If you want to learn conversational Chinese, there has never been a better time. As we enter into the Chinese year of the Tiger there are an amazing number of options for Chinese language learners.
100 years ago, if you wanted to learn a foreign language basically the only way to do so was to travel to a country where people speak that language, or else purchase a book written in that language and make an attempt to translate word for word using a dictionary. Think about all the options that language learners have today, in the Chinese year of the Tiger. There are not only dozens of books on learning Chinese, but there are an amazing selection of Chinese learning software programs. If you want to learn conversational Chinese, you have more options now than ever before.
What's more, there are now enough resources available on the Internet that it is possible for you to learn conversational Chinese without ever spending a cent. There are Chinese podcasts, online dictionaries, and entire university curriculum available for free at your fingertips. Granted, there are some disadvantages to free Chinese programs. You do not get the support, the tools, or the overall planning that you can get from a paid Chinese language learning software program like Rocket Chinese, but it is definitely possible to learn Chinese for free.
Even 10 years ago, if you wanted to speak to a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese you either had to travel to China or Taiwan, or make a lot of very expensive long-distance calls (unless you live near a friendly Chinatown). In the Chinese year of the Tiger, we now have Internet language exchange matchmaker services, available for free. In exchange for a short lesson in English, you can learn Chinese from a native speaker using Skype. Thousands of people learn languages this way, and frankly there is no better way to learn a foreign language than by speaking and listening to a real person.
In the Chinese year of the Tiger there have never been more benefits or reasons to learn conversational Chinese. China's influence in the world is steadily growing, as is the demand for people who speak both Chinese and English fluently. The job opportunities for Mandarin speakers are huge -- both in numbers and in range of occupations. There simply aren't enough people who are fluent in both languages to serve the needs of the business world.
So if you are still waiting for a better time to learn conversational Chinese, think again. It is now the Chinese year of the Tiger and a great time to make a New Year's resolution.
Justin White lives in Jhubei Taiwan, and frantically works at learning Chinese.
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