5 Ways to Improve Mandarin Speaking Skills
Taking up a new language requires a high level of commitment and discipline. This involves setting aside time daily to practise in order to see progress. While it might take a lot of hard work and time when it comes to perfecting your Mandarin capabilities, there are several methods that can make revision or practice much more fun!
1. Watch Chinese Television Shows
One of the toughest parts about learning basic Mandarin would be to keep up with the speed at which native Mandarin speakers are speaking. By watching Chinese television shows regularly, you will condition yourself to be able to pick up words and meanings from the speech patterns of native speakers. At this point, you can mentally translate the meanings of the Mandarin words to English by reading the subtitles. By associating English words with the Mandarin words you hear, you will be able to understand the language more quickly. Once you are able to understand dialogues without a problem, you can turn off the subtitles to challenge yourself further.
Other than improving your Mandarin skills, watching Chinese television shows are also a great way to learn colloquial Mandarin, which is not commonly taught in a formal environment, but is widely used by most Chinese.
2. Practice With Your Chinese Friends
Instead of speaking English, try conversing only in Mandarin when you are with your Chinese friends. This will make a great way to practice your speaking skills since your friends are native Mandarin speakers and they will be able to pick out your wrong pronunciations easily and correct you if necessary. Besides, you can always count on them to answer whatever questions you have about the language whenever you are unsure.
3. Talk to Yourself
During your daily practise sessions, try speaking to yourself aloud in Mandarin. This way, you will be able to compare your own pronunciation with the accurate pronunciation of a particular word. You can play audio clips of Mandarin words before repeating the word by yourself aloud. You can even record yourself to identify areas that need improvement when you playback the recording. With this method, you will definitely be able to nail the right intonation in no time!
4. Practice Whenever You Can
Don’t let your “bad” pronunciation hinder you from practising or speaking Mandarin whenever you can. The faster way to see improvement would be to use Mandarin in your daily life with anyone and everyone who understands the language. This includes ordering your food in Mandarin at the hawker centre or simply attempting to communicate in Mandarin with your colleagues. The more comfortable you feel speaking Mandarin, the quicker you will improve.
5. Take Up a Mandarin Course
If you are looking for professionals to help you improve your Mandarin speaking skills in a short period of time, consider signing up for a Mandarin class in Singapore to help you. Here at the School of Language International, we have a wide array of Mandarin classes available to suit your needs. Whether you are looking for tailored private tutoring, group lessons or online classes, we have them all at our language centre. With our well-structured syllabus, you can expect remarkable improvement in a short span of time. Furthermore, you never have to worry about the quality of our classes since all Mandarin classes are taught by native Chinese speakers.
Depending on your purpose of learning Mandarin, you can choose between our Conversational Chinese course, Corporate Chinese Course, Business Mandarin Course, Online Mandarin Lessons or One-to-one Chinese lessons. We also have a Mandarin Course For Kids if your little ones are interested in taking up a new language.
Visit our website to find out more about our language courses now.
