WHY LEARN MANDARIN? 5 REASONS WHY IT WILL IMPROVE YOUR CAREER
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There are so many reasons for learning a new language, especially learning Mandarin Chinese in China. You might be aiming to broaden your knowledge, travelling in beautiful Chinese cities like Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Tengchong, Puzhehei, Yuanyang, Jianshui, Xishuangbanna and Jingmai Tea Mountain, add to your C.V., or increase your credibility for career opportunities. Whatever the reason is, you’re on your way to adding another skill to your life. While there are thousands of languages to pick from, choosing Mandarin, the most spoken language in the world, will propel you the furthest. In this blog post, we share 5 reasons why Mandarin is the best language to learn for business.
LEARN TO SPEAK MANDARIN CAN HELP YOU COMMUNICATE WITH COLLEAGUES, CLIENTS, SUPPLIERS OR INVESTORS
As a business professional, one of the biggest benefits of learning Mandarin is speaking with stakeholders around the globe.
Did you know that more than one billion people speak Chinese of which 873,000 million speak Mandarin? Chinese is quickly becoming the language of business and tourism, so by learning it now, you’ll be benefiting your future business self.
With this many people speaking Mandarin, you will most likely do business with someone that speaks the language. Communicating with that person effectively will make your work task run smoothly while building good relationships with the Chinese stakeholders.
This is business gold for your employer and for yourself.
MARKETABILITY
Multilingual employees are at a premium in the marketplace. You’re an appealing candidate for business and career opportunities when your C.V. says you know not only English but Mandarin as well.
When hired, your ability to speak Mandarin will show your personal and professional value within the company. If you’re able to build rapport and negotiate with suppliers, manufacturers and/or customers in China, you are enhancing the company on a global scale.
Research shows that Mandarin, Polish and Spanish are the best languages for professionals to study. However, only one percent of adults that can hold a conversation in a second language speak Mandarin.
This means that when you reference that you’re fluent in Mandarin on your C.V, potential employers will see you as an attractive candidate, particularly in the retail and manufacturing industries.
BOOSTS BRAIN POWER
Learning a new language will put your brain to work, especially when learning to speak Mandarin. You will sharpen your reading and problem-solving skills.
Once you start speaking Mandarin, you might not remember a certain word or phrase while speaking to someone. You will have to use some quick problem-solving skills to develop another way to say what you’re hoping to get across.
On top of sharpening skills, learning Mandarin will boost your memory. The more the brain is used, the better it will function at work. According to a study published in the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences, Mandarin speakers use both sides of their brains. People who speak tonal languages (like Mandarin) show very different flows of information during a speech, using both hemispheres of the brain, rather than just the left, known as the primary neurological region for processing speech.
Hence, learning to speak Mandarin is an effective workout to boost your brainpower.
CREATIVITY IS BORN
A new language lets you experiment with new words and phrases. Don’t be nervous to try out new ways to say simple words.
Adding Mandarin to your increasing list of skills will make you a more conscious person. You will notice the use of vocabulary, grammar, idioms, and sentence construction. If you weren’t a vocabulary keener before, you would be when you add another language into the mix.
Among countless benefits of learning Mandarin Chinese, the most interesting one must be that learning to speak Mandarin can make you a creative person. It’s been found that those business professionals who are fluent in more than one language speak their primary language better. They annunciate better and are more creative with their wording.
So, get fancy. Companies want the most creative you.
BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE
As an adult, it’s sometimes hard to become a “student” again and learn new things. Learning a new language will show you that teaching an old dog (you) new tricks (Mandarin) is possible.
You’re about to teach yourself “Yes, I can do this”.
Multilingual people are more logical, rational and have better decision-making skills. They’re perceptive to their surroundings. Doors will open around you when you know another language, and that will build self-confidence within yourself and your work capabilities.
There is another reason why learning Chinese Mandarin can help you build self-confidence. When learning Mandarin by yourself out of the class, you have to be self-disciplined and well-organized with your schedule. These learning habits will benefit you a lot and make you a better person.
When your boss asks you to speak to a stakeholder in China who doesn’t speak English well or at all, you won’t want to curl into a ball and hide. Instead, you will feel confident in your ability to speak Mandarin, helping move the company you’re working for ahead.
You want to be the best employee you can be, which is why it’s important to know your worth. Business professionals looking for individuals who have confidence in themselves and their work.
That’s Mandarin-speaking you!
LET’S GET STARTED
There are so many ways to learn Mandarin, but the best is reverting back to the student in you. Sit down at a desk, be taught by teachers fluent in Mandarin and why not live and study in Kunming, China and use it in real life while you’re doing it?
What are you waiting for?
Since being founded, Keats School in Kunming, China, has helped more than 10,000 people become fluent in Mandarin, and half of their students are business professionals like yourself. If you’re going to learn Chinese in China, go to Keats School in Kunming, Yunnan.
