The Chinese language is one of the most beautiful in the world. Here are just a few tips for teaching yourself how to read, write and speak it so that you can communicate like a native someday.
1. Set Goals for Yourself
The best lessons are always structured ones, so create a study schedule with weekly and monthly goals. For example, you might try to learn a certain amount of vocabulary words every week, or you might aim to speak in simple sentences by the end of the month. It’s okay if you can’t meet these goals every time. The important thing is that you give yourself motivation to keep studying.
2. Engage With Chinese Media
Tons of songs, books, movies and television dramas can improve your Chinese language skills. It won’t even feel like learning when you’re immersed in a gripping wuxia tale! Your brain will still notice the words, however, and you’ll start to recognize common phrases and grammatical patterns as you watch. Don’t be afraid to try a little Chinese media to improve your language ability.
3. Get Your Kids Involved
If you want the whole family to speak Chinese, you’ll need to encourage fluency in your children as well as yourself. Thankfully, there are many ways that kids can join the language fun. For example, you can send them to a Chinese immersion summer camp where they’ll speak it every day and learn functional vocabulary with all of their new friends.
4. Explore Chinese Culture
It can get a little boring to look at flashcards every day. Why not try cooking Chinese food instead? Alternatively, you can experiment with Chinese fashion or Chinese home decor. As long as you are picking up new vocabulary words along the way, you can consider it a valuable lesson in both language and culture.
These are just a few tips for improving your Chinese skills. It might have a reputation as a hard language to learn, but as long as you are dedicated to the task, you can become as fluent as anyone can!