| Before the dawn of globalization, most people thought it would be fun to learn another language, but never took it seriously. In high school, for instance, teenagers learned Spanish, French, German or even Latin, only to lose it quickly after graduation.
Recently, however, Chinese has become the language of choice and it is not only being taught in high school and college, but online as well.
Its rise in popularity shouldn't be too surprising, however. More than 1 billion people speak the Chinese language. Being able to learn Chinese is not only fun, but it's also becoming an essential skill for business people and world travelers alike.
Taking Chinese language lessons and mastering the language opens doors to nearly one-fifth of the world's population. Standard Mandarin is spoken in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and many other regions of the world. Mastering the Chinese language is essential for business people who want to expand into the Asian market, particularly the rapidly growing market for Western products and services in China.
Not only has China become a giant in the global economy, but the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing promises to put China on the international stage as it plays host to the world's oldest sporting competition. The entire country will be on display for the world to see and the games offer savvy business people and travelers an ideal opportunity to learn to the Chinese language.
While Chinese has a reputation as being difficult to learn, the adoption of Simplified Chinese characters and the development Hanya Pinyin have made it easier for Westerners to learn the Chinese language.
For example, the adoption of the Simplified Chinese character system in 1954 reduced most of the complex symbols to just a few strokes. Many were reduced to what amounts to common shorthand. Since the characters are simplified and many share commonalities, it is not only easier to learn how to learn Chinese, but it is easier to write the Chinese language as well.
While the Chinese dictionary contains 40,000 characters, only 3,000 are needed to read a newspaper and well-educated Chinese know about 6,000 to 7,000 characters. If that sounds like a lot to remember, the average English speaking person uses about 8,000 words regularly. In many respects, learning the Chinese language is easier than learning English.
One of the best ways to learn Chinese is online. That's because learning to speak Chinese Mandarin is easier when a student works with a native speaker. Listening to the native speaker allows the student to learn the correct pronunciation quickly.
This is the first step in learning the Chinese language. By teaching you how to use pinyin, you will quickly learn to read and pronounce key characters. The native speaker can help you with pronunciation. Unlike English, characters almost always have just a single sound. The rules of the language are much more rigid than English too, so you don't have to learn countless exceptions to each rule.
While there are many websites that teach Chinese, one of the most popular and most effective is Mando Mandarin (http://www.mandomandarin.com). Its live language lessons feature private tutors from China, so you can be sure that the Chinese language lessons will give you a mastery of the language in no time. In fact, they will show you how to learn Chinese in five minutes or less during a free trial lesson, so you can see how easy it is to learn the language.
Once you are introduced to the wonders of learning a new language, you'll want to put your newfound skills to good use. Whether you're bound for the Summer Olympics, a teleconference with the home office in Hong Kong or your neighborhood Chinese restaurant, learning how to the Chinese language is one of life's greatest (and most useful) joys.
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