Things I wish I could’ve done differently when I started learning Chinese

A recent Reddit thread in the r/ChineseLanguage community asked learners, “What do you wish you had done differently when you started learning Chinese?” The responses were enlightening and offered many different opinions and tips for beginners. Everyone’s journey learning Chinese is unique to them, so while some suggestions may be helpful, they’re not universal. To address a few of the most common pitfalls that learners faced, we invited an experienced Chinese teacher to offer practical guidance for beginners.

Problem #1: Not speaking from the start

“I’m still a bit hesitant to practice speaking.”

“Not spent so much time trying to learn EVERY single 汉字 I came across. And less time actually learning how to listen and speak.”

Teacher’s comments:

Many learners find that after studying a language for an extended period, they’ve become so caught up in the small details that they forget the true goal of learning a language: communication. Although some of these factors, such as characters, tones, vocabulary, and grammar, are essential for good communication, it’s a misstep to ignore speaking and listening skills completely.

You may find that even if you have memorized a lot of characters and grammar rules, you still can’t hold a basic conversation in Chinese. This is where doubt starts to creep in. Why have you bothered to invest so much time and energy into learning Chinese if you can’t even use it? It’s better to avoid this scenario altogether by making time for listening and speaking practice.

But how should you go about sharpening these skills? Let’s look at a few strategies:

1). Speak out loud and frequently

Talk to your Chinese friends, coworkers, or classmates in Chinese. Chase every opportunity you have to speak in your target language. These connections are precious because not everyone has real-life practice partners. Many have to rely on their teachers and tutors as their sole source of immersion.

If you have a Chinese teacher, that’s perfect. Try to avoid speaking English when you are with them. They know how to help you practice professionally and efficiently.

If, perhaps, you don’t have anyone in your life you can speak Chinese with, don’t despair! There are still options for you. There are many different apps and websites to connect you with language exchange partners. Try to find Chinese native speakers who are looking to learn a language that you speak, and set up opportunities for you to work on both speaking and listening.

2). Don’t be afraid of making mistakes..

While it may feel intimidating at first, take every new word and phrase you learn and drop it into conversation, just to see if it works. It’s the fastest way to see if you’re using it correctly, and even if you make a mistake, it’s still a learning opportunity. Yes, it can sometimes be embarrassing to receive that correction, but it ultimately means that that new phrase or word will stick in your brain even more strongly as a result.

So many native Chinese speakers understand that it’s a difficult language to learn, and are therefore both patient and tolerant with people trying to master it. Don’t be afraid to ask “什么？” or “你可以再说一遍吗?” as many times as you need to. Before you even notice, your listening skills will improve to the point that you’ll hardly need those phrases anymore.

3). Compare yourself to your old self, rather than classmates.

You may find that even if you’re in the same class as other students, their level is still above yours. Keep in mind that you don’t know their background. They may have learned the language previously and are coming back to it. They might have a Chinese partner or friend to help them practice outside of class. They may even just have a natural knack for Chinese. To keep things in perspective, the only person you should ever compare yourself to is your previous self. If you’re better today than you were yesterday, that’s one step closer to your personal finish line.

Related reading:

• A Comprehensive Guide for Chinese Beginners
• Chinese Speaking Practice Guide for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Learners
• Chinese Listening Practice Guide for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Learners

Problem #2: Skipping Grammar

“I feel like I should have focused more on writing and grammar rather than vocabulary building.”

“Paid more attention to elementary level grammar. “

Teacher’s comments:

Grammar matters. Even if you have memorized thousands of vocabulary words, you can’t produce meaningful sentences without grammar rules. Grammar is like the architectural blueprint, while vocabulary is the bricks and tiles. 

In the New HSK, there are 210 grammar points at the elementary level, 214 grammar points at the intermediate level, and 148 grammar points at the advanced level. The concepts covered in the elementary and intermediate levels cover about 80% of Chinese grammar. This structure places the most common and most important grammar structures at the  beginning, so even if you’ve just begun learning Chinese, don’t think that you can put off grammar until later. Establishing a firm foundation from the start will set you up for success and also decrease the burden you’ll face at the higher levels. 

Related reading:

• All grammar points
• The New HSK: An Overview and What’s Changed

Problem #3: Learning Incorrect Pronunciation

“Honestly, I should have focused more on pronunciation at the start, but I didn’t really have any money at the time to hire a professional teacher and (very obviously) was not able to figure it out on my own. Leading to me later having to fix some pronunciation issues.”

Teacher’s comments:

When you reach the point that you can hold a basic conversation in Chinese, you may find that native Chinese speakers have no problem understanding you, even though your pronunciation may not be correct. Is pronunciation even important? Do tones actually matter? The answer is definitely yes. When conversations are limited to daily topics, such as the weather, food, holidays, or daily life, native speakers can easily puzzle out what you’re trying to say. It may even give you a false sense of confidence that your pronunciation is “good enough” so you don’t need to work on it. The truth is, if you want to go any deeper or more complex in your conversations, they might get lost.

At some point when you look back, you can recall that “z/c/s”, “zh/ch/sh” or “j/q/x” really can make a big difference in speaking. The four tones and the light tone can easily twist your meaning without you noticing. Mastery  of pronunciation is a process of constant intensified practice in both speaking and listening. There is a phenomenon called fossilization in linguistics. When you get used to the wrong pronunciation, it is very hard to correct, or it will take a hundred times the effort to alter it. In many cases, learners get discouraged and feel frustrated when confronted with misunderstandings and confused faces. Then they don’t want to continue anymore. After all,few of us have the courage and patience to start all over again. So, don’t mess around when it comes to your beginning pronunciation practice.

There are many online Chinese language courses and videos to help with pronunciation, and these are more than sufficient for beginner to intermediate-advanced learners. They’re convenient because you practice Chinese at your convenience and repeat it as many times as you need to. However, speaking is a bit special compared to the other essential skills because you really need instant feedback to know if you’re doing well or not.

So, if you can have a real tutor to coach your pronunciation from the beginning, that would be perfect. You are walking on the shortest path. But, if you don’t have the time or money for it, don’t worry. There are many great fundamental pronunciation video courses and drills online. You can learn by yourself at first. Watch and practice along with them again and again. After you’ve spent a good amount of time practicing on your own, book a session with a professional Chinese teacher to analyze your pronunciation and give you suggestions for improvement. You will know what your weaknesses are and how to strengthen them.

Just remember, the later you start, the more effort you’ll need to make.

Related reading:

• Chinese Pronunciation: The Complete Guide for Beginner
• 5 Practical Tips to Find the Best Online Chinese Tutor
• The Most Recommended Online Chinese Courses

Conclusion:

The common thread between all these comments is they all regret ignoring an important aspect of the language, thinking that they’ll simply catch up later. In the end, all of these skills, speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary, are fundamental and indispensable. The amount of time that you allocate to each of them is flexible and may vary depending on your current skillset and goals. So it’s important to know when you should focus more on certain areas over others. If you’re not sure, the best way is to look at your performance. How did you do on your last quiz? When you took the HSK, what was your lowest score? Or more directly, ask your teacher what areas you could improve in. They will likely be more than happy to help you analyze your skills and set up a learning plan.

Do your experiences learning Chinese match any of the comments you just read? What would you have done differently in your own journey learning Chinese if you could start over? Let us know in the comments!