Learn How to Speak Chinese

Out of all the second languages for native English speakers to learn, Chinese may be the most valuable and rewarding. The benefits, which we’ll get into below, are obvious. Chinese is by far the world’s most widely-spoken language. There are millions more native Chinese speakers than all native speakers of English, Spanish, French, and Russian put together.

Of course, as with anything truly rewarding, learning Chinese is challenging. Much of the technical instruction we give on how to gain fluency in German, French, or Spanish, for example, is different than Chinese. As Chinese is a tone language, even if a word is spelled and pronounced the same, its meaning can totally change depending on the tone of the speaker, which is something completely different than European languages.

But as far as becoming fluent in Chinese, the core of our approach here at Rype is largely the same as learning any language. It’s all about developing the right mindset. And the fact that you’ve found this page is a great indicator that you’re on the right path.  

Here at Rype you’ll find an amazing  set of tools and best of all a community of teachers for helping you speak Chinese. Let’s dive into it.

Common Obstacles Holding You Back from Speaking Chinese

Whether it’s learning Chineseor any other major goal, we tend to start with optimism. We fantasize about the end result instead of visualizing the actual process of learning, training, working towards our goal. And so when it’s time to move from fantasy to reality, we often get hung up and never take action.

The key to overcoming this is to put common obstacles into perspective.  Let’s then look at the challenges that will hold you back from becoming fluent in Chinese. From there we can strategize how to plow through them.

• Resources – When it comes to getting started, what is your methodology? And then how much will it cost? How does it fit into your budget?
• Time – From here, what about time?  What space do you have in your schedule? How will you adjust for classes?  What is your availability?
• Accountability – After considering  resources and time, consider motivation.  To what degree are you a self-starter? How much would you benefit from an accountability partner, coach, or tutor?

After considering all of these challenges and obstacles, many people feel a bit overwhelmed. But breathe easy. Because when we created Rype we systematically took into consideration each of these challenges. By teaching you Chinese online with native speakers around your schedule, our model will allow you to crush these challenges. The Mandarin teachers at Rype are some of the best in the world. We vet them carefully for their skills in teaching and communicating. And our platform allows you to schedule classes online whenever you have availability.  

You just choose which teacher you want and they’ll help you stay on track.  And when you compare all this to either a group language school (where you don’t get one on one attention) or private lessons (which are expensive and lack scheduling flexibility), Rype truly reduces the amount of time and energy it requires to speakChinese fluently.

The Benefits of Speaking Chinese Fluently

Each person has their own personal motivations for wanting to speak Chinese fluently. Perhaps you’re seeking more business opportunities. Or you may simply want the amazing cognitive benefits of speaking Mandarin as a second language.  Whatever your goals are, consider these common benefits of learningChinese:

• Access to the world’s most spoken language. Being conversant in Chinese has massive implications as far as your ability to connect with the world’s biggest population, and this includes business opportunities.
• Increased attention.  Learning a second language increases attention span, as studied by Scottish scientists. It’s one off the many cognitive benefits of bilingualism.
• Career opportunities.  This doesn’t even necessarily mean living in China, but simply being a more valuable job candidate in today’s global marketplace.
• New sense of confidence. There is a direct link between mastering a second language (especially one as challenging asChinese) and increased confidence. Why? Consider the big picture of what you’re learning. It’s not just the language but the broader aspects of learning to better communicate, express yourself, and connect with others.
• Deeper relationships. Being able to speak another’s native language, creates a depth of understanding and new layers of relationships with others that simply aren’t available when you’re monolingual.

Speaking Chinese Fluently: 8 Quick Tips

Get started on your path to speakingChinese fluently with these 8 quick tips:

1. Stop Being a ‘Student’ in Chinese.

We begin with the most important step. You have to change your approach, your mindset.  At Rype we encourage everyone to liberate themselves from the worn out model of “student” and “teacher.” Believe it or not, when it comes to language learning these concepts can actually be counterproductive. And knowing this actually lets us breathe a little bit. Consider the world’s greatest language learners.

Who are they? Babies!  

Babies don’t really “think” at all when it comes to language. They don’t “try.” Their language acquisition is so fast because they essentially inhabit all sounds, words, and rhythms in their environment. Make this your model. Let go of thinking of yourself as a a student in Chinese and instead “live” in Chinese as much of the time as you can, and in every way you think of.
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2. Overcome the “Mistake Fallacy.”

