David Stevens asked:


Did you know that you can learn Chinese online ? Well yes you can. there are several programs and courses where you can learn mandarin chinese online.

Today, Chinese is now becoming one of the most popular languages that people are studying and learning in the world. The reason for this is that China is becoming extremely influential in the business markets.

Certainly the best way to learn and study the language is by going to China. Immersing yourself in the language and culture will probably provide a person with a better rounded way of learning the language. If you can, find somewhere that does exchange programs, or find a private school in one of the many beautiful cities in China that you could attend. However, going to China, for some people, is a problem because of the cost implications.

Presently, 1.3 billion people speak Chinese around the world, of which 880 million speak Mandarin Chinese, which also happens to be the most dominant dialect. Currently in the USA, only 25000 students are actually studying this language, but their numbers are steadily growing. However, the biggest problem that many educators in the US are facing when it comes to expanding their Chinese programs, is finding people who are actually qualified to teach it. There are only a few Universities in the USA which offer programs to allow people to train and gain their teachers certification in teaching the Chinese language. This is where the internet comes in.

These days everyone around the world is learning the Chinese language and many of those Chinese enthusiasts are learning the Chinese language on the internet. One of the best and easiest ways to learn Mandarin Chinese online is to communicate with a native Mandarin Chinese speaker. You can do this by using instant messagers. You can also talk directly with your Chinese teacher via Skype.

You can also learn Mandarin Chinese online with podcasts. If you want more up-to-date info, you can also tune into online radio stations in Chinese to listen to the news or music in Chinese. If you have a fast internet connection, you can also watch Chinese TV online using many free software applications. You can download Chinese courses on the MP3 even to learn Chinese. This makes it possible to learn a new language even during your busy life ! Whether walking, sitting in your car, or even in the shops you can learn Chinese. How great is that !

You will find that there are more and more very good Chinese courses online to help you learn Chinese at your own pace from the comfort of your own home. Through taking a course online you can learn Chinese directly with native teachers. This new learning method and a great way to make fast progress.

If learning to speak Mandarin Chinese is your main focus then the internet has some great products available.

To study Chinese online is a great way to learn Chinese, there are many opportunities online for you to do a Chinese course. To successfully master the Chinese language is a great way to get to know this wonderful culture. Enjoy !

Timothy Green asked:


By using English phonics, you can eliminate many of the complications of learning to speak Mandarin. Native English speakers no longer need to trudge through the old fashioned and ineffective Wade-Giles method, or struggle with the current, but just as difficult Pinyin Chinese to speak Mandarin. There’s an easier way! Words and phrases can be sounded out exactly the same way we learned to read and speak English in grade school.

The Romanization of Chinese Characters

Mandarin Pinyin is called Putonghua, or The Common Language, and is widely used throughout China. Its four tones, level, rising, falling, and high rising, distinguish many words and syllables with the same consonants and vowels but with different meanings. It deciphers the Chinese characters and symbols into a Romanized alphabet, eliminating the abstract strokes completely unrecognizable to foreigners.

Prior to the use of Pinyin, westerners depended upon the Wade-Giles Romanization system that was initially invented to simplify Chinese characters into their English counterparts. British scholar Sir Thomas Francis Wade created the method, and it was later modified by Herbert Allen Giles in 1912, and it became the preferred transliteration method among scholars. But what it truly gave the western world was a systematic and consistent method of butchering the Chinese language through mispronunciations for more than a half century. Why did it fail so miserably? Learners of Mandarin relied upon the pronunciation guide, but were seldom educated properly on how the system worked. Inevitably, most words were grossly mispronounced.

Other attempts were made to integrate a Latin alphabet for the Mandarin language during the 1920’s and 30’s, but most were unsuccessful. Finally, in 1985, the Pinyin Romanization system officially replaced the Wade-Giles method. The Chinese government’s commitment to promote a standardized Latin alphabet for westerner and the country’s minorities promoted the adoption of Pinyin Putonghua, and it is used extensively throughout the country.

Unfortunately, native English speakers who study Mandarin quickly discover that many of the vowels and consonants used in Pinyin are pronounced differently than their English counterparts. This means that English speakers, who have been trained since primary school to sound out words phonetically, first need to learn Pinyin in order to speak correctly and clearly in Chinese.

A Better Way

The good news is that there is an easier and faster way of learning Mandarin. Native English speakers can by-pass Pinyin and immediately concentrate on reading and speaking Chinese by using the familiar English phonics system. For example, the Chinese word for ‘next’, when written in Pinyin is: xi ay i ge. Using English phonetics, you would say: shee-ah ee guh. Congratulations! You have just pronounced the word correctly! So as you can see, if you are searching for a simple way to speak Chinese effectively, the English phonetic system makes the learning process an easily attainable goal.