposed to using Pinyin, which uses the English alphabet to create the new sounds, something I found confusing and inaccurate, but use whatever you feel comfortable with.

Anyway, with an electronic dictionary you can actually draw the characters onto the screen and in return receive the translation and pronunciation for the character (in Zhuyin/Pinyin). I waited until I had already learnt Chinese for 7 or so months before buying one and this is one of my biggest regrets as it is so useful. No longer am I thumbing a dictionary for five minutes to find the translation of a single character.

3. Write every day

Get yourself a Chinese homework book, the ones with squared paper inside that you can use as guide to writing Chinese characters. When you learn new characters use this paper to write and then repeat the characters. I find that if I write a characters 8 times in a column, then write a sentence relating to that word, then finish the column (repeating the character 16 times in total), that this helps me to memorise the new word. Also, while you are writing, make a note in a separate notebook of the character’s Zhuyin or Pinyin, then after you have learnt the new characters try to write them from memory using only the Pinyin/Zhuyin as a guide. I do this before exams and find it helps me greatly in remembering new words.

You should also keep a diary. In the beginning It will be full of pointless one-liners about visits to the supermarket or eating dinner. Although, the more you write the more you will be able to write. If you can’t think of anything worth writing then write of past experiences.

Very recently I’ve become interested in Calligraphy. Sometimes I find it hard to get started on writing some Chinese homework (I find I need to be in the right frame of mind or I just can’t get anything to stick). I’ve found that writing half an hour of Chinese characters into a Calligraphy guide book helps to clear my mind of any other work or things I might have been thinking about. You can buy these guide books, some ink, and a brush for quite cheap at most stationary shops in Taiwan.

4. Read and watch telly

When I first started learning Chinese I used to watch television and couldn’t pick up any words whatsoever, but gradually this gets easier. Taiwanese telly has subtitles by default, which makes it perfect for learning the language. If you can find a cartoon or programme that you have seen before, or are used to watching in your native language, that has been translated into Chinese then this is perfect. I find just generally watching television helps, even if I have the telly on in the background while I write my homework.

If you have any of your own tips or experiences from learning Chinese or any language please post them in the comments section below!