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2. Unless specifically indicated.
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This is the question we are constantly being asked. The answer is, it does not have to cost a penny. This article takes you through exactly how to learn a language for free (or very little money) using the methods we have used with our staff members and students in Botswana regarding learning Chinese.

Learning a new language can be fun but… how will I memorise all that? Yes! Memorising words, phrases and sentences is challenging especially when spoken at lightning speed. However, there are ways of overcoming this challenge and even make it fun.

The secret lies in finding an easy way to remember what you want to say or write down without spending too much time on the process. Using what I call ‘Manchiprep’ you will be able to quickly ‘memorise’ words, phrases and sentences without having to spend too much time on it. The secret lies in understanding what words, phrases and sentence patterns are used most often when speaking .

Remember, this is for beginners who want to learn enough of the language (Chinese) to get by or communicate with other Chinese speakers especially when interacting face-to-face (not online). For us, I believe that a beginner level should provide one with the tools needed to communicate effectively orally and write down simple things like greetings and directions etc. So there’s no need for a beginner level learner of Chinese to know all about politics or economics just so they can say “how are you?” or “goodbye” in Chinese.

We also assume you’ve already downloaded and installed Anki (this is the most important part of this entire article) so please download it first before proceeding with reading this guide. If you haven’t done this yet, go to: http://ankisrs.net/ and follow the instructions for installation . It should take less than 10 minutes to install. Then come back here or I suggest re-reading parts of the next section again just to ensure that you have understood well enough how Anki works. This will help you get started with learning a new language much faster! Trust me ????

It’s a flashcard software that has the ability to remember things for you without having to struggle with memorising text. It does this by separating your information into small sections that you then ‘memorise’ through repetition (repetition is one of the key elements in learning). If you are an advanced learner, we recommend starting out with another flashcard program called SuperMemo or Memorang which are more advanced and much better than Ankin regards ‘learning efficiency’. However, all levels of learners can benefit from what is described below especially when it comes to how to learn Chinese fast. Just be sure to take action and start using Anki if you want results. Oh yeah! That reminds me… you must make a habit of going through the cards regularly (daily).

What do I need to get started?

You have a set of digital flashcards Each time you open a card, Anki will present you with front side which is your prompt. The backside of the flashcard contains what you want to review/ memorise. Click on ‘show answer’ You can see the Chinese characters or English translation for that word, phrase or sentence Write down your own interpretation in either Chinese (in Pinyin if you’re new) or English. Anki will then ask you if you want to ‘review’ the card or ‘learn’ it . So that’s how easy Anki works!

How do I get started?

Download Anki from this link: http://ankisrs.net/ Switch on sync and download Add your first deck (click + button). To add a deck, in the upper left corner click on Manage decks and then choose “Add” Type in the name of your new deck Click OK Choose either Chinese Character or Pinyin as appropriate (for beginners, we suggest using Pinyin) for each word, phrase or sentence. In other words, type out when writing answers to cards If syncing is not working correctly, click here and follow the steps: http://ankisrs.net/docs/manual.html#sync-problems

Repeat step 2 to 4 for each new deck you wish to create . Important! Keep a total of five cards per deck (more on this below). Check your Anki stats daily to see how much time you’ve spent on learning Chinese this way so far.

Important Tips! Here are some useful tips that will help you if you want to learn fast!

Start with just one deck at a time until the system is working smoothly and then add more decks later when needed. Do not overload yourself by adding too many decks in the beginning as it can easily ‘overwhelm’ and discourage you.

Check out other useful tips here to further improve your Anki experience: http://ankisrs.net/docs/manual.html#customization-tips-for-the-power-user

What should I do to prepare for this method? Here are some prep suggestions you can use before starting the actual learning process (these will take no more than 5 minutes): Go through these flashcards a few times on memrise so that they’re fresh in your mind when it comes time to start making flashcards yourself. Add them as a quiz so that you can review all of them at once by clicking ‘Review All’. If you don’t have memrise, we’ve included them below and they’re also available.

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