Chinese Conversation: The 3 Tips To Better Conversation
When I was living in Beijing, Chinese was no easier to learn than when living in the States. In short, it was almost a headache. Fortunately, I quickly took advantage of the benefit of having Chinese friends there in that wonderfully crazy city. If you are learning Chinese I strongly encourage you to find some method of learning that is interactive with native speakers. After all, Chinese, rated as one of the most difficult languages to learn by the U.S. State Department, is only as hard as you make it. Master the grammar and especially the phonetics and you will be well on your way to learning Chinese.
Let me tell you that though Chinese is at first very frustrating. In time it actually does become fun as you master more and more words, make the funniest faces pronouncing sounds you though other species only knew and pull your hair out learning characters. Relax, Chinese though rated as one of the top four languages in difficulty by the U.S. State Department is fun to learn.
Though I still think that you will learn Chinese fastest with immersion, not all of us can afford a plane ticket or the year long hotel stay in China. Since immersion is not an option for man the best thing you can do today is study a course that is modern and allows you to study anywhere and caters to your learning style. This will greatly decrease the learning curve for Chinese and I seriously suggest having one at home learning course to practice with at any time. Link below for reviews.
Tip: Do not get caught up in the mini courses and small lessons for learning that are offered all over the Internet. You are striving to be able to hold a "conversation" and not merely point at objects like a grade school student. That is not a conversation. By having at least one at home study program that you own in your arsenal for learning you will be able to hold a competent conversation in Chinese in less time than you thought.
A few basic Tips on Conversation, often overlooked by those new to the Chinese language that will serve you well!
1. Meeting persons in a group: always address the eldest person in the group first with a polite greeting to show respect for elders.
2. Mistakes in Chinese are a problem but not an issue: Never be afraid to practice your Chinese with native speakers. You will make mistakes but you will be more charming for trying than rude.
3. When holding a conversation in China you will notice that many Chinese will not look at you directly and their body language may seem peculiar to you. This is actually a sign of respect in Chinese culture. So, do not be taken aback by it at all.
So, are you excited about learning Chinese? You should be! Understanding Chinese will mean that you will have a leg up on many in this ultra-competitive world and be able to hold a conversation with a billion new friends.
Remember that all you need is at a bare minimum 2,000 words of Chinese mastered to be able to read a newspaper. Your path to learning Chinese should be fun. So, get out there and interact with pen pals and in online forums and discussions. Try learning two words a day and you will comprehend more than 700 in a year. A great tip is to label things in your house with Chinese vocabulary cards and practice saying out loud the word and quizzing yourself constantly in this manner. This method will mimic immersion.
Let me tell you that though Chinese is at first very frustrating. In time it actually does become fun as you master more and more words, make the funniest faces pronouncing sounds you though other species only knew and pull your hair out learning characters. Relax, Chinese though rated as one of the top four languages in difficulty by the U.S. State Department is fun to learn.
Though I still think that you will learn Chinese fastest with immersion, not all of us can afford a plane ticket or the year long hotel stay in China. Since immersion is not an option for man the best thing you can do today is study a course that is modern and allows you to study anywhere and caters to your learning style. This will greatly decrease the learning curve for Chinese and I seriously suggest having one at home learning course to practice with at any time. Link below for reviews.
Tip: Do not get caught up in the mini courses and small lessons for learning that are offered all over the Internet. You are striving to be able to hold a "conversation" and not merely point at objects like a grade school student. That is not a conversation. By having at least one at home study program that you own in your arsenal for learning you will be able to hold a competent conversation in Chinese in less time than you thought.
A few basic Tips on Conversation, often overlooked by those new to the Chinese language that will serve you well!
1. Meeting persons in a group: always address the eldest person in the group first with a polite greeting to show respect for elders.
2. Mistakes in Chinese are a problem but not an issue: Never be afraid to practice your Chinese with native speakers. You will make mistakes but you will be more charming for trying than rude.
3. When holding a conversation in China you will notice that many Chinese will not look at you directly and their body language may seem peculiar to you. This is actually a sign of respect in Chinese culture. So, do not be taken aback by it at all.
So, are you excited about learning Chinese? You should be! Understanding Chinese will mean that you will have a leg up on many in this ultra-competitive world and be able to hold a conversation with a billion new friends.
Remember that all you need is at a bare minimum 2,000 words of Chinese mastered to be able to read a newspaper. Your path to learning Chinese should be fun. So, get out there and interact with pen pals and in online forums and discussions. Try learning two words a day and you will comprehend more than 700 in a year. A great tip is to label things in your house with Chinese vocabulary cards and practice saying out loud the word and quizzing yourself constantly in this manner. This method will mimic immersion.
