Mastering Mandarin in Months

[Erbse]

We have some quite useful ideas about learning Chinese on this forum. Some kind of compilation of all those ideas makes sense. This one is a good start.

[thenatural]

Thank you for writing this. I don't have any critiques, I haven't taken any courses in Chinese yet. Coming from my perspective, knowing nothing, this is exactly what I've been scouring the internet for. I would much rather take advice and get set in the right direction than waste time learning by a less effective method.

[Elizabeth_rb]

Looks fine from the quick glance I gave it and will be helpful to beginners. You've probably already corrected it and I only mention it as it's a professional publication (I hate those people who correct your typos on forum...), but 'enrol' has only one 'l' and it appears as 'enroll' repeatedly throughout the booklet.

[imron]

but 'enrol' has only one 'l'

And colour should have a u, but I believe there is a certain large country that likes to spell things differently, and you'll not have an easy time trying to convince them otherwise

[Elizabeth_rb]

tee-hee Imron! I didn't know that was considered correct in the States! The spell check on this complains at 'enroll', but perhaps it's finally spotted that I use UK English.

[AYRYZIGER]

Your book was a short and yet very interesting. There were some very helpful tips.

[Manos]

Read it all in one run! I found the information to be quite useful, made me consider moving to China for a while.

It would be very much appreciated if someone shared his experience about staying in China for the purporse of learning chinese, or if someone could lead me to a relative thread that may already exist.

[xuefang]

"It would be very much appreciated if someone shared his experience about staying in China for the purporse of learning chinese, or if someone could lead me to a relative thread that may already exist."

Well, I moved to China to continue learning chinese and because it was always my dream to visit China. It's not a visit anymore because I've been living in Guangzhou for two years and plan to stay.

I'm all for making your dreams come true, so if you want to go to China to learn Chinese, do it! Perhaps others could offer some more realistic advice (like how to get a job after all that studying), but I'm not the best person to do so cause I've always followed my interests and hoped for the best.

If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer! (And perhaps you would find my blog interesting that's all about me studying Chinese in China.)

[Manos]

xuefang thank you for your reply! I will make sure to check your blog.

I do have a questions to be honest.

1)Did you move to China for the sole purpose of improving your Chinese? What level were you on when you moved?at what age? Any acquaintances there prior to your trip?

2)Besides practising in everyday life, how did you proceed with your learning? University/private school/tutor at home or what?

3)How did you fund your trip? Parents backup? And considering that you want to stay permanently, may i ask what kind of job you re hoping for?

Looking forward to your reply!

Cheers

EDIT: Your blog seems quite interesting! I liked your facebook page and already downloaded the Pinyin Trainer you recommended(bought the Upgraded one). I am sure i will find more goodies in your blog!

[xuefang]

@Manos Great that I can help!

1. I moved to China because I wanted to study Chinese and make my biggest dream come true. When I came here on the beginning of 2010 I could speak and write simple Chinese. Ask directions, introduce my self and speak about simple matters.I could maybe write 200 characters. I stll found it often difficult to understand native speakers. I only know one Finnish guy at Guangzhou when moving here, now he doesn't live here anymore.

2. In Finland I studied a course at university, I had Chinese class once or twice per week. Then after coming to China I studied at Guangzhou University from March 2010 to May 2011. I had lessons every morning form Mon to Fri. Then in September 2011 I started my Chinese as a foreign language undergrad at Sun Yat-Sen University. I have more than 20 hours of formal class per week.

3. Finnish government gives me free student money and also student loan (that has to be paid back after graduation). In the beginning I also had some savings, but not any more. I also do a little work on the side too. Later I wish to get a scholarship as my goverment will soon stop giving me money because I've studied too long. If you don't count small seldom help, then I don't have any parental backup. After graduation I'm hoping to start my own business including different kind of services to Finnish companies, travellers and those staying here for work.

Nice to hear that you found my blog interesting! I recently started another blog project too, check my signature for link.

p.s. Sorry that this is a bit offtopic!