The Route to Chinese Mastery

Beginning

The best way to start your study of Chinese is to get a foundational understanding of the language. Note that most language classes do not cover much of this information, and it is not strictly necessary to start learning. However, if you can learn about pinyin, tones, characters, and the structure of the langauge first, you will be in a better postiion.

First Year/Beginning Level

Because Chinese is challening (not hard) to learn at the beginning, you will make better progress if you can attend an intensive course. This is true for any level - intensive/immersion is the best way to learn a language at any level - but at the beginning level it allows you to get up and running more quickly. Having said that, a no-English immersion program can be very frustrating for absolute beginners as it can take up to three weeks before you can really say much of anything.

As you work, focus on pronunciation and tones. Internalizing the tones and sounding really good at the beginning will save you a lot of trouble as you go forward. Learn vocabulary by ear; don't separate the pronunciation and the tones. Remember that for a native speaker, a wrong tone is the same as a wrong consonant or vowel. Learn/internalize basic grammar. Understand how characters work.

Second and Third Year/Intermediate Level

Chinese is a language that requires sentence structures in order to express yourself efficiently, so learn the structures well. Vocabulary is important, of course, as it is when learning any language, but the structures will allow you to grow your Chinese.

Fourth Year/Approaching Advanced

If you have not done so yet, attend an intensive summer program or a semester abroad. Being immersed in the language at this level will help you cement your knowledge and ability, as well as make you language much more fluid. An intensive/immersive experience now will make future study much easier.

Another element to include at this level is idioms, or 成语 chéngyǔ. While it is likely that you will learn some along the way in textbooks, they are worth extra effort, both because they are widely used and also because they make your Chinese seem that much better. The same can be said for common adages, or 俗语 súyǔ. In many cases, tehy also provide some insight into the culture and way of thinking.

Advanced Level and Beyond

Making the final leap to the advanced/superior level requires spending time in China or Taiwan. There, you must immerse yourself in botht he language and the culture - no hanging out wth other foreigners spealking English. It would be best if you take advanced level courses as well.

Measuring Progress

If you learn Chinese in school, you will receive grades. Unfortunately, for the most part these grades do not give a meaningful indication of your proficiency in the language. You should look to some widely recognized measures, both to keeo track for yourself and also to show your level to others. In the Unite States, the ultimate measure is ACTFL's Oral Proficiency Inteview (OPI). This is a half hour conversation with a tester. They also have a written test, the WPT.

A measure widely recognized in China is the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK), or 汉语水平考试. This is a multi-hour written test, offered at several different levels. You can find places to take the test in the US and of course in China.

Along the Way

Given that proficiency in the language is only meaningful when you use it in some way, and the language only exists in the context of the culture, it behooves you to be learning about the various aspects of the culture as you are studying. This may include art and literature, cuisine, history and geography, politics, currrent events, etc.