Best way to study Chinese?

[allabouttactics]

I really want to start learning Chinese. I have been here six months and I still find it hard to even ask how much something costs

I have tried from a book and with friends but neither of them get anywhere, mostly due to my lack of motivation to be honest

So I would like to pay for some classes a few times a week just to motivate myself etc

Any ideas?

[KPT]

yes, motivation is an important factor for learning.
may help from the links:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=257&hilit
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=38&hilit
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=176&p=1548&hilit

or search yourself with the search engine on the upper right corner.

[alexss]

Ask locals or your colleagues to talk to you in STANDARD MANDARIN, Putonghua, that is much easy to catch up at the begining.

[danielzhangyp]

language exchange?

[Connie]

Yeah, what about language exchange?
I'm local in Yangzhou. I studidied English for many years and I'm not satisfy with my oral English. I'm qualified Teacher, which may help teaching Chinese, though I'm not Chinese Teacher.
If you're interested, please contact me by MSN or email:bishuiyihen@hotmail.com

[emc2d]

Anybody interested in this still in 2012????

[kaylaleitzinger857]

As for learning Chinese by your own, please see below.
As for the pronunciation, I suggest you to learn Chinese Pinyin well. Chinese Pinyin should be the first step to learn Chinese. Pinyin uses the English alphabet to represent Chinese syllables. The earlier you start learning Chinese Pinyin, the easier it will be to grasp the correct pronunciation of Chinese words.

Here are some tips when you learn Chinese by your own:
React to what you hear: Listening isn't enough. A student needs to react to what they have just listened to. The reaction allows students confirm that they heard correctly, understood correctly, and can respond appropriately to the situation.

Speak daily: Practice makes perfect! You will never be able to speak Chinese perfectly, but you will be able to come pretty close if you take the time to practice every single day.

Practice with a native speaker: You can find some native Chinese speakers around you. If there aren’t any native Chinese speakers around you, you can find some language partners online or find an online Chinese tutor.

You can visit this webpage which provides many valuable tips on Chinese listening, speaking, reading and writing. Hope these help.
http://www.echineselearning.com/learn-ma…

By the way, I’d love to recommend you a site which provides all kinds of free Chinese learning materials for language learners such as popular Chinese expressions, Chinese culture stories, sample Chinese tests and so on. You can visit:
http://resources.echineselearning.com/?e… Hope you enjoy reading all the articles they offer.

GED ONLINE

[wndrslope]

Anyone having any luck finding a language exchange?