It was the summer of my sophomore year in college when I started learning Chinese. What began as a casual curiosity gradually became a long-term commitment, and now, nearly four years later, I'm still obsessed with the language.

I actually wasn't intimidated by tones. And hànzì or Chinese characters came easy. The hardest part for me to grasp was keeping a conversation.

I used to spend all day doing grammar exercises and drilling vocabulary. I would listen passively to Youtube videos and podcasts and read graded readers geared towards beginners.

Yet I still couldn't understand Chinese well.

I was good at learning languages! So, why wasn't my Chinese improving?! And down went my self-esteem.

UntiI I realized that it was my learning methods that needed improvements.

Here are 8 things that helped me speak Chinese with confidence.

1. Immerse yourself using native content

I stopped relying on HSK textbooks the moment I realized it wasn't applicable to daily life. While textbooks are great for providing foundation for learning as a beginner, the moment you've got down the basics switch to native materials (i.e. Chinese podcasts, reality TV shows, and videos).

2. Practice speaking for 60 seconds a day

Whether it's finding a language exchange partner on HelloTalk, joining a Chinese speaker meetup, or recording yourself talking 1 minute a day, you should speak a bit every day. This not only gets you used to hearing your own voice but trains your facial muscles. It's also great for tracking progress. Listen to the recordings to naturally build language intuition.

Speaking practice doesn't have to include having a conversation. You can also try watching videos and imitating speakers (i.e. shadowing).

3. Speak Chinese outside your comfort zone

Don't just practice talking to yourself in the shower but go for a walk or record yourself speaking in a park. One of my favorite things to do is to pop an airpod into my ear and purposely walk past neighbors while speaking Chinese. It gets me out of my comfort zone and has even helped me reduce the nervousness I feel speaking around others. This has translated to me speaking Chinese confidently outside my home.

4. Have a circle of feedback

When I was in China, I didn't study vocabulary lists because every day I spoke with at least one local. If they didn't understand me today, I wrote it down so that the Ai Yue tomorrow could improve. I had friends that would tell me what mistakes I had made. This helped me build confidence in my speaking.

Now that I have returned to the US, I've recreated this circle of feedback by talking with language exchange partners and Chinese speaking friends. Another way to create this is to have a small paragraph in English and try to translate it to Chinese. When done, check the official Chinese translation to see how close you are!

5. Focus on core vocabulary

What's more effective than memorizing endless lists of vocabulary is learning vocabulary relevant to YOUR life. If today you are going to the grocery store, think of what you would need to buy. Would you need to ask someone for help? Do you have questions about a discount? What about when it's time to check out? Now, how would you do this in Chinese? What about if you work in the financial industry? What words do you use on a daily basis? How would you say the 5 most common ones in Chinese?

Just like how in your native language you may not know all the terms outside of your personal and work life, it's the same when learning a new language. Pick what is relevant to you. The rest can be learned as needed.

Check out this post about why I don't use Anki.

6. Be selective with your study resources

There's only so many hours in a day and with so many apps, books, podcasts, videos, and other learning resources out there, it's smart to be selective in what you learn. If you have a simple yet short goal, the learning session will be even more productive. Before studying, determine what is the main goal of the session.

Do you want to review all the grammar points you learned earlier today? Then watch a video with subtitles where those words are likely to appear. Or do you want to learn 5 new vocabulary words about climate change from that new podcast you found? Listen to it every day until you get bored. This allows you to dive deeper into topics and really internalize the content.

Check out my post on how I use Chinese comics to boost vocabulary.

7. Do take breaks

You don't have to study 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Actually, I've personally found if I've been intensively studying for a month, taking a week or two off tends to let all the information sink in. Suddenly, those grammar points I struggled with would click. It's also helpful for avoiding burn out and increases motivation. Remember it's not a sprint, but a marathon.

8. Find materials that are interesting to you

Because I come from a tech background, I usually listen to podcasts and videos about technology. Other times, it's history, nature related, or simply geeking out on the latest BL manhua. Figure out what draws your attention in your native language, and then watch and listen to that same content in Chinese.

If you adopt even one of these steps, your Chinese will be better for it!

感谢谢你看这个博客喔～

Thank you for reading~

艾乐