The mistake fallacy is an erroneous concept that your success in learning a language equals your ability to speak or write free from mistakes. But the truth is that worrying about mistakes can hold back your progress. That’s why it’s a fallacy. Although mistaking pronunciation in Chinese can make for some pretty epic meaning changes, the key is to take it all with a sense of humor and keep trying. Ultimately your “mistakes” will only endear you all the more to locals, who understand that you’re trying and will respect and admire your willingness to learn their language.
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3. Speak Aloud.

Speaking Chinese fluently means SPEAKING! Take any and every possible way you can practice speaking, whether than means repeating phrases Chinese shows, podcasts, or music. The degree to which you’re enjoying speaking aloud determines how quickly you’ll incorporate Mandarin into your brain.
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4. Connect with Chinese Speakers anywhere and everywhere.

This is true both in IRL and on the internet. Look for ways to connect with Chinese speakers and strike up even the easiest conversations, both aloud (most important) and written. One great resource is QQ  a Mandarin community of people who chat with each other in different groups. Many are looking to learn English, and you can build relationships with people that turn into language learning partnerships / exchanges.
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5. Practice with a Chinese conversation partner or teacher.

It’s so important to to have a conversation partner (or teacher / coach) because doing so pushes you out of passive learning and into actively speaking, forcing your mind to work inChinese.  At Rype, our model emphasizes this proactive approach to learning. When it comes to working with a conversation partner or coach, you can’t fake it.
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6. Switch Your devices to Chinese.

Fully “inhabiting” the language means your devices work in that language as well, right?  You should constantly challenge your brain to process information in Mandarin. Switching your phone’s system to Chinese reinforces this.  It will begin to feel normal before you know it.
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7. Learn about Chinese culture.

To truly appreciate a language you have to have context. And withChinese, you have one of the greatest cultures in the world to learn about.  Incorporate Chinese music, architecture, philosophy, cuisine, and poetry into your studies and you’ll realize deeper insights into how it’s expressed.. You even get a new sense of how Chinese approach life. This can be one of the most profound aspects of learning the language.
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8. Travel with an All-Chinese Crew.

This absolutely makes travel more challenging, yes, but it’s a radical shortcut to fluency.  If your travel is 100% Chinese speakers with no English speakers, you’ll expedite your Mandarin fluency above and beyond anything else you could do, hands down.

Classic Learning Tools for Chinese

Having outlined the 8 quick tips for speaking Chinese fluently, let’s compare and contrast various learning methodologies. After review, consider which best fit how you learn.
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Private Chinese Tutors

Immersion has been proven through many studies to be the most effective learning technique. Immersive learning is learning with real people in real time.  Passive learning is learning either by yourself through memorizing or individual study (with no speaking partner), or by listening to someone else but not actively engaging. Your learning is expedited 5-10x more rapidly if you’re in an immersive situation where you’re forced to work in real time engaging with other people.  Live coaches or conversation partners also yield higher retention levels as well as accountability.

Chinese Learning Apps

Another choice for learningChinese is one of the many language apps out there. We’ve reviewed two of the most popular,  Babbel and Duolingo. Apps definitely have their place, but as a passive learning tool, they’re ultimately best as a supplement and do not take the place of a teacher.
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Chinese Audio Courses and Programs

This is the old school way of learning. Language tapes and other audio programs are convenient, and they help you memorize useful travel phrases, but they’re not proactive.
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Conversation Partners

As mentioned above with QQ, conversation exchanges can be great; they’re a proactive approach to learning. That said, finding the right partner can take time. And with conversation exchanges, teaching and learning is split 50% – 50%. This can make it a bit slower than you’d expect.

Learn to Speak Chinese Online

Let’s look at  Rype now that we’ve considered these different methods and tools. To speak Chinese fluently what’s required is immersion. That’s backed by research.  Through the benefit of learning with private teachers, we’ve helped 10,000+ members speak a new language around their busy lifestyle. And best of all, our rate is way more affordable than a private language school. Here are the highlights of the major benefits we offer to our language students:

• You can enjoy Chinese lessons from anywhere you are in the world (no commuting).
• Your experience is with a native Chinese speaking teacher that you choose, (all of whom are handpicked and pre-vetted).
• You’ll learn Chinese online at any time of the day, any day of the week.
• You’re only paying a fraction of the cost of a private language school.
• You’ll be retaining more information and learning Chinese faster.
• You’ll be part of an exclusive community of fellow Chinese language learners and global citizens.
• Start with a risk-free trial

If you still have any questions about how Rype works or want to share any feedback, feel free to reach out at help@rypeapp.com. Activate your risk-free trial now and start learning Chinese online today.

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