Learning to talk chinese

[NYTIMES]

I am a bit frustrated on limited conversation with my lao po. Any suggestions how to make better conversation and maybe learn Chinese.

[dnoblett]

A suggestion is to get an audio learning series like Pimsuler or Rosetta Stone, then have fun practicing what you have listened to with your Lao Po

 

You could rip them to an Ipod, or play them in the car while commuting to work, and home, and then practice with Lao Po, I bet she will love correcting your bad tones!

[david_dawei]

This is really a tough subject since if she's not willing to engage alot in talking (or helping to talk) chinese, your rate of advancement is difficult at best.

 

There are some good online courses and even some free stuff... but then it's all up to your dedication which cannot be practiced too much at home anyways.

 

I'll be very honest.... I had high hopes in the beginning... and I even surround myself with chinese on an almost daily basis... and actually still do today.... We just moved from one house of chinese to now being with six chinese ladies in one house... I practice more with them than my wife... my wife is usually not too eager to have me practice my chinese since she is more concerned about her english; her dedication to this is strong.

 

I learn more while in china during a month than I do at home in a year... I still study alot but I've changed my focus; I study characters and issues relavant to what I like to study about china and worry less about sentence structure; I've had to let learning the latter to real situations when I am with someone trying to chat.

 

I would say, if you want to learn it; find a local class. Or find one online... but good luck explaining you want to pay for it when a true master is in the house already!

 

Honestly, as a last plug; I think it's more important to be able to "think" as she things at times than to "talk" as she talks... you will understand her, her culture, her upbringing, her beliefs and ways much better in the long run... So, I'd read more on history, culture, thinking, poetry, idioms, and philosophy...

 

good luck.. I hope you have some success.

[tonado]

Go to a Chinese church and learn from the people there.

[Sebastian]

You got a Library Card? Go Online with Yer Library Card Info for Yer Library Online Portal Web Address - see if they have downloadable audio books, and look for the Beginning Chinese Set from Pimsuler (sp?) .

 

Don't wanna sit at home?

Find a Chinese Cultural Center in your area, sign up for the beginners classes (be prepared to sit with the wee ones, though).

 

Good Luck !

Edited October 1, 2008 by Darnell (see edit history)

[Randy W]

This is really a tough subject since if she's not willing to engage alot in talking (or helping to talk) chinese, your rate of advancement is difficult at best.

 

There are some good online courses and even some free stuff... but then it's all up to your dedication which cannot be practiced too much at home anyways.

 

I'll be very honest.... I had high hopes in the beginning... and I even surround myself with chinese on an almost daily basis... and actually still do today.... We just moved from one house of chinese to now being with six chinese ladies in one house... I practice more with them than my wife... my wife is usually not too eager to have me practice my chinese since she is more concerned about her english; her dedication to this is strong.

 

I learn more while in china during a month than I do at home in a year... I still study alot but I've changed my focus; I study characters and issues relavant to what I like to study about china and worry less about sentence structure; I've had to let learning the latter to real situations when I am with someone trying to chat.

 

I would say, if you want to learn it; find a local class. Or find one online... but good luck explaining you want to pay for it when a true master is in the house already!

 

Honestly, as a last plug; I think it's more important to be able to "think" as she things at times than to "talk" as she talks... you will understand her, her culture, her upbringing, her beliefs and ways much better in the long run... So, I'd read more on history, culture, thinking, poetry, idioms, and philosophy...

 

good luck.. I hope you have some success.

 

 

Good post, here.

 

First off, I would say - don't feel that conversation is an obligation. Some people are uncomfortable with "pregnant pauses" - don't be. We've found that things that need to be communicated are, everything else is optional.

 

I'm not studying Chinese at all far now - it can be confusing if you're both trying to learn a language at the same time. You learning Chinese may not help the level of conversation for now, since it may just keep the conversation at a level you understand.

[A Mafan]

Go to a Chinese church and learn from the people there.

I second this.

 

It's how I went from mediocre to good.

 

Practice constantly. Get lots of Chinese music mp3s (they have enough different styles there's got to be something you can enjoy), look up the lyrics online and read as you listen.

Get a little red dictionary, learn how to look up characters, read it anytime you are just sitting around for 5-10 minutes.

Read children's books in Chinese when you get to that level. Read them in an out-loud whisper because it reinforces your language learning 3 ways.

[2mike&jin]

I am a bit frustrated on limited conversation with my lao po. Any suggestions how to make better conversation and maybe learn Chinese.

 

All of the other posts are very good in terms of what you can do to listen, practice, read, and interact in a group setting.

