Some feedback on how to learn chinese

Considering simplified mandarin chinese, including written hanzi.
My current level is between hsk2 and hsk3, after more than a year of study.
I'm a self learner, and also a slow learner which is precisely why I'm looking for efficiency.
Of course, nothing replaces real classroom courses, the methods suggested here are just complementary.

The first method to apply, just like for financial asset management (after all, your language skills are assets), is simply diversification. You don't need to change methods all the time, but in order to verify your progress or verify that you are not doing things wrong, you have to consider changing methods from time to time. Some of the methods I suggested here may not be adapted to you for the moment, or not at all.

These listings are, in my opinion, some of the best resources you can find on the web in that area. Those lists mix words with a lot of background sentences to be used as concrete use-cases.

I personnally use this on a daily basis. Learning vocabulary this way helps memorize faster, and it is fixed in your memory with better durability (knowing in what context are used words greatly helps remembering them). You should get used to first study the words so that you get familiar with them, and then study use-cases of those words in sentences, this is really good for your progress. Now, the problem is that it's hard to keep a of everything: there are words you know by heart, but you never saw them used in a sentence... This is probably one of the reasons why standardized HSK levels exist (apart from punishment).

• skritter listings check out the selection of words here. Plus, the way they are presented: the police used is much more pleasant than the usual computer representation. Skritter is a good tool among many others, that includes an OCR to be able to write hanzi on your tablet and have direct feedback. Wether you should use it or not is up to you. Just don't spend to much time choosing/changing tools.
• Pleco: very nice app to have on your smartphone that is used as a really fast dictionnary for pinyin, oral, strokes based, OCR based (you draw on screen the character you are looking for) or even from the english version. This helps me a lot everytime I'm unsure of a character representation or translation.

Choosing the wrong method or learning the wrong words happens from time to time. Whatever happens, you are not wasting your time. You make mistakes, you make progress.

Example of a standard list. This is not convenient for training. However, it may be used to check your current level.

For a more official way of asserting your level, you can take full tests such as the one that is presented here but this is a little bit overkill...

Such as chineseclass101 Practicing your oral comprehension on a regular basis is quite important. There are a lot of audio/video podcast out there. The pronunciation and the differences between the tones is an essential part of your training, especially on the beginning.

Anki

• The trap of the pre-compiled deck: like for most new users (including myself), you will be tempted by using lists of cards (or "decks", in this case) that other people have already created for you. After hours of using those, you will notice that most words that come out are not the ones that you specifically need, and this lack of personification quickly becomes frustrating (there is the risk that you will lose time studying characters that you already know, and won't spend enough time on those that you should be insisting on). As a solution, you may find the idea of creating/modifying the decks yourself a good idea. Unfortunately, it is a rather hard process and comes at a cost (especially on the long term). You can go for it, but you must be aware of what extra work this will require on a regular basis.
• All free of access chinese-english decks that you will find are presented using hanzi+pinyin notation first, and then show the english translation as an answer. Which, you will agree, is far less productive than the contrary. It's like providing all the answers to the exercices before even giving you the problem statement. Again, what you can do as a workaround is to reverse the flashcards presentations.
  • You have the option of finding a good anki client app that features such functionnality. Not all of them propose this functionnality, and when they do, it is not fine-tuned enough: english and pinyin mixed within the same page, wrong police, what happens to oral extracts...
  • Or you can automate this process outside of any client tool, using python scripting for example. There is surely already a lot of python scripts for the purpose of customized flash-cards management, that can help you start your own.
  • One of my todo projects (that I will probably never implement) consists in porting a deck reader client app on an e-ink device (ereader or eink cellphone or any type of eink compatible device we will have in the the future), this should be amazing. But between doing this and customizing the decks honestly, I prefer to spend time on learning chinese.

All that said, I still recommand you to give anki a try, at least on the beginning. It is a great tool and spaced-repetition is a very efficient method (when properly executed).

• Books: useful for grammar, especially on the beginning. Also for background context to fix your vocabulary once and for all (and also good old exercices)
• Ebooks: put in your pocket, study everywhere, anytime. Upload your pdfs files that contain all the necessary material: wether its official lists of vocabulary or your own lists (typed, scanned or whatever). I am almost never going anywhere without my device.
• Paper: writing your own lists. Even better than the ereader, because it is lighter, consumes less battery, and is even more convenient in your pockets. Plus, this requires that you write the characters yourself, which is mandatory in order to improve your hanzi. Last but not least, the selection of vocabulary is much more personified, so that you review only what you need, thus optimizing your study time.

