Top 8 Ways to Improve Your Chinese Spoken Language

Top 8 Ways to Improve Your Chinese Spoken Language
eloise1 May 04, 2015 12:51

 

Whether it’s to impress your mates by directing the cab driver to the next bar, having a conversation at a work banquet, or bargaining for the best price in a Chinese market, it helps to speak some Chinese.

It could help you score extra points with the boss, your mates, or that cute girl you’re trying to impress. Besides the usual tricks and tips, here are a few unique and fun ways to enhance your Chinese language skills:

1. Have a Chinese word of the day or week. And use it! All week long and in all kinds of situations. Try Zhen bang=excellent, Zan= amazing.

2. Learn a Chinese phrase. Try this yì shí sān niǎo, Chinese translation “Catch three birds with one stone”, the English translation to have an excellent idea. Apply “Mr Wang’s” words of wisdom, they have some insightful meaning, who knows you might just be able to use them to the right situation. How philosophical!

3. Use English words, or ‘link words’, to associate with new Chinese words. Yi Bei (one cup) sounds exactly like Ebay. Create a sentence like “I buy one cup of tea on Ebay” to help you remember. Pronunciation doesn’t get much simpler than that!

Even though Mandarin Chinese and English are completely different languages, try to associate words and sounds to ones you know from the English language.

4. Go to KTV! There’s nothing like listening to Chinese tones and sounds through singing and music. There’s no better way to practice either!

5. Watch Chinese TV, movies and cartoons. Whether it’s sport, weather or a Chinese soap drama. You’ll be sure to pick up some Chinese vocabulary.

6. Try shopping at your local market for groceries, but in Chinese! Use the words you have learned to purchase the vegetables /fruit/groceries and make a meal with what you’re able to purchase – guaranteed to be an interesting outcome!

7. Volunteer- Try volunteering a local Chinese School or Community Centre to practice your Chinese.

8. Attend a Chinese Class – but not a regular class.  Try a calligraphy class. It’s not only a beautiful form of art; you might enjoy learning how to write Chinese characters. Calligraphy not your thing? Take a cooking class, try Tai chi, chess or karate

Q: How do you learn another language? How do you make it easier?

I hope these little tips help; I know what it’s like to learn a new language.  If you’ve even been ripped off, ordered the wrong meal –numerous times, or gotten completely lost on the other side of Shanghai, I feel you. But, besides all the frustrations and epic language fails, as daunting and confusing studying and learning another language may seem, it helps to try different methods of learning Chinese to make it fun and interesting.

The extra time and effort you put in to learn Chinese or another language has many rewards. Like the simple things, getting your point across in conversation, giving directions or sharing a joke with a friend it’s completely worth the investment and the challenge.

Learning another language like Mandarin Chinese is incredibly valuable as it’s one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and the learning process is proven to have its benefits.

Written by Eloise de Jong, Marketing and PR.

Tags:Expat Tales Expat Rants & Advice

16 Comments

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donisdube

this will really help. Im going to give it a try this week and see how it goes. xie xie ni pengyou

May 23, 2015 23:26 Report Abuse

bhimpatel

I am not trying to prove anything here but when ever i speak in chinese most of the chinese people understands my chinese never heard bumingbai(不明白) or tingbudong(听不懂), but yes many time got compliments that goes like this " you speak Chinese better than we Chinese do " , "i bet most of people in Guangdong would not be able to speak Chinese as good as you do " and yes i am agree with writer here about the learning Chinese in easy way. connecting words with something funny makes you never forget that word i think. and by the way my English is not as good as my Chinese,so forgive me for grammar mistakes.

May 15, 2015 20:38 Report Abuse

acrich

I've spent a lot of time, money, and energy learning Chinese. The thing I find frustrating is that there is really not a lot of middle ground between the widely-held assumption that Chinese is really hard (what language isn't!?) and OH MY GOD YOUR CHINESE IS SO GOOD, when all you have said is an address, 谢谢, or something like that. As for the article, 真棒! But I have to disagree with one point. KTV has definitely grown on me over the years, but as a singer I can tell you that when you are singing a Mandarin song, you're not using the four tones, but rather the tone of the song (ie the melody). In many ways it's actually easier to sing Chinese than to speak it. That said, learning songs is a great way to learn any language.

May 11, 2015 21:01 Report Abuse

psiconauta_retro

As someone who is having a VERY HARD TIME learning Chinese I appreciate ANY advice. Anyway, the suggestion of watching "any" TV show, movie or cartoon may be pointless for a beginner as if what you are watching doesn't have subtitles then it is impossible that you can pick up any new vocabulary, although that practice can help to reinforce words that you already know (however, Chinese has many very similar sounds, many sounds which have different meanings and many meanings that are completely contextual, so it very easy that you think you recognize a word but the real intended meaning isn't what you are thinking off...). I assume that when it is suggested to take a Karate lesson as an example of joining ANY lesson of anything (Karate is Japanese, so it would make more sense to attend to Sanda or Kung Fu lessons.

May 11, 2015 10:38 Report Abuse

markstphns

Try that game Chinese bubbles, it is on the windows phone, maybe others...it is helpful

May 13, 2015 16:35 Report Abuse

psiconauta_retro

Thanks a lot! I will definitely look for it and give it a try!

May 15, 2015 14:14 Report Abuse

hi2u

Your Chinese obviously isn't that good. Keep practicing and one day maybe people will understand your Chinese.

May 11, 2015 10:39 Report Abuse

hi2u

Just pointing out the fact that if the Chinese typical response to your speaking Chinese is "tingbudong" or "bumingbai" as you yourself admitted, odds are it's because they can't understand your pronunciation.

May 11, 2015 15:41 Report Abuse

hi2u

Don't feel so offended, just pointing out the obvious. Chinese people can understand my Chinese most of the time. "tingbudong" and "bumingbai" are not typical responses. Being "ignored" or "laughed at" doesn't equal not understanding.

May 11, 2015 16:18 Report Abuse

hi2u

Sure I'll stop responding, but I just want you to know that thinking that "tingbudong" and "bumingbai" are SOP to the majority of foreigners who actually can speak Chinese is utter bollocks, and using that as an excuse not to learn Chinese is just deceiving yourself.

May 12, 2015 09:52 Report Abuse

hi2u

I thought bollocks was a nicer word than my original choice, but whatever. Keep thinking all Chinese are conspiring to not understand the laowai if that makes you feel better.

May 13, 2015 09:06 Report Abuse

Guest14237618

ROFL, hypocrites here, you can't deny that the Chinese mind is twisted to assume that any Asian must speak Chinese, while non-Asians can't master their "profound" and mysterious language. That is the very reason why even though a non-Asian can speak perfect standard Mandarin many people in China will refuse to acknowledge and thus understand them, "They can't possibly speak our language!". This and because most Chinese themselves can't speak proper Mandarin only some no name dialect from their hometown. This satirical strip is a good summary of what happens when the Asian person is not a local and thus can't speak Chinese, while the non-Asian has been around for long enough to speak it fluently: http://www.laowaicomics.com/post/59102789468

May 15, 2015 22:46 Report Abuse