What Is the Most Effective Way to Learn Mandarin?

Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan. There are many versions of Chinese spoken throughout China; including Cantonese (spoken in Guangdong province), the Beijing dialect and the Shanghai dialect; but Mandarin Chinese is most common dialect spoken by Chinese people from all areas.

Mandarin Chinese is known as "普通话 (pŭtōnghuà) or the 'common language' in Mainland China," "国语 (guóyŭ) the 'national language' in Taiwan" or "华语 (huáyŭ) 'Chinese language' in Singapore and Malaysia." Most of learners of Chinese choose to learn "普通话 (pŭtōnghuà)," and they tend to learn Mandarin Chinese online because they can progress in their Chinese learning very quickly.

Tips on Four Aspects in Learning Mandarin (Listening, speaking, reading and writing).
As for Listening:

How do I improve my Chinese Listening? This question is often asked by Chinese learners. There are three steps to improve Chinese listening.

Ⅰ. Listen a lot. To improve your listening, you need to listen to native speakers and what they said as much as you can. You can listen to Chinese tapes or Chinese CDs, but students need to get as much natural speed input as they can.
TV or radio news broadcasts, joining local clubs, watching Chinese movies and TV shows are good ways to practice listening.

Ⅱ. React to what you hear: Listening isn't enough. A student needs to react to what they have just listened to. The reaction allows students confirm that they heard correctly, understood correctly, and can respond appropriately to the situation.

Ⅲ. Repeat: Repeat what you hear. Repetition seems dull and you may feel bored, but the more you repeat a word, the more it will stay in your memory.

As for Speaking…Read More

Over the past twenty years, the Chinese have gone crazy for the lobster's tiny cousin. The Chinese call it 小龙虾 (xiǎo lóngxiā), but you may know it as "crawfish". Although not as famous worldwide as lobster or crab, crawfish has become hugely popular on the streets of China over the past few years.

小 (xiǎo) = small
龙虾 (lóngxiā) = lobster
小龙虾 (xiǎo lóngxiā) = crawfish

I am a language student in Beijing and one of the most enjoyable parts of living here is having a late dinner "on the street" at one of the restaurants that Chinese consider 大排档 (dàpáidàng), or "street food". Around dinner and late into the night, Chinese people like to sit out and watch the people and city go by while they relax and nibble on some food. Lately, more and more restaurants serving crawfish, or "小龙虾 (xiǎo lóngxiā)", have become popular. After dark, you can find Chinese friends asking each other:

Nǐ xiǎng chī xiǎo lóngxiā ma?
你 想 吃 小 龙虾 吗？
Would you like to eat crawfish?

Chinese people like to eat as they socialize and 小龙虾 (xiǎo lóng xiā) offer a way to nibble as you hang out with friends without getting too full. Crawfish are inexpensive and available to Chinese of all ages and incomes. Also, 小龙虾 (xiǎo lóng xiā) come in a large bowl which is shared at the table, so you really need a group of friends to enjoy the dish. It's rare to see someone eating crawfish in China alone! In addition, it gives friends a chance to put their smartphones away! The juices and oils found in the crawfish, along with the actual peeling of the crawfish shells, require finger full attention. 小龙虾 (xiǎo lóngxiā) force us to put down and ignore our smartphones and enjoy the real world with our friends!

Quiz:

A. 大 (dà)
B. 小 (xiǎo)
C. 鱼 (yú)
See Answer