So it’s that time of year again, Christmas is behind us and January 1, 2014 is right in front of us. And you know what that means…it’s time to make a promise to yourself you will most certainly break by February 1, 2014. I’m talking about the infamous “New Year’s Resolution.”
So many people make a promise to themselves on January 1st that they will do one of the following: Get fit, quite smoking/drinking, get out of debt and the one I’m most interested in is Learning a New language.
The last is my favorite. I can’t tell you how many people I hear say this each year… “Have you heard? I’m going to learn how to speak Mandarin this year and I’m really determined.” Fast forward to February 1st and ask how it’s coming along and you will most likely get an excuse of why learning Mandarin just isn’t working out. If you want to have some fun you can learn how to ask “How’s the new language coming along?” in Mandarin and see their reaction. Safe bet you will get a look of confusion.
So why bring up why you shouldn’t make Mandarin your New Year’s Resolution? Well, because I don’t think you should ever make a New Year’s Resolution, especially when it comes to learning a new Language like Mandarin. You will set yourself up for disappointment by thinking, “I will learn this language in 1 year.” A year is a long time and life can get in the way of a goal like this or you may postpone your learning because you have a whole year to achieve your ambitious goal. So what should you do? Glad you asked…
You should write down 12 different goals to achieve throughout the year, roughly 1 per month. This will keep the time frame tight and turn a massive goal into tiny bite size goals that will be more achievable and keep you motivated on a month to month basis. So you ask, “What are some examples of monthly goals to set for myself?”
These are just suggestions but I think it will bode well for your progress month to month:
January: Spend you first month learning your numbers. 1-100, 100-1000, learn how to say your phone number, your address, your age, how fast you are driving, etc… Anything you can think of that involves numbers; focus on learning how to say them in Mandarin.
February: A great follow up to numbers are dates and times. Learn the months of the year, how to say certain dates throughout the year, what time do you leave for work, and come home from work. This will be a great follow up to month one and will add to your already rapidly expanding vocabulary. 
March: Now that we’ve got numbers, dates, and times down let’s move on to items in the household. March is a good month to start spring cleaning. While you are sifting through all the junk you don’t need have the dictionary ready so you learn how to say what you are throwing out in Mandarin. This can be a tough month because you don’t really know how much stuff you have until you have to learn how to say it in mandarin. Break this up into weeks:
– Week 1: Items in the Kitchen
– Week 2: Items in the living room
– Week 3: items in the bedroom
– Week 4: Items in the bathroom
It won’t cover everything in the house but it will give you some great vocabulary and will keep you on track to accomplish your goals. Now that the year is 25% over you should be in the ballpark of 200 new vocabulary words. Did you know that basic fluency of Mandarin starts between 1000-2000 vocabulary words? You are already 10-20% of the way there!
April: Your vocabulary is beginning to bloom, just like the flowers in spring. Speaking of spring, your goal for April will be to master vocabulary around the seasons and the weather. You will also pick up some descriptive adjectives this month to describe things like “Heavy rain” “Strong Wind” “Bright sun” and more. Our goal for this month will be 30 new words for seasons/weather and 10 phrases to describe them.
May: In English I don’t think we realize how much we use pronouns but they are often some of the most common words we use. April should be spent focused on pronouns such as: I, we, he, she, it, they, them, and don’t forget possessives like: our, my, mine, your, yours, theirs, etc… These words will be a great step towards fluency because you will begin to identify who is talking about whom in basic conversation.
Nurse Clare
Congratulations! You have made it too May and your confidence should be booming! Don’t worry, if you don’t think you know as much as you should this is natural. We are often our own worst critics. You are doing fine and have successfully completed 4/4 of your goals. Good for you. Now it’s time to drift into the deep end.
June: With all of the new vocabulary you have learned it’s time to start putting it into practice. May will be a fun month spent learning and practicing your manners and basic introductions. “Hi how are you? Where are you from? It’s nice to see you again. Please. Thank you.” Etc… This may be a bit tricky because you may not live in an area where everyone speaks Mandarin. Not a problem. You can Find a Mandarin tutor online, eat at local Chinese restaurants, or find a language exchange partner in your local area. Whatever you decide to go with make your goal to go at least once a week or 1 hour/week and practice all the Mandarin you have learned.
Congratulations you are half-way there!
July: So you have been practicing some very basic dialogue, good for you. You probably realize now that you know far more than you thought but realize how much you still don’t know. Let’s make June a month all about you, literally. When conversing with people they will often ask about who you are and where you are from. Let’s focus on 30 new vocabulary words describing yourself and basic responses to common questions like: What’s your name? Where are you from? How old are you? Are you married? Are you single? Where do you work? Do you have pets? Just to name a few let’s make it a point to answer at least 5 common questions about yourself this month.
August: You have reached 7/7 goals so far this year are most likely around 500 new Mandarin words and basic introductions, don’t look back now. This month we will focus on work vocabulary. Whether you work in an office, classroom, construction, or from home we are going to expand our vocabulary to include some work topics. Focus on 30 words (1/day) and some basic questions and statements like: Can you make 10 copies? I can make 10 copies. What time is the meeting? The meeting is at 1 O’clock. Have you received my email yet? I have received your email. This will build your vocabulary and give you more practice with numbers, questions/answers, and of course get you closer to basic fluency.
September: We’ve been hitting the books pretty hard this year and the year is slowly coming to a close. September is a month of review and verbal practice practice practice. Make it a goal to spend 3 hours per week practicing basic conversation. You can use a Mandarin tutor, a language exchange, or a local restaurant or market.
I know September was tough but you did very well and helped solidify many of your vocabulary words into you Mandarin lexicon. Basic fluency is closer than ever.
The Early Days
October: At this stage of the game you have probably been asked or want to ask where something is. The good news is you are going to learn how to ask for directions and give them this month. Also, how to say it’s here, there, everywhere, over there, under there, behind it, in front of it, etc… Let’s go for another 30-40 words and 10 -15 basic questions and answers.
November: You have made it this far. Don’t quit now! In the spirit of the coming Holidays our goal will be to focus on shopping gifts and the cost of certain items. 30-40 words should be easy this month, simply write down all the neat gift ideas you see in the shopping malls or online. Then learn how to say what they are in Mandarin. Also, you will have to pay for them or at the very least ask how much they are, so focus on 5-10 ways to ask about the price, is it cheap? Is it expensive? Can I afford this? Do you take credit card? Etc…
December: With Christmas right around the corner, will be to focus on 30-40 vocabulary words about Christmas, time with friends/family and sharing time together. After this month you can say with pride that you didn’t set a New Year’s Resolution and completed more without it than any of your friends that did. After this month you can say you have mastered between 800-1000 new vocabulary words and 100-200 basic questions and answers.
P.S. Congratulations you can officially say you have basic fluency. Now you can see why learning Mandarin was a terrible idea for a new year’s resolution. I think making 12 small promises was far more helpful for you. If you are looking for more vocabulary and more speaking practice the best thing to do is to get a speaking buddy or tutor. You can get your own speaking buddy and tutor at SexyMandarin with any of our Plans. Click here to begin practicing today >> SexyMandarin