Okay... so this is it... I will organize each tool into an appropriate level as to when to start using it... This doesn't mean to stop using it once you've gotten to a new level, but just a ball part figure as to when to begin using it.
Beginners Level - 1
1. Take a beginners Mandarin class for people who have never been exposed to the language and for those who know nothing about the 4 tones (5 if you include neutral tone). This will tell you whether Mandarin learning is right for you. It will also teach you the basics and hopefully your teacher will be able to give you some feedback on how well you are doing. One semester is really all you need unless you're planning on doing your degree in it, or if you need a class structured setting to learn for yourself.
2. Pimsleur Mandarin is boring, but for a beginner, it can be helpful. It's also good to listen to on your iPod while working out or going for a run or to school, etc. Or in your car on your way to work... You will look crazy speaking to yourself in the car, but the key to learning a language is practice practice practice!
It's also very expensive for all 3 levels, but today we live in a world where there is this wonderful thing called the internet.
I'm NOT going to tell you to search for Pimsleur Mandarin on websites like www.thepiratebay.com and download the torrent for it, which would give you all the audio files for free... and it takes about 20 mins to do, if that. I definitely would NOT tell you to do that... just so you know.
Here is an example link you might find when searching if you did such a thing:
http://thepiratebay.se/search/pimsleur%20mandarin/0/99/0
or
for the actual place to download
http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/6312659/Pimsleur_Mandarin_Chinese___transcripts
You have to click Get this torrent to download, not the big green download button... which is weird.
Also on a side note, I just found more Pimsleur conversation practice mp3 files. So get those too if you're into that sort of thing...
3. Get a text book. Hopefully you are going to take a beginners Mandarin course which will introduce you to writing, reading and tonal pronunciation of Chinese. With this class should come a text book. If you plan on doing it all yourself (which I don't recommend if you have no idea what Chinese is or how to speak it correctly) then go to your local university bookstore and find the ASIAN STUDIES area where they will have stacks upon stacks of learning Mandarin for English speakers. I currently have 3 from UBC, and believe you me, they help... UBC uses text books called INTEGRATED CHINESE.
Here's the link:
Click me here for link
These text books are also online... I have a friend who found the torrents online and downloaded them for free... I'm NOT saying thats a good idea... I'm just saying, it's out there if you look for it.
4. Subscribe to About.com Mandarin word of the day
http://mandarin.about.com/c/ec/1.htm
Easy, and is delivered around 1:30am every night to your email. You can start your day with a new word and you don't even have to do anything. Great tool. Mine comes right to my phone so it's easy peasy.
5. If you use an iPhone (I think it's for android users as well, so don't fret if you don't have an iPhone), download Pleco. It is an amazing app for Mandarin. So useful and I use so many times a day, it's not funny. Lots of add ons that can cost a bit of money, but they're one time only and it's just such an amazing tool... I love this app and the people who created it... thank you!
http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/pleco-chinese-dictionary/id341922306?mt=8
I think this is a good start for beginners.
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Novice Beginners Level - 2
1. Rosetta Stone Mandarin. I'm sure everyone has heard of Rosetta Stone by now. I have it and yes, I forked out the $450 for it. I have levels 1-3 and to be honest, I love it. It has helped my pronunciation so much. It also has helped me to think in Chinese easier. It's also a HELL OF ALOT MORE FUN than Pimsleur which can be pretty boring at times. I totally support this product and no, they're not paying me to. This product is not for complete beginners because Chinese is too difficult to just start on Rosetta Stone with no prior knowledge of how the language works. That is why I put it under level 2, so by now you hopefully have some sort of comprehension of Mandarin basics.
2. Find a Mandarin speaking friend who can text using Chinese characters.
I do this daily, so it's good for consistent practicing. I have an iPhone and it's easy to set up Mandarin input using pinyin. It's great practice for reading and remembering how to say a character through pinyin input. I found people at school to practice with, and although at first you may find yourself copying and pasting a lot of what people text you into google translate, you will eventually need to use it less and less until you basically won't use it at all. It's good practice for basic conversations like
"I just got off work, I'm so hungry! Today the weather is awful! I‘m going to watch a Chinese language movie when I get home！“
“我剛才下班了，餓死了 （or 肚子餓了）！今天天氣很糟糕！到家的時候，我要看（一部）中文電影！”
“Wǒ gāngcái xiàbānle, èsǐle (or dùzi èle)! Jīntiān tiānqì hěn zāogāo! Dàojiā de shíhou, wǒ yào kàn (yī bù) zhōngwén diànyǐng!”
Basic stuff like that is great practice if you can find someone to text regularly in Chinese.
Just a note when texting Chinese with someone... To make it sound more natural, counting words are usually omitted in spoken chinese if the number is 1. Same in texting, so you don't always need to say one movie, one book, one car, one coat, one house, one restaurant etc. etc.... It takes away from the naturalness sound of your Mandarin and leaves you sounding like a Chinese Second Language student who was taught in a classroom setting to always use counting words. Mandarin first language speakers will find it very CSL-ie if you do that, so try not to lol...
3. eChinese learning website
http://resources.echineselearning.com/teens/teens-chinese-700.html
This website I really like. It has different online lessons for all levels. Definitely good to try.
4. Another iPhone app for reading Children's stories.
Shapes Learn Chinese
Such a great tool. Learn to read children's stories. It only gives you one free story about a grumpy tree who hates his friends lol but the inapp purchases for the additional stories are 99 cents I think and they are fun and helpful :). I definitely read these stories to myself a lot... You feel silly reading basic children's Chinese stories on the bus, but they really are helpful.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shapes-learn-chinese-books/id400632363?mt=8
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Advanced Beginners Level - 3
1. Yabla Mandarin. This has to be by far my favourite way to study Mandarin. It's not for beginners (in my opinion) but really you could start this whenever. It's a site that shows you Mandarin TV and Videos, then translates them for you into English. It includes pinyin, English, and Chinese characters.
It's a great way to study as the TV programs are interesting and fun to watch, as well as helpful in building your right side of the brain listening skills at a NORMAL SPEED of Mandarin which can seem really fast at first. It is about 8 or 9 dollars monthly, although it's cheaper if you pay for the year in advance. It makes language learning fun, and thats what it should be.
Here's the link. They have some free preview videos so take a look! :)
http://chinese.yabla.com/
2. Lang-8.com
This is a website that lets you write journal entries in the language you are studying, and have people, who's first language is just that, correct your entries for free. It's a great way to learn and get feed back on how you are doing. I don't recommend it for beginners because it can get discouraging (as the markers will correct a lot of everything you write usually until you become more fluent). It's a great tool to test out where you are at and get some constructive criticism and also meet some potential pen pals or email buddies online. Very good site, originated in japan.
http://lang-8.com/
3. www.meetup.com
Mandarin groups
I found this site a while ago, but have yet to attend any meet ups due to either shyness or fear. From the looks of it, it's a great way to network with people who are also learning Mandarin or already speak it.
Maybe there's a meet up group in your area.
http://www.meetup.com/
(more to come... have to study for exam lol) sorry!
I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading intensive Mandarin class
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