 

I have been in China 18 months - and have been in 4 hours of class every day at the University, except for the summer break. I am continually disappointed with my performance and level of achievement. I have come to realize that my expectation was WAY "too" high! (yes I can speak other languages - and have several advanced degrees - so why isn't Chinese Easy to Learn ?). I just thought I would spend a year - and speak like a local ---- If that happens in 5-7 years I will be most happy!

 

Chinese is difficult to learn, read, write, and retain. Tones are problematic and speed and dialect will mostly excerbate an allready difficult situation. This is a subject that is discussed in great detail with all the western students who endeavor to learn the Chinese Language. The following is what most think is important when learning how to speak (not write, translate, etc).

 

1. Go slowly - practice daily, study the previously mentioned materials, (Rosetta, Pim, Groups, Clases, ETC)

2. Forget about knowing or wanting to know what the literal translation for every character/word is - don't obsess about this - it's not like math or science.

3. Accept the fact that there are many words - for the same concept - usually contextually based.

4. Learn PHRASES. The University and traditional books/colleges do not stress this enough. (I hated Rosetta - but now I finally see the value of it)

5. Idioms and Phrases are the key to being able to communicate - even if you can't put a PERFECT SENTENCE TOGETHER!

6. Don't be upset when you learn a word and Chinese people don't understand what you've said -- To be understood you can't say 1 or 2 words - you need to make a sentence - 5 or 6 words - then they have a chance of understanding based on context! (We laugh at school - the first 6 months was 2 word sentences - Ni Hao, Hen Hao, Bu Hao --- etc etc.

7. My gal wasn't able to help me much at first(she used to say I didn't listen to her)....now that I know more - she is the biggest help in the world. She has taken ownership of my learning process - and "drills" me daily as we go for a walk or drive etc -- to ensure I get reinforcement of new words/phrases etc. She will usually - stretch me - with an added word every day or two (this is in addition to the 50-70 new words a week in school)

8. If you want to really learn the language - abandon Pinyin as soon as you can. Pinyin is only needed to know how to pronounce the word. Although Pinyin is required at the start - abandon it quickly in favor of reading Chinese characters. Never spend a minute learning how to write Chinese Characters (Creating Characters is about a 1000 times harder than reading) - but reading is important to be able to reinforce sentence structure - over and over again. (The subject - time - place - action - .... ending thought - structure - combined with Measure Words is foreign to westerners - reading - reading - reading really helps reinforce sentence structure!)

9. SLOW DOWN, Take a breath -- Rome wasn't built in a day - and you won't learn how to speak Chinese in a day, month, or year -- it's a long process best taken one step at a time - and if your SO support your efforts -- you will enjoy the journey!

[Meiji Huaren]

I am a bit frustrated on limited conversation with my lao po. Any suggestions how to make better conversation and maybe learn Chinese.

 

Try chinesepod.com

They have several levels of podcasts and PDFs that you can download. It used to be free, but now there is a 1 week free trial period. You can just sign up and download as much as you can before the trial expires if you do not want to pay for new lessons.

[Joshua + Wang Zhuo]

You can still get the newbie lessons for free from iTunes.

 

I have found that the best way to learn is to use many different things and one of the most helpful/fun tools that I am currently using is called "My Chinese Coach". It is a "game" for the Nintendo DS. It teaches you how to say words and phrases. It teaches you to recognize characters and the coolest things is that it allows you to practice writing characters by using the stylus. My Chinese was ok when I started using it, but it has helped me a good deal.

 

All the other recommendations were great as well, just thought I would throw this one out there.

 

Joshua

[shushuweiwei]

I think that learning tongue positions, especially for the tongue blade sounds, is far superior to the various descriptions of Chines phonetics in various courses. You know the ones that say that you make this sound like a French "J" with just a hint of "ch" and ending with the sound of a horse passing gas on a rainy day.

 

This link helped me a lot with pronunciation and I think that helps me be understood even when I'm just repeating a phrase I've learned by rote memorization.

 

http://www.sinosplice.com/lang/pronunciation/03/

Edited October 3, 2008 by shushuweiwei (see edit history)

[A Mafan]

The best way to get the retroflex (zh, ch, sh) down perfect is to put a pencil in your mouth under your tongue.

 

Instant success!

 

Another way: Say "church", then say it exactly the same way without the final "ch". If you did it right, you just said Eat (chi1 / ³Ô)!

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

Go to a Chinese church and learn from the people there.

 

This is an excellent suggestion. Even if you continually work with CDs, DVDs, etc., the most important part is actually conversing in the language. Lan and I try to have all English days, followed by all Chinese days. On those days, you may only speak the language for the day.