Things You'll Need:
- Language learning program
- Video and audio learning aides
- Native Chinese speaker (optional but most helpful)
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Step 1
The first thing to know is what dialect of Chinese you will want to learn. One of the difficult parts many people have with Chinese is understanding that "Chinese" is a broad term for several languages that use the same alphabet, each which also can have dozens of dialects. For the most part, Mandarin is the most commonly spoken and understood dialect of the Chinese language, and the form of "Chinese" that most others learn as a second language.
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Step 2
Since you won't have a common alphabet to help the process of learning another language, you will want as many audio aides as possible to attach the sounds of a word to the image. This is why for Chinese, even more than the Romantic languages (for example), finding DVDs of children shows or learning aides is even more important, and helpful.
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Step 3
The best bet for this step will probably be if you live near a college, but if you can find a native Chinese speaker willing to tutor you for even just a few hours a week, this could be a huge benefit. I personally believe two to three 60-90 minute minute sessions spread out over a week work much better than one two hour session a week, but some other people might disagree.
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Step 4
If you can afford it, I strongly recommend getting a language learning program to help out. These programs have been designed through studies that have already discovered the biggest hurdles in learning Chinese, and so they should be able to help speed up the process of your learning to speak Chinese.
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Step 5
Concentrate on phrases you're most likely to use. "Where is the bathroom?" is a perfect phrase to learn in any language. "I'd like a beer," is another popular one, and you're more likely to learn those phrases as opposed to "the red dog ran on a green hill," which doesn't mean anything to you.
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Step 6
Keep at it. Keep studying how to speak Chinese every day, every week, and as time passes you will learn to become proficient at speaking conversational Chinese.
