Tips on Studying Chinese (Mandarin)

TIPS ON BECOMING FLUENT (and where to study):

This used to be titled "tips on becoming fluent quickly," before a Chinese professor wrote me and said, "Isn't that a bit of a oxymoron?" Indeed, it is; one only becomes fluent after lots of hard work. Still, we strongly believe you can become fluent on your own, and more quickly if you employ certain techniques. Doing so is tough and you need dedication. Actually, there's nothing really that insightful here: the key is, simply, immersing yourself in the language and culture. Here’s tips on how we did it, especially if you don’t want to spend the money to go to school/class:

Mandarin is still king. You might consider Cantonese, but everyone understands pu tong hua and more and more people can speak it. Master Mandarin first before moving to other dialects.
Formal programs to consider that get the highest ranks in our books are: Princeton in Beijing (or e-mail them), CET (or e-mail them), IUB (at Qinghua), Hopkins in Nanjing, and in the U.S., Middlebury College. Most of these programs enforce the no English speaking rule, and pair you with Chinese roommates. For all we say here, there also is no substitute for extremely stringent, US-style teaching when you first start out and it's highly advisable if you want to achieve fluency with accuracy. Once you get the basics (pin yin, basic grammar), you can launch into it on your own. Some people require such a regimine to begin. Note that many of the programs at Chinese universities are fairly poor.

Don’t hang out with foreigners. If Chinese speak English with you, speak Chinese back, no matter how hard it is at first. Make it a habit, make it your guiding principle. You will wear them out.
Quickly learn the Chinese expressions for "How do you say in Chinese…" in Chinese. Use it all the time to learn new words and phrases.
Choose a job where you will get to use Chinese often. (Make sure to check out our Finding a China Job page)
Carry a notebook along wherever you go and jot jot jot: new words, expressions you don’t know how to ask in Chinese, etc. Review the list each night and make it the focus of the first 15 minutes of each session with your teacher. And describe situations, puzzling words in Chinese when asking your teacher - don’t use English.
Hang out at restaurants and talk with the waitresses, or invite your Chinese friends out (you qing ke).
Don’t be afraid to talk. You have to talk. Force yourself.
Have a good fu dao lao shi (teacher). 2-4 times per week, 1 ½ to 2 hours per shot. The rate is around 20-50 RMB an hour now, depending what level the teacher is and whether he/she comes to your house. If you are not happy with your teacher, feel they are more eager to speak English, or don’t have high enough standards for your Chinese, axe them. It is a student’s market.
Make sure your lao shi does not speak English with you. Don’t know a word or phrase? Don’t have him/her translate it – have them describe it.
Read the newspaper. I suggest qing nian bao and beijing wan bao. Read everything you can get your hands on. Translate restaurant menus. Use your notebook to remember characters.
Flashcards are good. My first few months I also taped flash cards to every piece of furniture in my apartment. My early vocabulary had me knowing household items and cooking ingredients. It works.
Cha ci dian: all the time. Carry the little red book (Concise Chinese-English, English Chinese dictionary from the Commercial Press/Oxford Press) around.

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