How I Learn Mandarin with Free Online Resources

I have been trying to learn Mandarin on several occasions years ago without much success. It was due mainly to my lack of perseverance and discipline. In my younger days, I studied English as first language and Malay language as second. There was little opportunity then to learn Mandarin and most of my lessons in this language was taught by my parents. Hence I do have some basic knowledge of Mandarin and since I live in Singapore where Mandarin is widely spoken by a large portion of the population, I am actually fairly well immerse in it.

Yes, I do have some advantage in that sense and I can speak a smattering of Mandarin but not able to conduct a proper conversation with it. I now have decided that it is still not too late to learn it for good once and for all and be able to better appreciate the language and culture of more than 1.3 billion people who know Mandarin.

Take a look at this or the video below, do not be surprised that so many foreigners are learning Mandarin and they are becoming very good at it. So don't be left behind because it is the language of the future.

So what is the best way to start to learn Mandarin. My research has shown that there is a more efficient way of learning this supposedly difficult language which has more than 10,000 characters. You have probably hear about the 80/20 Rule.  It states that 80% of the results in any endeavor come from 20% of the input, material, or effort.

Effective Learning Method

We can adapt this principle and prioritize material based on its recorded likelihood and frequency of usage. To understand 95% of a language and become conversational fluent may require 3 months of applied learning; to reach the 98% threshold could require 10 years. There is a point of diminishing returns where, for most people, it makes more sense to acquire more languages (or other skills) vs. add a 1% improvement per 5 years.

According to the statistics, a knowledge of a given number of the most common Chinese characters should result in the following estimated understanding of the Chinese language:

At this stage, I am aiming to learn and master 1,000 characters first. 

Mandarin Online Lessons

It is of utmost important that you select the right material for learning Mandarin. If it is the wrong material, it does not matter how you study or if you study – practical fluency is impossible without the proper tools (material). I will share with you the main online sources which I am using to learn and hopefully master Mandarin. Most importantly, they have the breadth and depth of content to take one to the more advanced levels of Mandarin should the interest persists. Also, it is completely FREE!! 

But before that, one need to know the 4 basic tones in which Mandarin is spoken. This is the very essence of speaking the language - knowing the 4 tones. Watch the video below.

Resource 1: Chinese characters can be decomposed into components called radicals shown below. 

The most commonly accepted table of radicals for traditional Chinese characters consists of 214 entries (see Wikipedia for more detailed explanation). These 214 radicals were popularized back in the reign of Qing emperor Kangxi, who commissioned what is now known as the Kangxi Zidian, a character dictionary listing over 47,000 entries. Tables with fewer or greater number of radicals have been devised for simplified characters. Being able to recognize the common radicals helps in the learning and recognition of new characters. Check it out from this site. Be familiar with the common characters and how the strokes are written, there is no need to learn all of them. Here is another source.

Resource 2: Here is an online resource which provides the most common Chinese characters in order of frequency. Here you will find the most frequently used characters. There are 3,000 of them, more than enough for my needs. Apply the 80/20 principle, there's no need to know all 3,000 of them. As I've said, I'm aiming for 1,000 characters first.

Resource 3: Now, this is the most important online resource for me to learn Mandarin. Learning Mandarin video lessons provided by China State Television or CCTV is one of the best. The lessons are well prepared, professionally done, good quality and you learn from the source itself. Also there are many different lessons to cater for various objectives. For Beginners, there are : 

a) Growing up with Chinese

b) Easy Chinese (Aurora Carlson)

c) Survival Chinese

d) CRI Chinese Studio

I am going through the 'Growing up with Chinese' series of 100 videos. Now at lesson 14. 

Go through them yourself and take your pick. Let me show you what lesson 1 looks like. See video below.

Resource 4: Finally, I discover this Chinese-English and English-Chinese dictionary which helps me to remember the Chinese characters in a fun way. Try it out, it really makes learning Mandarin more fun.Type in the English word to search of a Chinese character or type in a romanised Mandarin word to get the Mandarin character.

Finally, a tip from a Chinese teacher to aid in memory - REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW. Please refer to this link for more useful tips to learn Mandarin.

To help with the review process, write the Chinese characters learnt on flashcards or a small pocket-size notebook. Write pronunciation and explanations on the other side. Carry it along with you wherever you go and when there is opportunity, do your review.

Setting goals - yes, you need to set a realistic goal. Say plan on learning 2 characters a day; which means in a year you would have learnt about 750 characters. According to the chart above, that means you would be able to understand more than 80% of what you read in a Chinese newspaper. Not too shabby huh.

I hope I have given enough resources here for you to start learning this beautiful language. Let me know how you progress. We are on the same journey together.

All the best!!