Everything you need to know to learn Chinese
BlogLanguagesChineseHow to Receive Chinese Classes?: Everything you need to know to learn Chinese
Index
How to choose a Chinese teacher?
How much do Chinese classes cost?
How to prepare for Chinese classes?
How to complement Chinese classes?
Mandarin Chinese is one of the most widely taught foreign languages in Spain. Today, an estimated 40,000 people study Chinese in our country. Furthermore, the growing rapprochement between the two countries shows the mutual interest in learning languages.
Of course, the Spanish are not characterized by our immense facility to learn foreign languages. And when it comes to learning a language as different as Chinese, that difficulty increases.
In this article, Superprof intends to help you with this article to learn a little more about how Chinese classes work.
How to choose a Chinese teacher?: Everything you need to know to learn Chinese
When we decide to sign up for Chinese classes , the first thing we should do is take a look at the offer of private foreign language classes to compare the different profiles of Chinese teachers.
Perhaps you will find your Chinese teacher at the University.
To do this, we must be very clear about our objectives and our expectations:
What are our personal expectations: take Chinese classes to become bilingual, acquire basic foundations, learn to write in Chinese, learn to speak …
What kind of classes do we want: afternoon classes, intensive Chinese courses , introductory classes, language improvement classes, calligraphy classes, culture classes, conversation classes, etc.
What is our goal: to be able to travel to China, Taiwan, do a language immersion stay, take a level test, become a Chinese teacher …
You may have many different reasons for studying the language of Confucius.
Then you will have to find a good Chinese teacher; a competent and experienced teacher who knows how to help you achieve your goals.
¿ Where can you find this ideal teacher , the “crème de la crème ‘of teachers?: Everything you need to know to learn Chinese
Well, this great teacher can be in a primary school, in a high school, in the university, in a language school or… in Superprof!
In general, it is considered that a foreign language teacher must have a minimum of 3 years of experience more than his student.
Form words with this? Well of course!: Everything you need to know to learn Chinese
Chinese dictionaries include 106,230 sinograms. However, on a daily basis between 4,000 and 6,000 are used . In a very short time you will learn to recognize the most basic characters, to say “hello” (ni hao, 你 好), “goodbye” (zài jiàn, 再见) and “thank you” (xièxie, 谢谢) in Chinese.
To look for a good teacher, the best we can do is look for:
Someone with a good language training (with an HSK diploma, for example)
A person with great knowledge of Chinese culture.
Someone who knows how to listen to his students.
A person who adapts to all levels.
Someone who masters the most common vocabulary and expressions.
Do not hesitate to take a look at the list of teachers registered in Superprof who offer Chinese classes at home. You can find very interesting profiles, from university students to PhD professionals with years of experience; some have lived in China for many years and others have learned the language here in Spain. You can sign up for introductory courses, advanced courses, online Chinese courses …
How much do Chinese classes cost?: Everything you need to know to learn Chinese
It is clear that quality private classes have to be paid for. In Spain, private teachers can establish the rate they consider appropriate for their services, a price that will vary depending on their experience, their training, etc.
How many Taiwanese dollars for a Mandarin lesson?
But approximately how much does a Chinese class at home cost?
In general, Chinese classes at home cost an average of € 20 per month . In Superprof you will find a large number of profiles of professionals who offer their services throughout Spain.
Even so, from this average price, the place of residence, training, experience, as well as the level of education, the number of hours of class, etc., make the rate vary. As is normal, a bilingual or native Chinese professional with extensive training in education and offering official exam preparation courses cannot charge the same as a person who is studying Chinese at university and offers classes for children. Logical, right?
In addition, you must bear in mind that the private classes are completely personalized and individualized. The objective of the teachers is to carry out an authentic follow-up of each student so that they progress in the most effective way possible.
Do you have to be rich to request private Chinese lessons?
Fortunately, there are other cheaper learning methods. If you have a reduced budget, you can choose to join an official language school or, if you have a lot of willpower and motivation, you also have the option of learning self-taught with applications for your Smartphone or Tablet , or web pages.
What will you get out of this?
