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Speaking Mandarin on my own | ||
Tags: Self-Study | Mandarin | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| langtyro Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4925 days ago 14 posts - 15 votes Speaks: Korean*, English Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 11 16 December 2012 at 5:06am | IP Logged |
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For the longest time, I've wanted to learn how to speak and understand Mandarin, but I
just never really figured out what the best way(s) could be. I have a Mandarin-speaking friend who's willing to help me out here and there, but I'm looking for something more concrete and systematic, perhaps a workbook or a series of podcasts. I have virtually no background in the language, so I'm open to any ideas, particularly from those who have taught themselves how to speak and understand Mandarin. Thanks for all the help! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Tansao Newbie United States Joined 4479 days ago 8 posts - 11 votes Studies: Mandarin | Message 2 of 11 18 December 2012 at 10:59am | IP Logged |
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To start with I'd recommend Assimil Mandarin with Ease Book 1&2.. Also I'd say work with either the FSI Chinese
course (audio) which you can download as it's free, or something like Pimsleur at the same time.. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
 newyorkeric Diglot Moderator Singapore Joined 6384 days ago 1598 posts - 2174 votes  Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Mandarin, Malay Personal Language Map | Message 3 of 11 18 December 2012 at 12:39pm | IP Logged |
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I suggest starting with Michel Thomas. In my opinion, it's the best program for learning the tones. Then I
would suggest either Teach Yourself Chinese or Colloquial Chinese before moving on to Assimil. After Michel Thomas, in truth though, there are really so many courses out there that are good that any suggestions are really just personal preferences. Edited by newyorkeric on 18 December 2012 at 12:40pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| langtyro Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4925 days ago 14 posts - 15 votes Speaks: Korean*, English Studies: Spanish | Message 4 of 11 18 December 2012 at 3:45pm | IP Logged |
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Thank you for the advice. Has anyone tried online programs too? Such as yoyochinese
(http://www.yoyochinese.com/) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| versuss Pentaglot Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5379 days ago 20 posts - 25 votes Speaks: Taiwanese, Cantonese, Mandarin*, English, Malay Studies: French, Japanese, Esperanto | Message 5 of 11 21 December 2012 at 12:20am | IP Logged |
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Since Korean is your native language, wouldn't it be much easier to learn Chinese from
Korean? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Elsinore13 Groupie United States Joined 4981 days ago 41 posts - 53 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 6 of 11 23 December 2012 at 3:33pm | IP Logged |
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Oh wow, yeah getting the pronunciation is the challenge! In addition to the other suggestions, I would recommend reading John Pasden's article on pronunciation. I tried to find the video,but on YouTube there is a guy who equates the tones to the musical scale. Since learners tend not to go high or low enough with some tones, it's a good tool in trying to get used to the differences.
Just be prepared that there will be times when no one[/I ]will understand you! My first trip to China I was frustrated because nobody understood me. But after a while I've noticed that I'm being understood more. I would suggest that you start learning stuff that apply to you exclusively and then "spiral" out with your lessons. For example, I'm a vegetarian, so it's extremely important that I can order food and confirm that it's vegetarian. While I was still doing Assimil, I made sure I drilled all my vegetarian phrases and food names with a phrase book. I also like to sightsee during my downtime from work, so asking directions/getting a taxi is another essential. So, if you're interest is martial arts, I would suggest that you learn all the terms, learn to ask questions about martial arts to get your first area "down". 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| langtyro Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4925 days ago 14 posts - 15 votes Speaks: Korean*, English Studies: Spanish | Message 7 of 11 24 December 2012 at 11:39pm | IP Logged |
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Thanks for the advice, Elsinore! You mentioned Assimil - how has that been? Right now I'm
using a Teach Yourself book, a book on writing Chinese characters and video lessons on chinesewithmike.com. I think it's a good combination of resources, but just wondering how Assimil was. Thanks! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Elsinore13 Groupie United States Joined 4981 days ago 41 posts - 53 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 8 of 11 25 December 2012 at 7:42am | IP Logged |
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@langtryo - I really like Assimil. I decided to try it based on feedback from other users on the forum. After going through the passive, then active wave I went on my first trip to China. I was surprised how many phrases and words I recognized from my time with Assimil Chinese One. Assimil is not an end all be all, but I was impressed enough to buy the Chinese Two.
I would also recommend Pimsleur in addition. While Assimil audio starts of slow and then speeds up as you get further in the lessons, I find Pimsleur audio is very fast by comparison. In fact, I like to listen to Pimsleur as a refresher before I go over on a trip just to get used to the speed of a native speech. However, I would probably be halfway through Assimil Chinese 1 before starting Pimsleur. Pimsleur tends to take time to get through. Right now my Chinese is on the back burner until February, then I'll go over Assimil and Pimsleur again to prep for my business trip in March. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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