everyday Chinese

Master This One Thing To Speak Better Mandarin Chinese

April 1, 2019 By Kwadwo

SUPERCHARGE YOUR MANDARIN

Do you want to get better at everyday Chinese? Do you find yourself struggling to expand your vocabulary? You don’t need Chinese classes. You need this one very simple and effective tip.

During my recent visit to Shanghai I discussed with Elisa Montalvo how she levelled up her Mandarin Chinese way back when she was first learning.

Elisa is a dance choreographer with Disney Shanghai and So You Think You Can Dance China. She’s been bouncing around China since 2012 and has a not so secret obsession with travel—especially to the Grasslands of Inner Mongolia.

LEARN THIS PHRASE

How do you say this?

How do you say this?
怎么说？
zěn me shuō?

Everyday Elisa would ask friends, colleagues, and strangers ‘how do you say this?’ and they would tell her. She’d ask again and again and slowly her vocabulary started to expand.

She openly admits to making a lot of mistakes and embarrassing herself. But she learnt how to say the things that were useful and important in her life. By asking people the simple question ‘how do you say this?’ she would actively understand how to use the word or phrase in context next time.

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Elisa now teaches and choreographs dance in Chinese. In the beginning, she would mix Mandarin and English to learn new words. She would ask her students what something was called by pointing to a body part and saying ‘how do you say this?’ They would respond and she would continue to ask until she remembered the word or phrase off by heart.

Never be afraid to look silly. Never be afraid to ask questions. Be curious. Go outside and communicate in Mandarin Chinese. No one cares if your accent is off or you stumble on your words. They care that you are trying. The more uncomfortable situations you put yourself in the quicker you’ll learn. Immerse yourself with the language and be prepared to fail.

BONUS TIP

Be willing to put yourself out there and practise. At the beginning you will be nervous to speak Mandarin Chinese. Maybe you’re scared of looking like a fool? Most people are willing to help you once you make the effort. Look for opportunities to ask questions and expand your everyday vocabulary.

The Great Firewall of China

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Learn Mandarin Chinese, Learn Conversational Chinese, Chinese for Beginners, Learning Chinese in China

How To Start Learning Mandarin Chinese

March 25, 2019 By Kwadwo

LEARN THE BASICS

I’ve been in Mexico for the last seven weeks learning Spanish and it really gave me some perspective on beginners learning a new language. I’ve been struggling with remembering phrases and getting my tongue used to speaking in a new accent. I needed to encourage myself to keep practising the basics. So, here are my tops tips for starting to learn Mandarin Chinese as a complete beginner:

1. Surround yourself with the language

If you’re living in China then you’re one step closer to integrating yourself. Go to markets, cafes, parks and open your ears. Listen to accents and the speed at which people talk. Learn to copy pronunciation and the nuances that local Chinese people use to speak.

If you’re taking the leap to learn Mandarin Chinese in your home country then it might be harder to surround yourself with Chinese speakers. You won’t be able to hear Mandarin all day at school or in your office. What YouTube channels can you watch to get that listening fix?

Mandarin Corner is my absolute favorite. It’s the channel I use because there are tons of dialogues you can listen to in Mandarin. They also have a range of speeds available so you can listen whatever level you’re currently at.

When you’re watching or listening to anything in Mandarin Chinese always try to speak under your breath, or out loud if you’re in a comfortable place. Copy the phrases as you go. Even if you think you’re terrible, repeat along with the audio as it gets your tongue and brain used to speaking the language.

2. Audio practise with books

Pronunciation is the hardest thing to acquire and the thing that you need to practice the most. Pick yourself up a comprehensive book with audio that will allow you to listen to native speakers speaking fluently. This way you can rewind, go back, listen over and over again and practice until you’re blue in the face.

Get Talking Chinese is honestly a revelation. It’s absolutely perfect for beginners. Everything inside this book is pure, pretty gold. They only teach you the useful day-to-day language you need to know in China. Let’s call this a phrase book plus. I haven’t felt as excited about a book since Integrated Chinese and you guys know that is my all time favorite book.