They help a lot in many situations:

• looking up in a chinese dictionnary
• typing on a chinese keyboard (I don't do it myself, but hope I'll be able to one day)
• guessing the meaning of characters you don't know yet or simply don't fully remember (happens all the time)
• learning vocabulary much faster ...just like learning on steroid
• extra combo bonus: this could help you learn japanese, in case that's what you plan to do (the same way learning latin helps you learn french and italian)

Be careful though, as I noticed there was a lot of discrepency between all the different listings you will find on the web: they either don't contain the same number of elements, are not on the same line about the use of tones sometimes, and it even happens that they simply disagree with the meanings Nevertheless, knowing the radicals soon enough will make you save precious time on the long run.

• train to speak
• to listen (and this is not trivial)
• to learn grammar
• to build a network of friends that share your interest in learning chinese and assuredly many other things.
• but it's not sufficient by itself: 2 or 4 hours a class every week and the homework that goes with it is not enough (this does not apply of course, if your are young enough to be in school or in university). Even though it has to be part of your training at some points (especially the beginning), most of the work will have to be done as a self-learner.

Speaking of studying chinese at university, i think going to study abroad if you have the opportunity to do so is one of the best decisions of your life. i wish i did it, i really wish. It is, however, still possible to make study trips for a few weeks or for a few months if you are not in your student years anymore.

One might think that having a chinese girlfriend/boyfriend is the best way to learn chinese effectively. in my short experience, that's not the case (but for some it is, though...). Nevertheless, going out with chinese speaking friends sometimes is a very good idea. But not even for training: just to be reminded why you learn chinese, this will keep you highly motivated.

Wether for living or just for holiday, the reason is obvious. This immediately remind you why you started learning in the first place! Don't hesitate to do so, China is one of the best places in the world to go and to live, and one trip will never be enough.

Let me present to you a routine I follow in a typical week of learning:

• Take your favorite memorization technique (I know you are thinking about "I know kung-fu" from the matrix movie, and I'm thinking about Elon Musk's Neuralink, which makes me wonder if we are so far from it...) which can be using a spaced-memorization tool or using the good old page of tranlsated word you have made or whatever. Make the guesses until completion, and do it again and again in different orders if you can.
• Let's now place them into context, using for example the resource link in previous section Your memory needs context, which I think is the natural next step. It has also to be done several times each, but unlike for the words, it should not be learned by heart. The purpose is not to be able to repeat sentences in real world situations, but more to give context to the words you already know, so that you understand the nuances (ie when to use "pao bu" or when to prefer using "pao yi pao" that sort of things).
• Switch to oral comprehension skills training. By using any ressource, free or not. It is important to do this on a regular basis. Go progressively and don't try to understand chinese movies right from the start. Go to a chinese course or listen to podcasts or both.
• This is a daily routine. Being efficient in learning a language (and let's be honest, as is for everything where you want to succeed in) is to work everyday. Don't overwork, though: it's really ok if you have just worked for 5 minutes today. Simply make it more the next day. The methods can't help you here, neither can any tool or course. If you can't find time to work at least 6 times a week (one excuse a week allowed max), then don't consider doing something as demanding as learning chinese.
• Avoid routine traps. If you are used to review your vocabulary in the subway while going to work, you will eventually miss your training the days when, for any reason, you didn't take the subway. It occured to me that I had too much associated reviewing and commuting. That's the reason why I occasionnally missed my training on a few occasions. Or it could also be an overdose of using too much the same method: as we saw in Methods diversification. If this happens, don't hesitate to change the type of your exercice, or to change your target for your week.

• If you have someone to compete with: look at what progress he made on a particular topic, and you didn't. what will he say when he realizes this? aren't you ashamed? what are you going to do about this?
• Commit yourself. Tell everyone that you have started to learn chinese. So that now, you don't have a choice anymore, unless you want people to be disappointed. You think you don't need to review your hsk2 list? then have a quick test online, and realize how weak you are after a few questions. How guilty do you feel?
• Do you believe in free will or do you believe in determinism (the red or the blue pill) ? Normally, the answer should be obvious, especially for somebody who is learn chinese seriously.
• Your wife is chinese, and so your children will speak native english in 2 to 3 years. If you want to be able to understand what your own children are saying, you know what to do.
• You're an expat (living in China). Don't let yourself read this any further, you already know that being able to speak chinese is not a "nice to have", it is mandatory. Plus, this marked on your resume, people will have more expectation on you.
• Stop pretending you have the laundry or other important duties. This is not the truth. These are yet other means to try to escape from your real task. The work you have to do is not in front of you, it is inside of you (remember the cave, Luke)
• Of course if you come to lack motivation too often, then it probably means that learning chinese is simply not your thing. As a last resort, what you can do is to pay for a good chinese class for the entire year, like paying a premium price for full fare course, this way you have no choice left, unless you are ok with throwing all this money into garbage (you will never be good at poker until you play for real money).