Before, good students took German to please their parents. But that was before. Nowadays, place in Mandarin Chinese. The best schools offer it as a modern language option from middle school, sometimes even in intensive mode or “international section”. Recruitment firms favor candidates with Chinese-speaking profiles. And of course, China and its double-digit growth remains the El Dorado for expatriates.
For those who have passed the age of “going on leave”, where to learn Chinese in Paris? Whether out of simple curiosity, to spend your DIF credits or to know how to order food during a future trip to China, the Chinese language is attracting more and more amateurs. Evening or weekend courses, offers abound. So, to learn Chinese, how to do it?
Here are 10 friendly tips from someone who has been learning Chinese (almost) his entire life. I hear my mother shouting from where she is "I told you it would be useful to you".
1. Opt for a course near you, easily accessible, with schedules adapted to your schedule... to hold on over time. Because the language course is like the gym, there are days when you drag your feet... Especially in January, a cold and hollow period when your true motivation is revealed quite naked.
2. Test a lesson as an observer to rub shoulders with the teacher's method, feel the level and atmosphere of the class... Prefer lessons given by natives of the language and trust your feelings.
3. Do your homework! Because, be warned, he will have a lot, a LOT of homework. No miracle recipe. Forget the time when you studied English listening to Beatles songs. Besides, you don't really speak English. To learn Chinese effectively, regular personal work, even daily, is essential. In the best of all possible worlds, practice “30 minutes a day, every day”. Like the abs, what. Plan to learn stuff by heart and copy miles of characters. Yeah, it's a more or less long-term investment.
4. It's time to learn in 2.0 mode with many digital tools: familiarize yourself with dictionaries on smartphones and tablets (Huaying), word processing on a computer, writing on a touch screen (on Mac, by adding the “Simplified Chinese handwriting input” function to the keyboard), applications that test your pronunciation (iFlyTek Voice Assistant)…
5. To give relief to the theory, dive into the heart of Chinese culture to pick up vocabulary with less effort: subscribe to blogs (Jardin de Chine, Sinoiseries, Sinogastronomy, Planet Beijing, Learning Chinese, My Little Elsewhere Chinese…), YouTube channels (Learn Chinese Now, Mandarin Impossible, China Uncensored…), let yourself be tempted by Chinese cuisine at home (Recipes of a Chinese woman, Chinese at home, Tastes of China), deepen your knowledge in Chinese cinema beyond your passion for Bruce Lee (China and Films, Chinese Film Festival in France…), watch Chinese series in their original version subtitled in free streaming on Viki, visit exhibitions and museums dedicated to Asian arts (France-Chine50, Cernuschi Museum, Guimet Museum, Chinese Cultural Center…), learn about a Chinese martial art (Quimetao Institute…)… In short, you are spoiled for choice!
6. Find a Chinese student who is looking for a conversation partner. The Internet is full of free sites for this type of exchange of good practices and more if you like (My Language Exchange, Conversation Exchange, AZNeDate…)
7. Try your hand at calligraphy, writing Chinese characters with a soft brush and Indian ink. It's relaxing, it requires a lot of precision and allows you to practice drawing the lines perfectly to form the characters. Concentrate and imagine yourself as a Kung-fu Master writing the secrets of the most devastating holds on a sacred scroll.
8. Put your kids in Chinese. Many schools offer courses from the age of 3 to familiarize them with the sounds of the language. It is well known that children develop facilities for foreign languages when they are exposed to them from an early age.
9. Plan a trip to China for total immersion. But beware, whatever your level in Chinese, expect a real culture shock on arrival. The first few times, you will understand absolutely nothing of what the locals are saying (and vice versa). It's like when you think you speak English and then you come across a London taxi (Oddly, the Beatles do not address this point).
10. And finally, arm yourself with courage and Chinese proverbs on perseverance, you will need it!