Can I Really Learn Chinese Online?

Learning a foreign language can be part of your education, it could be a hooby or you could need to learn a new language for your job - perhaps your company has started dealing with a foreign country or been taken over by an overseas company. Whilst many people study a language such as French, German or Spanish, few, as of yet, study Chinese because it is considered to be one of the hardest languages to learn. That said, you can learn Chinese online through conveniently delivered training.

To learn a foreign language to a decent degree does require some effort and commitment on your part. Chinese is an interesting language to learn, with a lot of people speaking it across the world. As China grows into a global economic power, more and more people are looking to learn Chinese online to help them get ahead in their career, to enjoy travelling more, to help them get a job or to help them with internal business negotiations.

The Chinese language is based on a fairly logical and simple structure of characters and language, using different tones for different meanings to a word - a very different concept for many Westerners trying to learn Chinese. Learning to speak Chinese will give you a view of the Chinese culture and their way of life - and remember that China has one of the older cultures in the world. You can learn to speak Chinese in classes at schools or colleges or take private classes with a native speaker, it's up to you. However, for many of us who are just too busy, there is the chance to take some online courses to learn Chinese online.

There are a number of websites dedicated to helping people to learn to speak Chinese and the quality of them does vary. Most of these sites will give you some good basics of the Chinese language and a few, such as Rocket Chinese, will teach you about their culture and heritage as well, which gives an in-depth background to the language. Many of the online Chinese courses are audio and video courses taught by native speakers who can really help you get to grips with the Chinese language.

These online courses will introduce you to the Chinese alphabet, which you will soon see is very different from the Western language alphabets. It will teach you how to pronounce the letters and learning what is known as the Chinese Pinyin, which is the phonetic alphabet used when pronouncing the Chinese characters. Through this you will learn the different tones and start to understand how the Chinese language sounds.

An online course is going to help you speak, read and understand Chinese, which is your goal. You will become more and more fluent and by listening to the audio programs on your mp3 player, able to immerse yourself in the language and really start to pick it up. Online courses such as Rocket Chinese will start by teaching you the basics of the language and then gradually increase your vocabulary and skill, helping you to become more fluent and confident. With regular checks and tests along the way you can monitor your progress and see how much your Chinese language skills are improving. Plus this particular program gives you access to native speakers and other students which can further enhance your learning experience.

It is possible for you to learn Chinese online and it can be a very enjoyable experience. It's a great way for you to learn to speak this rapidly growing language and learn as quickly, or as slowly, as you are comfortable with.

Want to learn Chinese in 5 minutes? Read our in-depth review of the Rocket Chinese method which makes learning Chinese online as easy as pie!