Friends and people from other countries will often be amazed when I tell them that I can speak and write fluently in a few languages and dialects. I have to thank Malaysia for its multiracial population consisting of the Malays, Chinese, Indians and other minority races. As a Chinese school student in Malaysia, we¡¯re taught three languages from primary education ¨C Malay, English and Chinese, hence giving us the solid foundation and knowledge about the languages. Although Malay is the official language, English and Chinese are widely used and spoken in every day¡¯s life. Thus we have the privilege of being able to communicate fluently and with ease in all of them.

Mandarin or Chinese is fast becoming the language of business. It is spoken in countries like China, Taiwan Singapore, and Malaysia. An estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide speak the language, which are equivalent to one-fifth of the world¡¯s population. As China¡¯s economic power grows and the increasingly important role that it plays in the world¡¯s economic system, learning and knowing the Chinese language can be rewarding in many ways.

Knowing it means opening up of more opportunities. Any person who wants to do business with China will certainly have more advantage if he or she is fluent in the Chinese language. It also means enhanced career growth opportunity as you will have an edge over others who don¡¯t know the language. And if you want to travel to Asia, particularly China and Taiwan, your trip will definitely be more rewarding and enjoyable if you speak and understand the local language.

If you¡¯re determined to learn the Chinese language, here are three tips that I would like to share with you:

1) Learn the Chinese pronunciation with the help of Hanyu Pinyin

Hanyu means the ¡°Chinese language¡± and pinyin means "spell" and "sound". Basically it means ¡°the spelling and sound of the Chinese language¡±. Or to make it simpler, it is the ¡°pronunciations of the Chinese language using Roman letters according to pinyin system¡±. It is also known as the scheme of the Chinese phonetic alphabet. It¡¯s easier for a non-Chinese speaker to remember the pronunciation of the Chinese characters using the pinyin system. The pinyin system will also illustrate the four tones of the Chinese language as below.

a) The first tone is a (Flat or High Level Tone) with the symbol e.g. d¨¡;
b) The second tone is a (Rising or High-Rising Tone) with the symbol e.g. d¨¢;
c) The third tone is a (Falling-Rising or Low Tone) with the symbol e.g. d¨£;
d) The fourth tone is a (Falling or High-Falling Tone) with the symbol e.g. d¨¤.

The examples above show words with the same pinyin but with four different tones. They have very different meanings respectively, as below.

a) Use something as a means of transport. E.g. take the bus, train, plane, taxi, boat, etc;
b) Answer;
c) Beat;
d) Big, huge or large.

That¡¯s the reason why correct pronunciation is so important in the Chinese language. A slight mispronunciation will mean a very different meaning in what we want to convey. Taking the above example, for instance we want to say ¡°I can answer you¡±, but a slightly lower tone would mean ¡°I can beat you¡±! See that?

Once you have a good grasp of the basics of the Hanyu Pinyin, with the help of a good English Chinese dictionary with pinyin, you would be able to read any Chinese character marked with Pinyin!

2) Listen and watch

Listen to Chinese songs and radio station, watch Chinese movies with subtitles. Sing along and repeat after the lines of dialogues by the actors and actresses, and try to repeat them as exactly as possible. Practice and memorize common Chinese vocabulary and simple sentences. Review vocabulary from time to time to refresh your memory and you can use post-it notes to write down the pinyin and stick them on the objects you want to learn and remember.

3) Speak and practice

Practice, practise and practise. The more you practise, the easier it will be for you and the more fluent you will become. Of course you will learn even faster if you can practise with someone who can correct you when you make mistakes. Practice makes perfect!

I hope the above sharing are helpful and can make your learning process easier and more enjoyable. Remember, learn the pronunciation with the help of hanyu pinyin, listen to Chinese songs and watch Chinese movies, and speak and practise as much as you can!

Siew Yin is a Malaysian Chinese living in the beautiful island of Penang, a state in the north of Malaysia. She gives private Mandarin Chinese/ English lessons online on a one-to-one basis via Skype using webcam. If you would like to know more about Siew Yin or would like to have a free trial lesson, visit her profile at http://www.greathealthandus.com/profile.pdf