Learning question

[Robint]

Hi, I have started learning Chinese just 3 days ago, I take it very seriously and want to learn it quickly. My best friends are Chinese, so right now I am fine with just speaking. But I was told that if you at one day want to ''master'' Chinese, I should definitely start with learning the characters.

 

So my question would be if it is really necessary to start with the characters. 

 

I don't know if I'm a slow learner, but if I try to learn the characters, I can only teach myself 5 full sentences per 2 hours (written and speaking). And those sentences usually don't go over 4~5 words.

 

So because of this I'm looking for people who have been learning mandarin for over a year and share their experience. 

[Flickserve]

Opinions vary and some are strong.

Learn to listen and speak simple Chinese words first. The aim is to get accurate pronunciation and communicate. Characters can come later

[lips]

What do you mean by "master" Chinese?  If it includes reading and writing,  then the answer is obvious.  If not, there are illiterate native speakers for every language, so you can certainly learn to speak and listen like  a native without knowing the written language.

[Shelley]

How are you learning Chinese? Do you have classes? Are you learning from a text book? It would help to know what you study plans are.

 

Having said that you will need to get some structure to your learning.

 

To master any language is not easy, you will need to work hard and practice a lot.

 

You will eventually need to learn characters to be proficient in chinese, but not necessarily right at the start, maybe in a month or so once you get a bit more familiar with things, but it is my personal opinion that you should learn characters as you go, learning reading and writing, speaking and listening all together for better understanding.

 

If you are interested you could have a look at my blog about learning materials I use and how i use them here http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/blog/108-my-chinese-learning-blog/

 

Remember you have only been learning for 3 days, what seems like an impossible task today, will get easier as you progress, so don't make any major decisions in a hurry.

 

Welcome to the forum, lots of good helpful people here that are usually willing to help

[GotJack]

Personally I don't think learning to write is a highly efficient use of practice time. So if your looking to learn in the fastest way I'd recommend staying away from the squared sheets of paper and broken pencil nibs. That being said you should learn to read characters (focusing on flashcards etc) so you will need to engage with characters at some point.

 

Id say you'll be fine avoiding them altogether though if you're happy with that, but you wouldn't be able to say you've mastered the language (As you'd be illiterate). Really its up to you. You cannot focus on every area and improve quickly. The equation is thus : If you focus on every aspect you will learn slower. If you focus on one aspect you will learn that aspect quicker. Only you can determine what feeds your needs and wants.

[edelweis]

1) it has been mentioned on this board that advanced textbooks are in Chinese characters only. If you want to learned advanced or formal Chinese speaking/listening without being able to read, you will probably need a tutor/teacher willing to explain each word to you.

 

2) Chinese has lots of homophones. Learning to read will help distinguish them.

 

3) Some (serious, used in French universities for Chinese language majors) Chinese beginner's textbooks separate learning characters from learning spoken language/grammar.

This is because, as you found, learning the characters is a slow and time consuming process, so in the beginning you might feel frustrated if you learn speaking/grammar at the same speed as reading. By having separate lessons and contents for speaking/grammar (in pinyin) and reading/writing (characters), your study of characters won't slow down your study of speaking... this could be a solution for you.

 

Edit: if you want to be able to read/write some day, you'd better start learning characters right away. They take a long time to learn.