Classes in language schools tend to have several classes a week lasting a couple of hours. They tend to be collective in medium or large groups and of annual duration (such as a school year). Of course, the teachers have a very solid training and the prices vary between 100 and 300 euros, depending on the community.
Is it still too expensive?
In that case, Superprof advises you to use native university students, who will charge less. Anyway, if you want to spend even less (or even nothing), you can download a Chinese learning application (free and paid).
How to prepare for Chinese classes?
“There is no easy method to learn difficult things” (Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821)).
Learning to write and speak Chinese, as we already know, is a daunting task. Therefore, we must review each class well and dedicate all the time we need.
Do like Chinese children and practice calligraphy.
You have to look for optimal conditions: prepare both the body and the mind to memorize and get the most out of every minute with our teacher.
What should we do?
Be attentive during class to memorize better.
Reread each topic frequently (review grammar rules, pinyin transcription , Chinese calligraphy stroke order, vocabulary, verbs, etc.).
Find the most appropriate time to review: the best is at night, before going to sleep.
Nourish the brain: eat well, drink water, breathe calmly, sit well, keep your back straight, place your feet in parallel …
Avoid any source of distraction.
Make summary cards: one for each topic, for example.
Use mnemonic rules to facilitate assimilation and memorization.
Learning Mandarin involves assimilating characters and tones radically different from those of the Romance languages to which we are used. Just as musicians learn in their piano or guitar lessons, we must develop the ear to better grasp the nuances.
What to do to experience a Chinese immersion in Spain?
When we are learning a new subject, the ideal is to complement our learning with a full immersion in that area. If we want to learn to play jazz guitar, it is best that we listen to a lot of music of this style. If we want to learn Arabic, we can read the press in this language. If we want to keep our level of English at bay, we can watch movies and series in their original version.
To learn Chinese we can do something similar and immerse ourselves in the language and culture. Even if we are beginners and understand almost nothing, we will learn to identify the characters more easily and we will improve our pronunciation much faster if we look for a way to live a linguistic immersion: immerse ourselves in the language and everything that surrounds it.
In this way, we will also discover Chinese culture, its history, its way of thinking and acting. It is like living in China without leaving Spain.
Along the same lines, if you are thinking of traveling to China or Taiwan, you can also look for a linguistic tandem, which can help you organize everything and improve your command of the language.
What is a tandem?
Well, it is a free learning medium that consists of looking for a Chinese person who wants to learn Spanish to share moments together and learn each other’s language. It is a kind of intercultural training, an exchange of knowledge between a mother tongue and a foreign one.
How to complement Chinese classes?
The sounds and pronunciation of Chinese can be very difficult to assimilate. Therefore, a few classes a week may not be enough for us if we want to see accelerated progression. For this reason, Superprof offers you some tips to add value to your language training and complement your training .
Websites and apps to practice Chinese
Of course, we cannot make a complete inventory of all the means available on the net to learn Chinese, but here we leave you a small list:
Hello Chinese,
Mondly,
Pleco,
Learn Chinese Mandarin,
Line dictionnary,
Mandarin Madness,
Italki,
Hello Talk,
Chine Nouvelle,
Mosalingua,
Youscribe,
Chine.in.
Find a Chinese correspondent
Most of the contact pages for language students who want to learn with native speakers also offer courses, dictionaries and chats , where you can find partners with whom to exchange conversations.
My language exchange uses the Cormier method: learn Chinese by integrating language workshops for two to four people.
The page allows email exchanges for those who have just started to study Chinese. Video chat chats are intended for those with a more advanced level.
Find a person to learn Chinese with.
This method is mainly aimed at students with an intermediate level.
Conversation Exchange , another free page, allows you to find Chinese looking to learn a European language (such as Spanish) through correspondence exchanges.
This page gives us the opportunity to learn a language in a social context.
How?
Meeting someone in a neighborhood coffee shop, for example, to speak half the time in Spanish and the other half in Chinese.
This way of learning is also great to become familiar with everyday expressions and learn about cultural issues (discovering the political system and the history of China, for example, or the gastronomy of the country). In short, it allows us to approach the language and everything that surrounds it in a different way than we would in a Chinese class.
A little quiz to finish: how do you say “hello” and “thank you” in Chinese?
