Learning Mandarin STARTING TODAY!

[CineAlta]

Well actually I decided to learn Mandarin about 2 days ago. First off I'd just like to say hello as I am new to the forum (first post) but you will be seeing me around a lot! Also, that I am sorry.. I know this thread has been made a thousand+ times, and while I did search through several pages for relevant topics and found some useful info I couldn't seem to find much in terms of recommended material to study with.

I really have no idea where to start, someone told me to learn pinyin first with hanzi (for the pinyin?) but I haven't been able to find a great study tool to help me learn both.. I did find a pretty nice pinyin app for iPhone that lets me see the pinyin hear pronunciation and tones but no hanzi.

Anyway.. Where should I start? I know a textbook is probably a must, but which one should I buy? There are so many. What about supplemental tools while studying from a textbook? I have access to Pimsleurs, and have a lot of time while traveling for work to practice. I would like to have as strong a foundation as possible but I'm definitely most interested in being able to speak it with people I meet (maybe the girls at my local Chinese eating establishment?)

Due to a heavy work/study schedule though I have no time (yet) for lessons. After September my time will free up and I plan to take some classes but until then I'd like to start this journey myself. I am really excited to begin as I have always wanted to learn a second language but could never decide on which one. But now it's decided and I have chosen Mandarin and I cannot wait to get into it.

Thanks!

[Mindmaxd]

At first start from pinyin,pinyin are used to help you remember how to read characters,when you get pinyin and then try to remember some common characters everyday。

[roddy]

What was wrong with this?

[Shelley]

I think that you should learn pinyin and characters (hanzi) and tones all together at the same time. If you learn pinyin and then go for characters you will feel like you are starting over again. i believe you will make better progress doing it all together. this is only my opinion but I really think its the way to go.

I would recommend Pleco for your phone or tablet, it is absolutely brilliant. it does many things very well, Flashcards, dictionary, stroke order and character practice, and loads more. there is a link to it on this forum's home page, it is very reasonably priced, you only need to go for the basic package to start with and as your needs grow you can add more stuff.

For a text book try New Practical Chinese Reader, I used the old version and found it very good.

I also think you should get a paper dictionary and learn how to look up characters using radicals and strokes, it is very good practice and is one of those basic things that later will show its usefulness, if you see what i mean.

Also invest in some paper and pens and get in the habit of doing lots of writing practice, IMHO the only real way to learn characters is to write them over and over again. There is a good program (also a link on this forum) for practising called Hanzi grids.

For looking up characters there is a new (in development) program Hanzi Data, very nice bit of software. (also on this forum).

You are now starting on an exciting journey into the world of learning Chinese. it will require hard work,diligence, and lots and lots of practice, but I think you find it very satisfying and enjoyable.

This forum is very helpful, questions are always welcome, remember to give as much info as you can and any answers you may have tried, this helps people answer things better.

Best of luck and enjoy.

[Demonic_Duck]

I would like to have as strong a foundation as possible but I'm definitely most interested in being able to speak it with people I meet (maybe the girls at my local Chinese eating establishment?)

Many (though certainly not all) Chinese people living in English-speaking parts of the world actually speak Cantonese rather than Mandarin as their mother tongue. Worth bearing in mind before attempting to chat anyone up in a language they (possibly) don't understand ;)

IMHO the only real way to learn characters is to write them over and over again.

...assuming you want to learn to handwrite at all. It's perfectly possible to simply learn character recognition, which will allow you to read them and input them on electronic devices. I can't write the majority of characters I "know" and my Chinese teacher cites this as one of my weaknesses, but for most purposes it serves me just fine.

[rebor]

Since you state that your time is limited and that you're primarily interested in being able to speak the language, I would seriously consider focusing your efforts by putting of learning to read and write, at least at first. Characters take time to master, and at first you wont see a lot of real-world results, apart from being able to read your textbook or picking out a couple of common characters on signs or menus. If you later decide to become literate, you will have an easier time getting started, as you "only" have to map symbols with already familiar sounds, compared to learning both meaning, pronunciation and character at the same time.

Regardless of what path you choose, get a tutor! Not getting any feedback on your pronunciation(and tones!) makes it very likely that you will end up with grave pronunciation errors, which you will have to spend serious time and effort to correct later on. There are online services like italki for this.

[joshgibbs]

I might be a little late to help you, but my advice would be to learn spoken Chinese first, as trying to memorize characters takes up a lot more time than it is worth in the beginning. Find a free online resource and start memorizing how to say vocabulary, also watch some Chinese movies / tv shows on youtube to get a sense of the pronunciation. Good luck!

[roddy]

So, how's the first month gone?

[cultureyard]

Hi,

First of all, welcome to the forum! Learning Chinese is a very long journey and starting it right is very important. I support the opinions above that mentioned Pleco and Rosseta Stone. What personally helped me the most at the beginning is Pimsleur - which is an audio learning system for different languages. It is very much my own opinion, but I personally like starting with learning how to speak the most basic sentences in a new language, for the simple reason that it gives me an immediate feeling of satisfaction. Btw, how were your first two months?

Good luck in your studies!

Ilya.

Links in signature please, not body of text. Thanks