The No Thick Manuals wiki details how to learn a language efficiently using two free, open source applications. The first is jVLT (java Vocabulary Learning Tool), a completely cross platform flash card application.
There are a number of different ways to study a language, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. You may find a combination of these is best for you.
* Taught courses
* Teaching yourself
* Language exchange
* Picking it up by osmosis
1. Improve your English - I know this might not make sense at first but hear me out. As a person who speaks only one language you have no basis for comparison; all you know is English. In different languages the same idea is often expressed in different ways. Knowing another language gives you a great measuring stick.
The first step is acquiring the materials you will use to teach yourself. The first thing you need is an audio language course. This is essential for developing your basic vocabulary and, more importantly, your pronunciation.
Learn Chinese Characters (with Video!), Learn Chinese Phrases (with Audio!), Learn Chinese Vocabulary (with Audio!) and more.
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Subscribe and listen to language lessons from around the world. Click on a language lesson in order to listen to the lesson in your default media player. Or you can subscribe to the lessons as podcasts. Learn more about podcasts. Currently, we offer:
* Mandarin Chinese
* Jordanian Arabic
* Malian French
* Kazakh Russian
Mandarin (traditional Chinese: 官話; simplified Chinese: 官话; pinyin: Guānhuà; literally “speech of mandarins”), or Beifanghua (simplified Chinese: 北方话; traditional Chinese: 北方話; pinyin: Běifānghuà; literally “Northern Dialect(s)”), is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and south-western China. When taken as a separate language, as is often done in academic literature, the Mandarin dialects have more speakers than any other language.
A lively introduction to Mandarin Chinese in 10 short parts.
Click on the topics in order to see the slideshow and hear the language.
You’ll also find useful phrases with tips on pronunciation and grammar,
cultural notes and a short challenge to check what you’ve learnt.
At the end of each slideshow there’s a chance to watch a short
(approx. 1 min) videoclip taken from the TV series.
A light snow is falling outside the windows of Cyrus H. McCormick School in southwest Chicago, but the second graders in Room 203 are not distracted from their lesson. May Cheung, an energetic teacher from Hong Kong, holds a cup to her lips and asks, “Wo he shemma?” (What am I drinking?) A forest of arms go up. “Cha! Cha!” (Tea!) An hour later, Cheung has kindergartners counting to 27 in Mandarin as she hands out Chinese New Year hong bao, the red envelopes that promise wealth, abundance, and good fortune. For most of the kids in this Mexican-American neighborhood, Mandarin is their third language - after Spanish and English.
Whether you want a quick refresher before a trip or you are a complete beginner, the teach-yourself Mandarin Chinese conversation course teaches you how to talk with confidence and, most importantly, how to understand what is said to you. Revolving around 10 entertaining and realistic conversational scenarios for holiday or business - including shopping, dining out, directions and making a reservation - the grammar-free approach of this series allows you to make really fast progress and to speak and understand without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail.
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