Somebody  said: “As cliché as it sounds, the two ways people usually learn Chinese the fastest are:

•Get a Chinese boyfriend/girlfriend

 •Go to bars a lot

 But since I haven’t had a (very long) romantic relationship with any Chinese girls, I decided to invite an American friend of mine (using her Chinese name) to do the first ever guest post! She’s engaged to a Chinese guy and has learned quite a bit of Chinese so far. But was it because of him…?

==== Begin Guest Post ==== By Xiao Yi (小一)

So you’re in China, you’ve been studying Chinese, and now you’ve even got this great Chinese boy/girlfriend who can teach you. You’ve got it made! You’ll be fluent in no time. Right? Not necessarily.

While it seems to make sense that having a Chinese signifiant other would quickly cement your language skills, my experience tells me differently. My fiance, Mr. X, is a talented linguist and a patient teacher, and being with him has certainly boosted my motivation to learn. But there’s a long list of people I would rather study Chinese with than him. Now, I realize that every relationship is different. It’s important to note what your default language is. Mr. X’s English far outstrips my Chinese, so our default language is English. That being the case, I find it counterproductive to use him as my primary language informant for three main reasons:

1.The roles can get mixed. While I appreciate Mr. X’s occasional tips on pronunciation, I do not appreciate him correcting my grammar when I’m trying to vent my frustration about a bad day. When you spend too much time in teacher/student mode, it can be difficult to snap out of it and back into relationship mode. Good teachers consistently correct grammar mistakes. Good boyfriends do not.

2.You turn into a zhongwen bandit. Just like you hate those random students who come up to you while you’re doing your shopping, trying to steal bits of English practice, your partner could end up feeling used. Interactions need to be primarily about building the relationship, not the language acquisition.

3.The message is more important than the medium. We’re trying to build a life together here. We need real communication to happen, so we go to our default language: English. Neither of us want to waste our precious moments together waiting for me to fumble through an oversimplified Chinese sentence just because I need to practice passive voice.

This is not to say that we never speak Chinese together. On the contrary, we frequently have basic conversations and send text messages in Chinese. I’m quick to try and impress him with every bit of new ability I acquire. But I acquire it elsewhere. Your experience might be quite different, especially if your partner doesn’t speak English or your Chinese and her English are at about the same level.

                                                                                                      Conversational Chinese is designed for the beginner with absolutely no background in Chinese who wants to have simple conversations in Chinese. If you have ever dreamed of learning conversational Chinese, visiting China or Taiwan, or understanding more about Chinese culture now is the time to do it!

Of course, the best reason to learn conversational Chinese  is that despite all of the benefits and opportunities that speaking Chinese brings, hardly anyone is willing to take the plunge and learn conversational Chinese.

 Conversational Chinese may be spoken fluently at a rapid speed when the right words and phrases are mastered early. Try to focus on action verbs with plenty of common nouns to finish the phrases. This will allow you to interchange the meaning of your sentences and quickly build a vibrant vocabulary.

To compliment an academic approach to learning conversational Chinese fast, try to supplement your program with as much audio from native speakers as possible. You may wish to check with your local cable company for foreign films and television stations that are spoken in Chinese. Comprehension comes quickly when studying and hearing the new language in a non-academic forum.If you are confused could not find a native Chinese teacher ,why not try to online Chinese school.It is convenient to learn Chinese at home.

There is no secret to learning conversational Chinese. It’s actually very simple. If you’re willing to dive into speaking a foreign language you will be able to acquire it very easily. Think about the way that children learn languages. They do not learn by memorization, by reading books about grammar, or by buying expensive dictionaries. They learn by speaking. Children learn languages quickly because they are not afraid to put what they learn into practice.

 In addition, you may wish to purchase music song in Chinese to test your comprehension and pick up a few new phrases. Without even trying, the added exposure to Chinese will open your vocabulary in a stress-free and natural way. Sing along with the artist, whether you understand the words or not, and this will train your mouth and throat for tiny muscle formations necessary to accommodate the Chinese language with rapid fire fluency.

The key to mastering any new language is consistency, so be sure to do something every day to expand and retain your vocabulary. You may choose a few flashcards for learning new words, or perhaps just listen to native speakers. And once your fluency begins to kick in, learning new words and phrases gets easier every time. With a little discipline and valiant effort from the start, you will be speaking Chinese like a native in no time.

Introduction Of Shanghai
Lying on the estuary of Chang Jiang (Yangtze) River, Shanghai is regarded as the economic capital in mainland China. It’s one of the most developed cities in China. Besides its leading role of economic development, Shanghai also serves as an important cultural, financial, trading and industrial center of China. Due to economic reforms taken place since 1992, Shanghai has now become one of the leading cities in East Asia.

Once compared to Paris in the 1930s, Shanghai nowadays is more like New York City. Arriving in Shanghai, immediately, you will be overwhelmed by all the crowds, automobiles, malls and skyscrapers. As the largest city in mainland china in terms of population (18 million) and density (2,945/kmq), Shanghai is a booming melting pot of East and West.

Climate Of Shanghai
The most comfortable seasons in Shanghai are from March to early June and from September to November. The “Plum Flower Rain” season (frequent light rain) is from mid-June to early July. Always take an umbrella with you even if it’s not raining for the moment. July and August are extremely hot and humid, with temperature always above 30°C and sometimes as high as 40°C. September remains hot, yet quite cool at night. In winter, it usually snows lightly for 1 or 2 days and the temperature mostly stays above 0°C.

Clothing Of Shanghai
In summer (June to August): cool cotton garments and a light windbreaker or raincoat in case of rain. Good walking shoes are essential at any time of year.

Time Of Shanghai
UTC+8 / GMT+8

Shanghai Language
Mandarin is the standard spoken language in China. To make life even more difficult, locals also speak the Shanghai dialect, or Shanghainese, which sounds very different from Mandarin. English is not yet widely understood by locals – your best bet is to speak to someone young if you need help, as their English tends to be better than older people.

Currency / Methods of Payment
The Chinese currency is Renminbi (People’s Currency) and is abbreviated as CNY or also RMB. The basic unit is Yuan.

10 Fen = 1 Jiao
10 Jiao = 1 Yuan
100 Fen = 1 Yuan
Visa, Master Card, American Express, Diner’s Club, Federal Card, Million Card, and JCB credit cards are accepted at most hotels and state run shops in the major cities. Travelers should be prepared to pay in Yuan when shopping in smaller shops, at restaurants, or at smaller hotels.