[Gallabay]

Hi Guys,

Basically, after a minor mid-life crisis (no fast car sadly...) left me with a fairly empty summer, I've decided to be marginally productive and learn new things, or something.

Im a Law undergrad, looking to go into top-end commercial practise once I graduate, and since I live with a fluent mandarin speaker, I thought it might be a decent wheeze to learn how to speak Chinese - so my question is this: where should I start? My housemate is away currently, and though he has no problem teaching me, he's away, making it a little tricky. So, I figured that learning some basics for his return wouldn't be a bad thing

Any advice welcome, apart from 'Just go and live in China' -_-

Thanks in advance,

Gall

[The_Last_Melon]

I don't understand these kinds of threads. Just DO IT. Get a pen and paper and start writing out words. Learn all of the sounds and any alphabet. Change your keyboard settings to Mandarin and practice typing. Visit chinese websites and try to understand them. Download audio of chinese speech. The list goes on, there's almost too many places to start. It's fairly irrelevant where to start because you need to learn it quickly and effectively enough for it not to become redundant (language changes rapidly).

Also be honest about your intentions. What are your real reasons for wanting to learn it?

[jonnythemoose]

What the hell? "Change your keyboard to Mandarin and practice typing"..."Go to Chinese websites and try to understand them"?? A future as a language teacher awaits you not, I feel, The_Last_Melon...

Gallabay, I'm interested in learning Mandarin too, and as I've only ever learnt European languages am also a little confused as to where to start. I think with Mandarin you've got two massive challenges. The first is the tones and the pronunciation. The second is the script. I personally wouldn't even worry about learning the characters until you have got familiar with the ghastly phonology. Stick with pinyin (the Latin Alphabet way of writing Chinese words) until you're comfortable speaking a bit, I'd say. I've heard the grammar is a doddle though; no tenses, no plurals...

[Solid.Snake]

I've heard that learning from online is quite good these days, but then again nothing beats first hand face to face learning in my opinion

[Kolya]

Have a look at this website for lots of good advice: http://www.hackingchinese.com/?page_id=2586

[miniteen]

Watch Chinese TV. It really helps. Personally, I watched Chinese dramas online (the kitchy soap opera stuff) with both English and Chinese subtitles. Whenever I was excited or heard a sentence that didn't seem to hard, I'd pause it, repeat it, and write down the new word or the sentence itself. In three months I was capable of having a conversation about just about any subject (just keep it very simple, without incredibly specialized vocabulary etc.)
When you break through lower intermediate though, I'm afraid TV won't help you much. You'll have to start with the rote memorization. :/

[Gallabay]

(Original post by The_Last_Melon)
Also be honest about your intentions. What are your real reasons for wanting to learn it?

My reason is twofold - one because I would genuinely like to learn another language, and since Im living with a fluent speaker, it seemed like a good choice. Secondly, Im looking at a future in commercial law, so Chinese is a natural choice to learn.

(Original post by Kolya)
Have a look at this website for lots of good advice: http://www.hackingchinese.com/?page_id=2586

Thanks - Ill check this out

(Original post by miniteen)
Watch Chinese TV. It really helps. Personally, I watched Chinese dramas online (the kitchy soap opera stuff) with both English and Chinese subtitles. Whenever I was excited or heard a sentence that didn't seem to hard, I'd pause it, repeat it, and write down the new word or the sentence itself. In three months I was capable of having a conversation about just about any subject (just keep it very simple, without incredibly specialized vocabulary etc.)
When you break through lower intermediate though, I'm afraid TV won't help you much. You'll have to start with the rote memorization. :/

Thanks for that - can you recommend any good shows and where to find them online?

[alex_hk90]

The starting point should be learning Pinyin (the pronunciation system) so you can say and hear all the sounds. The MIT OCW materials are a good free resource that assumes no initial knowledge (start with Chinese I (Regular)). Good luck!

[miniteen]

(Original post by Gallabay)
Thanks for that - can you recommend any good shows and where to find them online?