The school offers a variety of flexible study options to fit time schedules and budgets.
Keats School also developed a customized intensive one-on-one Chinese program for business professionals to facilitate their progress on both Mandarin learning and business etiquette.
FAQ
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1. Will learn Mandarin help me to get a job?
Being able to speak Mandarin Chinese cannot directly bring you a job unless you’re an interpreter. However, being able to speak the Chinese language can truly expand the employment pool for you. There would be more available positions for you when you’re equipped with Mandarin-speaking skills. Positions like the global marketing specialist, the Chinese teacher, the research analyst, etc., will all be available as your career choices.
Being able to communicate directly in Chinese can also increase the chance of getting a promotion and a raise on payment. According to research, bilingual workers can earn much more money than their English-only counterparts.
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2. How to learn Mandarin by self-study?
In this digital era, more learning resources can be reached to support a self-study plan. However, I would still suggest the beginner find a professional and qualified Chinese teacher to study with at the beginning stage. Because laying a firm foundation at the beginning stage is very important, especially for a language like Chinese Mandarin. It has a quite different language system compared to the European language family. Chinese Mandarin uses characters rather than an alphabet. It also has different grammar rules and structures. Without professional instructions, you may get lost in thousands of unfamiliar Chinese characters, and you may pause your learning at the stage of saying “Xie Xie” and “Bu Ke Qi.”
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3. How many Chinese characters should I learn to be able to efficiently communicate in Business occasion?
There are over 30,000 Chinese characters in total. However, only about 4,000 Chinese characters are used in daily communication. To work in a specific industry, you may have to learn about extra 2,000 Chinese characters to facilitate your professional communication with a specific theme and topic.
Don’t be panic about the quantity of the Chinese characters you may have to learn and remember. That is a practical goal to approach, and a step-by-step plan can help you get here gradually. The most commonly used 500 Chinese characters can be taken as your first step to conquer.
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4. Why would people choose a job that requires for the Chinese language skill?
It can bring you a chance to travel and live abroad.
It can make you stand out from crowds.
It provides you with a different view of appreciating this colorful world.
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5. How to learn to speak Chinese Mandarin quickly?
It does take time and effort to master the Chinese language, but this will pay you off in the long run.
To make your Mandarin learning easier, you may try out the following tips for learning:
- pay attention to learning the basics of Mandarin, including Pinyin, characters, and standard pronunciation
- focus on improving your listening and speaking skills if you want to see obvious progress
- never skip the learning of characters and try your best to memorize Chinese vocabularies
- learning Chinese Mandarin in an immersive environment can boost your learning to the most
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I really enjoy studying Chinese in Kunming at Keats. The teachers are great and my classmates are awesome. It is an unforgettable experience for me. I also got the chance to travel to other places in Yunnan. Those places are amazing and you definitely need to visit these places when you study Chinese in China at Keats.
I come to Kunming because I think the environment in Kunming is better and I heard that Keats School is better. I like the small group Chinese class because my classmates study hard and our teachers are very good. I like the teaching method of Keats because I like the activities at Keats. I think Yunnan is a particularly beautiful Chinese province.
I think the Chinese learning environment here is great. The teaching methods are also very interactive and fun. What I particularly enjoy here is the fact that my teacher does not stick to the textbook. We spend a lot of time discussing general topics, such as Chinese culture, world news, typical expressions used by local people. We also discuss social and economic topics.
About studying Chinese here, I think the living condition is very convenient because the dorm is very close to the classroom. Our teachers really enjoy teaching Chinese. They are also very passionate. Compared with other cities in China, Kunming has really good weather.
I have been to Keats School to learn Chinese for 4 times now. The reason for coming back to this school is pretty much that the teachers I did work with were very good Chinese teachers. I make it a 5-year plan or even a 10-year plan to come back to this school. All the teachers have methods of looking at what your skills are. They are aware of at what level you are. I think it is worth for everyone.
The place is very cool. I am with a great group of people in my class, so coming to classes is very enjoyable. It is fun, we have a lot of discussions, games, activities. Our teachers are also very good, very supportive. Learning Chinese is intimidating at the start because you have so many questions. But I would advise coming to Keats because the atmosphere for learning is great. It is very relaxing. I would recommend the school.
It doesn’t matter what level of Chinese you have, or even you can start from the zero level. Your teacher will prepare the lessons according to your requirements. The advantage of living in the school is that you will have your tutoring, you will have your private accommodation with your own bathroom and all the meals provided. I highly recommend everybody to actually take the whole package because you get to meet other students.
I found Keats School and I am so glad that I did. When you learn Chinese in China at Keats, you are fully being taken care of. My teacher is really great and we become lovely friends.