Learn Mandarin in Singapore

So, you’re in Singapore and you would like to learn some Mandarin? You might just be in the right place for that. There are a number of reputable Mandarin courses in town that are available for everyone and anyone to learn Mandarin in Singapore!

But first, let’s be casual about it. I think we can all agree that the out-side-of-classroom experiences help tremendously when you’re trying to get familiar with a new language, and for Mandarin? Once again, you might just be in the right place for it. The following are 4 unique ways to learn Mandarin in Singapore.

Get a (Chinese) roommate!

If you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of Chinese students and professionals living in Singapore. Just like you and me, they have to make sure there’s a place in Singapore that they can call home. And having a Chinese roommate is almost just like having a private tutor to hang out with in the house! Here’s a link to a popular housing (for rent) forum for Chinese in Singapore: http://bbs.sgcn.com/forum-138-1.html

Alternatively, there is also Airbnb where you can host Chinese traveler for a short period of time, the daily communication would be a great speaking practice for any Mandarin learner in Singapore!

Get online

The Chinese characters are famously complicated compares to the alphabet writing systems around the world, luckily, there is one place on the internet that you get to do some very, very light reading that are composed by the most common Chinese words – Weibo (www.weibo.com). Weibo is China’s very own Twitter with a large amount of active daily users, with a Weibo account, you can start by following accounts that post about a specific topic that you’re interested in and even interact with other users when you’re ready! The combination of light reading and reading topics that you like is especially great for beginners’ reading skills development.

WoBao

For those who is ready to advance their reading skills, 我报 (mypaper.sg) is also ready for you! The Chinese articles on 我报 are written in simple, natural language that get the message across an efficient manner. A good way to build up your vocabulary and get familiar with the Chinese grammar.

Douban

Now, for the more sophisticated reader and learner, head right to 豆瓣 (www.douban.com) to get your reading on! 豆瓣 is a very popular online Chinese ebook platform for both readers and authors. To purchase an ebook on豆瓣, you must have a valid alipay account, don’t be too worried if you don’t though, there are daily free books that you can purchase without a financial account set up, the best thing about it is that it is also a book club where you get to interact with other readers and even authors, if you’re an intermediate learner, this would be a great way for you to practice your reading and writing.

Remember, although it is important to enjoy a new language in your day to day life, but a quality Mandarin course is really what will get you to your goals. As I mentioned before, there are a good number of courses available to Mandarin learners in Singapore, and you should evaluate them to the best of your ability to make sure you’re in good hands.

This process could be a little difficult at times, fortunately, some language school do offer a free trial lesson to help you better understand the teaching approach and quality. Chinese Edge happens to be one of those that offers a trial lesson for anyone who’s interested in taking a Mandarin course. For more information, click here.