How to speak Chinese fluently and naturally?
Unlike English and other language that can be traced back through latin and greek ,Chinese language has its own system based on pictograph in ancient time ,and sometimes you can't thoroughly comprehend a phrase only by listening the sound you hear.because they may mean different things unless you put them in a proper context.that's why so many people feel difficult to speak and remember Chinese words.
Today ,we are going to talk about how to say Chinese naturally and help you develop a sense about how to learn Chinese in an effective way ,here we go:
Tip1: avoid speaking like a robot, say emotionally with your feeling, when you practice your speaking, pretending you are talking to someone else.another example ,someone introduced by a friend ,and you met for the first time in a teahouse, while introducing each other, you should not say like this“您好，我是Helen,很高兴认识您，您贵姓？” you should say naturally“你好,我是Helen”,usually, we don’t say”很高兴认识你”,that’s English way of greeting ,most times，we show it just on our face with a smile to express our happiness and warmth to know a new friend.politely you may reach out to shake hands“你好，我是Helen，请坐，您怎么称呼？”，“我姓王”,“哦，王先生，您是做什么的？”,“我是做建材的”,“哦，建材，来，喝点茶吧”，“谢谢”，“别客气”.
Tip2: stop translating everything in your brain, think like a Chinese people. It does make sense for beginners to expand vocabulary.but it could be a barrier when you are getting into a conversation. learn to associate objects with Chinese characters you have learnt through watching ,listening, touching and feeling. Avoid linking things with Chinese syllables, use Chinese pinyin only as a tool to correct your pronunciation ,it doesn’t has a meaning .so, always focus on Chinese characters.
Tip3: to develop a Chinese way of thinking ,you need a lot of practice. Be an active learner, start with small daily activities in your life ,for example ,when you wake up in the morning ,talk to yourself ,like this:" 我要起床了，然后刷牙，刷完牙，做早餐，做点什么吃呢，看看冰箱里有什么吧，鸡蛋，牛奶，面包，......算了，还是出去吃吧，要迟到了",label them in Chinese characters, if you can't remember them. it's quite useful especially for kids and beginners.
Finally，I want to draw a conclusion with a Chinese idiom"冰冻三尺非一日之寒"，it's a metaphor means that one needs patience to make success ,the same meaning with"Rome was not built in a day".
“只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针”，假以时日，你一定会学好汉语的，加油！
2018年6月12日