I personally learned the most Chinese when watching a drama called It started with a kiss. It's extremely stupid and corny, but it's really good for learning basic Chinese since it's really daily stuff. You have a lot of websites. Mysoju is good, it has subtitles in Chinese and in English so... You can also type it in Baidu in the video area and they should give you some official (? I think they are at least) links. Though they might not have subtitles in both languages.

Otherwise, movies!

[alex_hk90]

(Original post by miniteen)
I personally learned the most Chinese when watching a drama called It started with a kiss. It's extremely stupid and corny, but it's really good for learning basic Chinese since it's really daily stuff. You have a lot of websites. Mysoju is good, it has subtitles in Chinese and in English so... You can also type it in Baidu in the video area and they should give you some official (? I think they are at least) links. Though they might not have subtitles in both languages.

Otherwise, movies!

Do you know any sites where they don't hard-code the English subtitles into the video? I'm finding it a bit annoying when I want to look up the Hanzi but the English blocks the Chinese. My current solution is to also find a version without the English subtitles and check out that one but it would be nice if there were English subtitle files (.srt) for some of them instead.

[miniteen]

(Original post by alex_hk90)
Do you know any sites where they don't hard-code the English subtitles into the video? I'm finding it a bit annoying when I want to look up the Hanzi but the English blocks the Chinese. My current solution is to also find a version without the English subtitles and check out that one but it would be nice if there were English subtitle files (.srt) for some of them instead.

On mysoju, the one I talked about doesn't. But at your level Alex, I think you're better off watching dramas without english subtitles at all.

[pleasedtobeatyou]

Go to China for a year or two

[alex_hk90]

(Original post by miniteen)
On mysoju, the one I talked about doesn't. But at your level Alex, I think you're better off watching dramas without english subtitles at all.

I've been trying but I'm having to pause it every other sentence and look up words. In 10 minutes I had to look up 40 words. I'll try the one you mentioned though (It Started with a Kiss), maybe that will be easier.

[miniteen]

(Original post by alex_hk90)
I've been trying but I'm having to pause it every other sentence and look up words. In 10 minutes I had to look up 40 words. I'll try the one you mentioned though (It Started with a Kiss), maybe that will be easier.

Mh, 40 words in 10 minutes is actually ok you know. I paused ISWAK whenever I didn't know a word and it took me three hours to watch a single episode at the beginning. It gets better though. You'll see. ISWAK will be very easy for you though. But it'll be good overall.

[charlotte.F]

You can chat with me . I am a chinese. I want to practise english as well. If you are interested, feel free to contact me.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my LT18i

[Makebelieve15]

Does this MIT programme work? What sort of standard could it take you up to from knowing very basic knowledge to intermediate? I know a little bit about characters as I used to go to Chinese school (BBC), but I dropped out before I got to any good level. Just wondering how it would be best to get better. Ideally I'd like to get somewhere within a year or so as I'm not starting from scratch but my knowledge is quite split in places.

Thanks

[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]

Have you heard of Hutong School in Beijing? They offer intensive Chinese Mandarin courses and accommodation. It's like a summer school. You can study for upto 6 months, but ultimately choose how many months you stay in China.

You could do it over the summer, in between your law studies?

[woooolf]

You can start at home, but if you really want to learn Chinese you should come to China. If you are serious about learning, I think a full immersion program would be the way to go.
Overall, while I understand that advice like "move to China and learn Chinese" isnt that helpful, I think that is actually the best thing to do. You do not need to move here though, I would suggest trying it out for a few weeks first and then see if you like it. Learning Chinese is not as difficult as people say, but it will take a fair amount of your life time for a few years, so might be good to be certain you want to do it before putting all the time in?

[becausewemust]

Can anyone recommend Mandarin evening classes in London?

I'm currently studying independently but would love the structure/interaction of a few classes.

Also, if there is anyone looking for a language exchange, message me. I work in fashion so my schedule is a bit messy.

[markwilliams]

learning online is good but if you learn through audiobooks it can help you to learn pronunciation as well