| Why choose Chinese (Mandarin) and how to learn | | | | Disadvantage is that there is no personal contact, |
| it? | | | | and you may have trouble understanding the |
| Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world | | | | accent of the teacher; |
| and outnumbers English speakers by a 2 to 1 | | | | 3. Books, DVD, CD-ROMs or Podcast - this can be |
| ratio. It is a tonal language and each word can be | | | | done at your convenience and needs self-discipline, |
| pronounced 4 different ways. | | | | but the disadvantage is that you cannot get |
| Among the reasons for learning Mandarin is travel, | | | | personal feedback; |
| business, making friends, watching movies, learning | | | | 4. Penfriends - there are a number of websites |
| martial arts, love of Chinese food, etc. China is | | | | where you could get volunteers who will chat with |
| the most populated country in the world and with | | | | you on-line in return if you help them improve |
| its demand for resources, and expanding markets, | | | | their English. This is also a great way to make |
| Mandarin will likely be the language of the future. It | | | | friends especially with the diaspora of Chinese |
| is one of the six official languages of the United | | | | people all over the world who may be great |
| Nations (besides English, Spanish, French, Arabic, | | | | contacts in future; |
| and Russian). | | | | 5. Friends - try to befriend a few people who |
| Mandarin is one of the Chinese dialects and the | | | | may be able to converse with you. Nowadays, |
| official language of China. It is not to be mistaken | | | | you may be able to find plenty of overseas |
| with other well-known dialects such as Cantonese, | | | | students who could speak Mandarin living near |
| Hokkien (known as Taiwanese or Hoklo), Hakka, | | | | colleges or universities. Some of them offer |
| and Teochew. Besides China and Taiwan, a large | | | | private language lessons to supplement their living |
| number of people in the ASEAN region | | | | expenses; |
| (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, | | | | 6. Go to China - there is no better way than to |
| Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and | | | | immerse yourself in an environment where it will |
| the Philippines) speak Mandarin. | | | | accelerate your learning. There are schools in |
| Among the ways you could learn and improve | | | | China who conduct language courses in |
| your Mandarin are: | | | | conjunction with calligraphy, cooking, and martial |
| 1. Attend a class - this is the best way to learn as | | | | arts. |
| you get a teacher guiding you but the downside is | | | | Learning a language can be fun and it will open up |
| embarrassment if you have trouble with | | | | your horizons and enrich your life; but you need |
| pronunciation, or a slow learner; | | | | the discipline in putting in the work, not lose your |
| 2. On-line - there are several schools offering | | | | attention, and generate the interest by practising |
| on-line courses with a teacher located in China. | | | | and immersing yourself in the arts, culture, |
| The advantage is that it saves you time and | | | | traditions, festivals, and food of China. |
| money from driving and parking, and could be | | | | Practising, rote learning, and word association are |
| conducted at a time convenient to you. | | | | the 'secrets' behind learning any new language. |