Which is the best way to learn Chinese?

[Echoyao]

There are so many different ways to learn Chinese now, such as tradional classroom teaching, podcasts, video shows, etc.

I have been thinking about which is the most efficient way. Or maybe it is better to use two or three methods together?

Any ideas?

Thanks.

[adrianlondon]

Everyone is different. As much immersion as possible, so long as you don't get bored.

[Shadowdh]

Use a combination is my vote... each can bolster the other...

[kudra]

If you have the time and money, an intensive summer program at a good school, like Middlebury, will give you a solid foundation. Of course there are advantages to doing immersion in China, but the advantage of a quality intensive summer program in your own country is that you can concentrate on the language exlussively without the distration of dealing with relocation hassles. Obviously no size fits all.

[gato]

She's a Chinese college student doing a survey on the subject, I think -- not a learner herself:

see http://www.chinese-forums.com/showthread.php?p=104755#post104755

[kudra]

@ gato, haha. So my advice to delay "doing time" in China was probably not hugely popular. Still, my 2 cents for the newbie googlers.

[Echoyao]

Thanks for all your suggestions!

I'm sorry that I should have explained beforehand. Just as I said in other threads, I am a third year student and major in Teaching Chinese as a foreign language. I have my own experience in teaching Chinese already.This is what I love to do and what I am going to take as a job in future. I have been thinking that how I can be a better teacher, that's why I asked friends here about teaching/learning Chinese problems.

Would love to exchange our teaching/learning Chinese experience:)

Thanks again.

[Echoyao]

It's not a survey, incidentally.

[rherschbach]

On a related note,

What is the best way to build up vocabulary in Chinese? What do people think and what have their experiences been? What doesn't work or is a waste of time?

Just wondering.

[Lugubert]

The first question is, how do you define "learn Chinese" for your purpose? For getting at all the skills - speaking, understanding spoken Chinese (and which varieties?), reading and writing (don't even mention handwriting!), my university teacher advocates a year at home (meaning some 40 hours of study times 40 weeks) during which you concentrate on reading, vocabulary building and grammar, and then a semester or two in China.

This recipe is, I suppose, targetting young people. At my venerable age, I hesitate before the prospect of learning scores of new characters/words per week in traditional formal study in China. Approaching the end of my second Chinese year in Sweden, for my interests I'm still quite happy with developing my reading skills. I'm planning to travel China for some months next year, and hope that I will be able to make myself somewhat understood in not too complicated circumstances, but what if people answer? The horror! Gotta mobilize loads of optimism and patience... Better just dive into it, I suppose.

[flameproof]

What is the best way to build up vocabulary in ***? (put a target language at ***)

Read

Read

Read

Words should come in a natural way, means in phrases. Isolated words (like from flashcards) are not that useful. Buy primary children books and just read.

[johnmck]

Isolated words (like from flashcards) are not that useful.

I have found that "biting the bullet" and learning a 1000 words flashcard style very useful. Clearly you need to read, read, read to learn vocabulary well. You need to read (or watch DVDs with subtitles) to correctly understand the meaning and use of words. But if you do not learn a base vocabulary by heart you will spend all of your time checking up words in a dictionary and the volume of new words in every sentence will be so high you will not remember them.

So my advice is learn 500-1000 words the boring way and then start to enjoy seeing how they all fit together.