Chinese studies----how to start?

Things will be easy no matter how difficult they are when beginning with the basics. So do languages learning. Many foreigners complain about the difficulties of Chinese studies. Actually, they regard the most attractive part--- learning Chinese words as a large mountain unable to climb. Chinese words are the basic of learning Chinese, which sometimes contain history or fables. You will find you can study Chinese characters while learning Chinese culture. There always are connections between different characters, so you will feel much easier when you get a certain degree.

Intonation is the key to learn Chinese language. Learning mandarin for kids is a good chance to have a perfect pronunciation. In fact, intonation is the biggest challenge that needs to practice again and again. I still remember that a foreign friend of mine once went to the park repeating “ni3 hao3” for a whole morning just in order to get the right pronunciation. Now, he can pretend as a Chinese to call any Chinese people without being recognized. And he is very proud of it.

Do you remember how you learn the mother tongue? Most people can speak the first word at the age of 1 or 2. That’s amazing! We can say words without knowing its meaning! So, languages have a common point: listening and speaking is premier than reading and writing. Chinese is not an exception. Chinese listening and speaking can be really hard at first because there are often several meanings in a same word. However, you can try to sing Chinese songs or watch Chinese TV program, even to find a Chinese friend to talk to.