Building a Super foundation!

Until I finally realized just how important foundations were for buildings I always wondered why it took sooooo long for a the foundation to go in, and I am still amazed at how fast the rest of the building goes up after the foundation is finished. Learning Chinese is very similar to this process. The foundation is the most important part, but all to often it is the one step that most people skip when learning Chinese. It also becomes more evident and more difficult to change as time goes on. So what I am saying is…. a good foundation is key to successful language learning.

What are the key ingredients to building a strong.. durable…long lasting and all in all successful foundation?

Tones … Pinyin… Tones….Tones… more.. pinyin.. grammar and ummmm more Tones.

Tones

I put tones as number one on my list not because it is the most important perse, but it is the most commonly forgotten and over-looked. Many people tend to think that they will learn the tones “as they go”, and instead focus all their efforts on memorizing vocabulary. If you do this you’ll find yourself a far way down the road needing to turn back and start again. First, drill yourself until your tones are nothing short of amazing, and then gradually add more words. (don’t be shy when it comes to recording your own voice to see how you sound) If you do this the rest of the road will go much more smoothly, and you won’t have to make any unnecessary turn-around. After studying Chinese for over 7 years I still begin each study session with a tongue twister or two just to keep the tones in tip top condition. Perfect tones help you jump the hurtle separating foreigner from a local Chinese..you are no longer the white guy (or Latin or Indian…girl.etc..) trying to speak Chinese you are the “white Chinese guy”.

Pinyin

I have pinyin as the second key ingredient in our foundation, but honestly it was nearly had a tie with tones. If you don’t get a grasp on pinyin from the very start you will be in a world of hurt later on. It is similar to learning a completely new alphabet, but once you have it down pat, it is consistent and you very easy to build with. The English alphabet has sooooo many exceptions and different ways of pronouncing letters it gives me a nervous twitch just thinking about it. Hanyu pinyin on the other hand stays consistent at all times. Get them down early on and you will be loving life and those you speak Chinese with will enjoy talking to you also.

word of warning: Partly due to the fact that so few foreigners choose to learn Chinese, and also because Chinese people are very patient and gracious….no matter how bad your Mandarin is they won’t tell you (unless you sincerely ask… and then they’ll give it to ya..) This is only a problem if you let it get to your head…and you start saying to yourself, “well, all the Chinese tell me that my Mandarin is amazing I guess I can stop studying.” When learning correct pronunciation of words the best way is simply to watch and listen. Watch their mouth..how the lips, tongue and throat move..and listen carefully always trying to mimic what you see and hear. Sounds simple but it works wonders.

Grammar: I’ve never been a big fan of grammar classes ever, and that is yet another reason I love the Chinese language. For the most part it is very straight foreword and it stays consistent with few exceptions to the rule. As long as you never forget STPVO=subject-time-place-verb-object you will have excellent sentences that are even grammatically correct.

Keep these 3 things high on your priority list and you’ll have a great future with the chinese language!