Start out with Three months of intensive studying
If you get the opportunity to do so, the simplest way to start learning Mandarin Chinese is always to spend a few months doing nothing other than learning the basics of the language. Ideally this is done on a study abroad in China or Taiwan but it can be replicated in a good school program. The important part of this is to simply immerse yourself and to learn enough such that you have a solid foundation upon which to build. There actually are too many new concepts for the average learner to master at once. It can happen without but most people stop before they get to a good learning level.
Regardless of what happens, commit to studying on a daily basis
Those who achieve fluency in their target language realize the size of an impact that simple, daily studying can have. Obviously in crazy circumstances you will need to skip a day here or there and it's not a big issue. Don't fall into the trap though of punishing yourself for missing. (I missed a 30 minute session therefore have to do 1 hour tomorrow) This seems like a wise decision at the beginning but is actually counterproductive because 1 hour is harder to do and the feeling of 'behind' just adds up too quickly. You could also take this a step further by making other things in your life use Mandarin Chinese, like the interface on your iphone. Just the every day part is the most important for retention.
Never stop talking or reading loud.
The clearest measure by which many people judge a language learner is how well they can speak. Because this is really important for jobs & real life, you will need to be able to speak fluently. Many Chinese speakers try their best to speak often and take advantage of every chance they get. If you are living in a Mandarin-speaking country this applies more but still requires some discipline. In the larger cities so many people know English that you have to make a proactive effort to apply the language. Other options include a dedicated tutor or finding a person to do a language exchange.
Find what you are interested in and do it in Chinese
Study time, vocabulary lists and boring books can all eventually go to look like a chore to do rather than enjoyable time learning Chinese. Many fluent speakers will tell you about things that they do to be able to bring a few of their daily usual life interests into the language. They find and use things like magazines covering their work industry or music that they enjoy. They just find the Mandarin language equivalents of these and use them rather than relying on stale textbooks. The topics are relevant, of interest and therefore get them absorbed more in the materials. As a bonus, much of this vocabulary can be relevant to finding jobs in the language or referring to what you like.
Switch your brain to the other language by immersing yourself
The obvious method of doing this immersion is to actually live for a time in China. Then if you're in a big city, you might need to travel to smaller towns or go drinking with Mandarin talking friends. The relevant thing about this immersion is to have no possibility to use using English. If you've got no choice then as time passes it will cause your mind to start thinking in that language and using it more fluently.If still living in your home country then it will take a lot more work to obtain the immersion done. You can find language meet-ups online, use more podcasts, music, books and movies. The huge difference between a regular student and fluent language learner is that the fluent learner will do this immersion for 4-8 hours at a time, even stretching it over weekends and holiday is possible. This deep dive improves how the brain processes & stores the language.
If you get the opportunity to do so, the simplest way to start learning Mandarin Chinese is always to spend a few months doing nothing other than learning the basics of the language. Ideally this is done on a study abroad in China or Taiwan but it can be replicated in a good school program. The important part of this is to simply immerse yourself and to learn enough such that you have a solid foundation upon which to build. There actually are too many new concepts for the average learner to master at once. It can happen without but most people stop before they get to a good learning level.
Regardless of what happens, commit to studying on a daily basis
Those who achieve fluency in their target language realize the size of an impact that simple, daily studying can have. Obviously in crazy circumstances you will need to skip a day here or there and it's not a big issue. Don't fall into the trap though of punishing yourself for missing. (I missed a 30 minute session therefore have to do 1 hour tomorrow) This seems like a wise decision at the beginning but is actually counterproductive because 1 hour is harder to do and the feeling of 'behind' just adds up too quickly. You could also take this a step further by making other things in your life use Mandarin Chinese, like the interface on your iphone. Just the every day part is the most important for retention.
Never stop talking or reading loud.
The clearest measure by which many people judge a language learner is how well they can speak. Because this is really important for jobs & real life, you will need to be able to speak fluently. Many Chinese speakers try their best to speak often and take advantage of every chance they get. If you are living in a Mandarin-speaking country this applies more but still requires some discipline. In the larger cities so many people know English that you have to make a proactive effort to apply the language. Other options include a dedicated tutor or finding a person to do a language exchange.
Find what you are interested in and do it in Chinese
Study time, vocabulary lists and boring books can all eventually go to look like a chore to do rather than enjoyable time learning Chinese. Many fluent speakers will tell you about things that they do to be able to bring a few of their daily usual life interests into the language. They find and use things like magazines covering their work industry or music that they enjoy. They just find the Mandarin language equivalents of these and use them rather than relying on stale textbooks. The topics are relevant, of interest and therefore get them absorbed more in the materials. As a bonus, much of this vocabulary can be relevant to finding jobs in the language or referring to what you like.
Switch your brain to the other language by immersing yourself
The obvious method of doing this immersion is to actually live for a time in China. Then if you're in a big city, you might need to travel to smaller towns or go drinking with Mandarin talking friends. The relevant thing about this immersion is to have no possibility to use using English. If you've got no choice then as time passes it will cause your mind to start thinking in that language and using it more fluently.If still living in your home country then it will take a lot more work to obtain the immersion done. You can find language meet-ups online, use more podcasts, music, books and movies. The huge difference between a regular student and fluent language learner is that the fluent learner will do this immersion for 4-8 hours at a time, even stretching it over weekends and holiday is possible. This deep dive improves how the brain processes & stores the language.
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