Learn Chinese Online – Best Way For Beginners in 2024

Preface

Whether you want to rise through the ranks in your job, or you are considering switching careers as a translator for an international company, learning Chinese is one of the many ways to achieve your goal. But for a complete beginner, starting to learn Chinese can be daunting. Partly because it has different alphabets than English, and the pronunciation sounds unusual for English speakers.

Worry not, we got you covered. Here are the most efficient ways to learn Chinese language online for beginners.In this article, we will also recommend online Chinese learning platforms such as Wukong Education for you to improve professional guidance for your Chinese learning.

Part 1: How to Learn Chinese？

Learning Chinese can be challenging for beginners, especially if you are planning to do it online. There are a number of institutions that offer Chinese courses for beginners, they even have courses to learn Chinese online for kids. But before you start enrolling in one of these courses, there are some things that you want to keep in mind when you want to start learning Chinese or Mandarin.

1. Set Chinese Learning Goals

The first thing you need to do before learning Chinese online is you need to set your goals. You need to first understand why you are learning Chinese. It could be that you want to talk with your Chinese friend, you want to move to China, or you want to land that job in a Chinese company. Understanding your ‘why’ will make your learning journey more bearable. It also gives a sense of destination, it’s harder to go on a journey without knowing where you are headed.

2. Familiar with Chinese Learning Online

The second thing you want to do is familiarize yourself with the language. Of course, when you learn Chinese online classes, there will be teachers. But you still need to do the learning by yourself, the teachers are only there to guide you. So, it is best to learn a few basic stuff from the language before you take up the course. We recommend that you start learning pinyin and the Chinese tones. You can find a lot of materials online on pinyin and the Chinese tones. This will help you learn Chinese online faster.

3. Use Chinese in Your Daily Life

Thirdly, you can start by memorizing the greetings. Yes, this is a great start to learn any language. When you can say words like “hello”, “how are you”, or “good morning”, you’ll get a better understanding about the language structure, and those words are practical. You can use them right away.

Part 2: Where to Learn Chinese Online？

There are several language learning platforms that you can use to learn Chinese for beginners. Here are some of them:

WuKong Education

This is an education institution which focuses on providing an online education for students aged 3-18 years old. The institution has been providing online classes to learn Chinese online since 2016. Wukong teachers are from top universities worldwide. As of now, WuKong Education has more than 4,000 teachers worldwide.

Duolingo

Duolingo is one of the best apps to learn Chinese for beginners. It is gamified, meaning that it feels like playing a game. You get scores whenever you complete the challenges. You can also compete with your friends that are learning a language on Duolingo. The sense of competition makes it all more fun and interactive.

Memrise

Memrise is an online language learning platform that uses video and audio to help you memorize Chinese phrases and vocabularies. Just like Duolingo, Memrise also uses gamification to make learning language more entertaining. You won’t get bored from too much Memrise.

Pleco

Pleco is a Chinese-English dictionary. But not only that, it has a lot of resources that are beneficial for Chinese learners. For example, it has a document reader and flash card features to help you learn Chinese more conveniently. 

iTalki

iTalki is a platform that connects you to tutors that will help you learn languages. The tutors are personalized for you and you can handpick tutors according to your need or your liking. iTalki also provides you with the ability to connect with other language speakers, you can ask them to help you improve the language you are learning.

Part 3: How to Rank Chinese Proficiency Levels？

Just like English and any other languages in the world, there are levels to your proficiency in speaking Chinese while you learn Chinese online. This is called the Hanyu shuiping kaoshi or HSK. The test assesses non-native Chinese speakers’ fluency in speaking the language. The HSK consists of two independent tests: the speaking test (HSKK) and the writing test (HSK). The HSK (level I), HSK (level II), HSK (level III), HSK (level IV), HSK (level V), and HSK (level VI) are the six levels of writing exams. The HSKK (beginning level), HSKK (intermediate level), and HSK K (advanced level) are the three speaking test levels. 

There is also a new proficiency test called the YCT. It evaluates the proficiency of young international students who learn Chines online in using Chinese in their daily and academic lives. The new YCT consists of two separate tests: a speaking test and a writing test. Four levels make up the writing test: YCT (level I), YCT (level II), YCT (level III), and YCT (level IV).

FAQs about Chinese Learning

Q1: How long do I need to learn Chinese to become fluent?

Answer: The answer is it depends. It takes around 2,200 class hours to become fluent in Chinese.

Q2: Is Chinese different from Mandarin?

Answer: Most people refer to Mandarin when they say Chinese. Although there are many other Chinese languages like Cantonese, Huang, and Xiang.

Q3: Do I need to memorize the Chinese alphabet?

Answer: Yes, you definitely should! The Chinese alphabet for pronunciation is called pinyin, and you must learn pinyin if you want to be a fluent Chinese speaker.

Summary

This article recommends some Chinese learning methods and online learning platforms. Learning Chinese online is definitely doable. You can be fluent in Chinese and Mandarin just by taking online classes like the ones from WuKong Education. But you have to keep in mind that if you want to be proficient in learning a language, you need to put in the work. You have set your goals and commit to what you want to achieve.