Is Learning Chinese A Waste of Time?

There is one thing I’m quite sure about is that it is never a waste of time to learn the Chinese language. If anybody or you ever feel like it, you might misunderstand why you should learn this language and how to learn it efficiently.

There’re a lot of reasons to tell you that learning the Chinese language is not a waste of time:

It is a useful skill to help you bridge the connection with over 1.3 billion speakers on the planet, so is its culture.

The most important function of a language is to communicate. Efficient communication and connection are based on a comprehensive understanding of the language used.

Besides the daily or business conversation, language plays an important role as the carrier of culture. You can never attach to real Chinese culture and spirit if you don’t know Chinese. As a kind of ideographic language presented in pictograph, the Chinese language develops a series of unique cultural content, including calligraphy, poems, and ballad. All this content cannot make any sense to you until you have known its language.  

What’s more, you can better enjoy Chinese movies, TV shows, and dramas authentically by learning the Chinese language. Though there are always translated subtitles, the essence that is only carried in the original language system will inevitably be missed.

Identify your learning targets first can help you make a clearer study plan.

Learning without a practical goal or right reason will just frustrate you during the long-term language learning journey.

Whether you’re going to further your study in China or learning it to boost your career with a Chinese business partner, finding out why learning this language is important to you and sustain your motivation afterward.

A specific target for language learning can help you make a better study plan. For example, if you want to learn the Chinese language for better communication with your Chinese colleagues or potential Chinese clients. A practical study plan will consist of two stages: first, improve your Chinese proficiency in daily conversation, and second, build up your knowledge in the Business Chinese field. An intensive One-on-one Chinese class can satisfy these specific demands very well.

To gain a competitive advantage in the long run, learning Chinese is a nice choice and habit to keep. The international status of China is quite different now and will improve in the future. Chinese mandarin plays a more vital role. It is always right to follow the trend.

Learning the Chinese language can exercise your brainpower too.

Researchers suggest when learning or using a second language, there will be increased activity in certain regions of the brain. And this process can help delay the onset of dementia and also develop cognitive ability. Learning a second language can also better cultivate your creativity and multi-task skill. Since the Chinese language is a completely different language than what you’re used to as an English speaker, learning the Chinese language will be a great exercise for your brain.

If you don’t want to waste your time, then you’d better know how to learn the Chinese language efficiently and easily.

Tip 1 Making a specific learning schedule.

Start learning a new language with a very general plan does no good for your Chinese language learning in the long run. Once you have done the basic research, consider setting up a daily learning schedule. This schedule should be drafted based on your learning goals, both short-term goals, and long-term goals. And the daily learning content should be delivered in a tailor-made way.

Afterward, all you need to do is stick to the plan and record all you learn daily. You need to be regular or forget what you learned the other day to learn the Chinese language! Keep in mind that practice makes perfect. Practice as much as you can.

Tip 2 Being patient with memorizing Chinese characters

Chinese characters are like the building blocks of the Chinese language, so it’s important to learn and memorize. There are thousands of Chinese characters; however, you only need to be familiar with THE 500 MOST COMMONLY USED CHINESE CHARACTERS to lay a solid foundation at the beginning stage.

Memorizing and repeating the characters daily is very crucial for learning the Chinese language fast. Daily repetition is necessary because it’s easy for you to forget the characters as fast as you learn them. Therefore, efficient reviewing can make you learn and retain the characters in your mind permanently. You may use flashcards with characters written on them to revise the characters.

Tip 3 Immersion learning can always facilitate the process.

Studies have shown that an “immersive learning environment” is more effective for a language learner under the correct guidance and instruction than in a traditional classroom environment. “Living in” the target language is the ideal way to acquire it amazingly fast. Surrounded by the authentic language speaking environment can really push you to keep involving yourself fully with the language. Thus, the best way of learning the Chinese language fast and easily is to live in China for a period of time. And during your stay here, you should try to practice as much as possible with native Chinese speakers. What’s more, making more Chinese-speaking friends! Those daily first-hand authentic Chinese language terms and sayings cannot be found in the textbook.

Reading the post to get more ideas about HOW TO LEARN CHINESE LANGUAGE EASILY. 

Tip 4 Pay more attention to listening skills and the right pronunciation.

The best way of practicing your listening skill is to watch movies and listen to speeches. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand because your purpose at the beginning is not to understand but to have an overall sense of the sound of the language. If you listen a lot, you can naturally capture the laws of pronunciation and even know what a certain pronunciation means.

As to the pronunciation part, the best way to practice your pronunciation is always to imitate. Not only the sound you hear but also the specific mouth shape of the pronunciation. If the shape of the mouth is wrong, the pronunciation must be wrong too. The shape of the mouth includes the closure of the teeth, the curling of the tongue, and the position of the root part of the tongue.

In a word, learning a second language, especially the Chinese language, is never a waste of time. You will have a great payoff in the long run.