In this article, I am going to be giving you 5 ways to learn Chinese at home. Chinese can seem like such a daunting language to learn, but with the right approach it can be a super fun and rewarding process!
These strategies will be helpful to those at a beginning level and an intermediate level. Once you are more advanced in Chinese, there will be more strategies to employ to further your learning.
Let’s get started! This post is all about how to learn Chinese from home.
1. Find the right textbook to learn Chinese
I know, I know, no one likes textbooks, but you are going to need something to structure your learning. Textbooks can actually be a great learning resource as long as you can find one with all the right elements. The elements I recommend you look for include:
- App or audio files to hear the vocab and sentences pronunciation
- Workbook section so you can apply what you have learned right away
- An answer key so you can easily check your work
- Cultural insights (optional, but I feel like this really enhances your learning process)
The text book I am using to study Chinese is called “Chinese for Beginners” you can check it out here. This textbook has everything listed above minus an answer key. It stinks that it doesn’t have one, but I can still just go back through the lesson and check it myself. I like this textbook because it is pretty straightforward and very affordable. last time I checked, it was under $15.
2. Find an app to learn Chinese on-the-go
You would be surprised how much of your day you spend mindlessly checking your phone or waiting in line. This is precious time that you can use to learn Chinese. I use Duolingo and have loved it! A lot of people like to harp on Duolingo and say that you can’t actually learn a language with it. My opinion on the matter is that you shouldn’t use Duolingo exclusively for your language learning, but it is an AMAZING resource.
I have been doing the Chinese course on Duolingo and have absolutely loved it! It teaches you grammar, vocab, pinyin, sentences, and how to draw the hanzi (characters). I like to have my app handy if I am waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting for someone I am meeting somewhere. There are some paid options for Duolingo, but you can definitely get by just using the free version.
One of my favorite language learning activities is to sit in the bath with my phone and my stylus and draw the hanzi. There is something about it that just totally relaxes me. I like using my phone stylus because I feel like it is more similar to writing with pen and paper. My phone came with a stylus, but if yours didn’t and you want to try it out, they have super affordable options on Amazon.
I also love drawing the hanzi on my iPad. I lost my Apple pencil awhile ago and didn’t want to fork out the money for a new one, so I just bought a cheap off-brand one from Amazon and I have actually liked it better! It’s great that you can click it on and off because it saves power and I’m not having to charge it all the time. It’s also really convenient that I can charge it with a USB-C charger so it isn’t just awkwardly poking out of my iPad. It also doesn’t have that tiny, annoying cap that is so easy to misplace. I will link the one I use down below for you guys!
3. Get good listening practice
Listening to native speakers speak the language is crucial if you want to learn Chinese. Chinese has multiple tones that can change the whole meaning of a word so it is so important to train your ears to hear the differences.
I have been listening to videos from the YouTube channel “Everyday Chinese” and you can check them out here. There videos are around 10 minutes long, which is a perfect bite-sized lesson for me.
I love the way they structure their videos. I walk away from every video lesson feeling like I actually learned some Chinese. The videos start out with a dialogue, then they teach you the vocab and grammar for all the sentences used in the dialogue, then they play the dialogue again and it is so cool to see how much you can now understand!
4. Use spaced repetition to learn vocab
Spaced repetition is a learning technique designed to help you retain information more effectively by reviewing it at strategically spaced intervals over time. There are ways to do this yourself, but I recommend just downloading the Anki app and using the free version.
One of my favorite features of the Anki app is that you can organize your vocab into decks. I am currently reading Twilight in Russian so I have a separate Anki deck dedicated solely to all the new vocab I am learning from the book.
Once you have created your decks, all you will need to do is go on the app everyday and it will tell you which words to review. It is seriously so easy and so efficient!
5. Utilize media
Media is one of my favorite ways to learn Chinese. You probably already consume a decent amount of media and can simply switch out your normal media for media in Chinese! I have been using XiaoHongShu (Rednote) to scroll on social media instead of other social media apps. I still use the other apps, but I have tried to go on XiaoHongShu more often.
Most streaming services allow you to change the language of the show you are watching and many even have shows from different countries. Netflix has a lot of Chinese TV shows and movies and has been a super fun way to learn Chinese. I have also noticed that a lot of the Disney movies also have Chinese audio available.
You also can’t forget about music! I love listening to Chinese music and trying to sing along. Once you learn pinyin, you can look up lyric videos with pinyin subtitles and start singing along. The first Chinese song I learned is called “Love Confession” by Jay Chou. You can find the pinyin lyric video here.
This post was all about how to learn Chinese at home
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