3. Practise like crazy

In order to master the basics, you must practice every day. No questions asked. If you’re not practicing every day and you aren’t seeing results then this is why. You must prioritize your language learning. Create a habit. Turn your habit into huge success. Use your downtime as study time. Set aside ten minutes of your commute to listen to your audio book or revise your flashcards.

I am seriously obsessed with the book The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. He talks about turning simple disciplines into massive success and happiness. I’ve honestly read this book a billion times and it keeps teaching me new things.

If you practice for ten minutes, that time is seemingly insignificant. Ten minutes every day for a week or a month builds up to a whole heap of study time. Finally, you’ll see the compounded results. You’ll start to notice you can understand more words and phrases, your pronunciation is getting better or your reaction time is quicker.

That’s it. Sounds simple, huh? These three tips are your key to success. Learn the basics. Surround yourself with the language. Listen to audio, and study like crazy. No one said it would be easy but if you create a solid habit then you’re on the road to success.

Comment below what you are doing to keep your language learning going? How do you persist? The Elementary Chinese community will benefit from your knowledge.

Affiliate link disclaimer: If you purchase any of these books through the links found on this page a teeny bit of the cost helps me pay my bills and continue to provide you with valuable content. Hope that’s cool.

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Three tips to remember Chinese Characters

March 18, 2019 By Kwadwo

Struggling to remember Chinese Characters? You’re not alone. They are tricky little things with complex strokes and most look exactly the same?! How on earth do I remember thousands of them?

I’ll teach you my top three ways to memorize Chinese Characters. Want to know a secret? It’s pretty straight forward. Increase your exposure to Chinese Characters as quickly as possible.

The general rule of thumb is that you must be exposed to a character between 7 to 23 times to actually learn it and effectively recall it. This will take place over a few months if you’re not actively exposing yourself to characters. Supercharge your learning by grabbing a comprehensive book, flashcard apps and being diligent with studying.

1. Get a comprehensive book

If you don’t already have a Chinese Characters book I’d recommend purchasing Tuttle’s Learning Mandarin Chinese Characters. Check out my review of the book here or watch the video below. This is a great book for learning Chinese Characters. Out of all the books I’ve reviewed this one really shines.

2. Write, write, write

Grab yourself a dotted Moleskin or some fancy character paper and copy the characters. Write them in rows. Write them again and again. Fill the whole page. Write until your wrist aches. The more you write them the easier it will be to remember the strokes and imprint the character into your memory.

This is a very simple tip but it takes hard work and dedication. Most people fail because they don’t prioritise studying, if you apply yourself and set aside as little as 10 minutes a day I guarantee you’ll see results.

If you have a tutor, ask them to check your characters, they can review your characters and give you advice on stroke order, balance and consistency.

3. Use a flashcard app

I personally love the Skritter app. I used it for two years to brush up on my Chinese Characters. It’s so much more advanced than standard flashcard apps. It uses custom definitions and mnemonics, example sentences, character breakdowns, vocab information to improve your learning experience.

They always teach you the correct stroke order when learning new characters. It has audio to match the character and prompts for pronunciation and tone markers.

Plus you can learn on the go. The app can be downloaded to your phone or tablet. This means you can get a quick study session in on the bus, whilst waiting for a friend, or grabbing a coffee. It couldn’t be more convenient to learn Chinese Characters.

Fancy a 7-day free trial? Click here. Who doesn’t love free things?

Is learning Chinese Characters difficult?

I’m bombarded with messages asking me ‘how difficult is it to learn Chinese Characters?’. The honest answer is, learning Chinese Characters is hard. But, if you’re learning Chinese in China you have an added advantage because I can provide you with the tools you need to communicate effectively in Mandarin Chinese.

Character Scavenger Hunt

This is a premium WeChat group. We are a group of like-minded people who are studying Chinese Characters all over China. Each week I choose one character and ask the group members to actively search for this character in everyday signs.

You soon start to learn the character in tons of different contexts and this reinforces the character in your head. Members post photos into the group with their translation and I offer comments, translations and culture references.

Want to be a part of the Elementary Chinese community? Click here.