How I learned to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese (self-study)

As a beginner learner, I was terrified to speak Chinese and this destroyed my learning.

I was self-conscious about what others would think.

I thought I was an imposter for trying to speak without having proper tones and grammar.

I thought people would ridicule me.

I thought I would forget words and freeze and the world would end!

Unfortunately, this meant I was not practicing my speaking, which decreased my confidence more and this vicious cycle started.

Here are 3 tips that helped me go from being afraid to speak to speaking fluently Mandarin in real life, videos, podcasts, live streams, all by practicing in my bedroom.

1. Record Yourself

I had reached a plateau with my Chinese speaking.

I was comfortable shadowing and mimicking words and phrases when listening to podcasts.

I was comfortable saying basic phrases and talking to myself when no one was looking.

But when it came to speaking with native speakers in real life, ordering a drink, or having a conversation, I would freeze.

The words that seemed to flow easily when I was practicing alone would come out weird and unnatural when someone else was there.

I was nervous. I was self-conscious about what they would think about my pronunciation. I forgot what I wanted to say. Then I would miss what they just said. And that would make things all the worse.

I realized that I needed to not only practice my speaking when no one was looking but also when others were looking.

A large part of speaking is confidence. If I could build confidence in speaking when others are looking, I would be less nervous and more able to speak in real life.

That's why I started recording myself speaking.

Recording yourself adds social pressure similar to having others hear you speak except, no one is there.

When I learned guitar, playing on camera was always harder than playing without the camera on.

There is an unspoken rule when recording yourself: this moment is frozen in time and I have to make this good.

That is the pressure we want to leverage when we record ourselves speaking.

Think of recording yourself as speaking practice with training wheels. Speaking with native speakers is still the gold standard, but we don’t always have the opportunity to have someone practice speaking with us.

You can access the step-by-step system I used to record myself and improve my speaking here.

2. Consistent Practice

I recorded myself every single day.

Even if I didn’t feel like it. Even if I had nothing to say. Even if it didn’t sound good. I still recorded myself.

By recording myself daily, I built consistency and momentum to keep going. Each day built on the last and my speaking improved exponentially.

I also built a speaking habit that I didn’t want to break it.

After a week, speaking on camera became second nature and I didn’t even think about it. My comfort and confidence improved as a result.

I was more likely to start conversations with my language exchanges, teachers, and strangers in real life.

I noticed that new words or idioms that I practiced speaking on camera would naturally flow off my tongue during conversations with native speakers.

I had exposed myself to say those words and idioms enough times that they became second nature.

This is the power of deliberate practice.

Speaking is a skill that you can improve just like any other skill. But you need to build the muscle memory of speaking until it becomes second nature.

You can access the 4-week study plan and monthly challenge trackers I used to help me build a speaking habit here.

3. Post it Online

I posted my recordings on secret Instagram and TikTok accounts to hold myself accountable to speak on camera and post it every single day.

Posting it online also helps to track my progress. Seeing a wall of my previous recordings was always a huge motivation to keep going. I didn’t want to break the streak.

I made longer videos in Chinese about topics I was passionate about (learning Chinese, traveling, and living in Taiwan) and posted them on YouTube for feedback.

I started recording my Chinese conversations with my friend to practice and it turned into a weekly podcast.

In 2022 I did my first live stream speaking in Mandarin with Chinese teacher Ben, which led me to do more live streams with other teachers.

The thing is, I was never qualified to do any of these things, to speak in YouTube videos, podcasts, or live streams.

But by posting myself speaking online every single day, I gradually got better and I gradually became more comfortable speaking with others looking. You can see how I did this here.

Until eventually, speaking became second nature.

Try This:

Think of when you speak in your native tongue. Do you ever doubt your ability to speak in that language?

You may have social anxiety but you wouldn’t question your ability to speak English. That’s because you’ve spoken English so many times that it become second nature.

I’m here to tell you that you can get to a similar level when speaking in Chinese.

I know because I’ve coached countless other Chinese learners who were in a similar boat and after going through my program were shocked they could speak so quickly.

If you struggle with speaking Chinese and want to learn in detail how I recorded myself, the topics I covered, the tools, and the step-by-step system I used, check out my Speaking Course here.

Have a great day my friend.

精益求精，

Danyo

PS Here are some practical ways I can help you learn Chinese today:

1. Speaking Template: The exact template I build a daily speaking habit and remember more vocabulary.

2. Copy Paste Speak Course: The science-backed system I used to quickly improve my speaking, listening and conversations in Mandarin Chinese
   (can be used for any language).

3. Chinese Speakers Community: I’ll help you level up your Mandarin speaking faster so you can talk about what you want in 30 minutes a day. You get all my courses, trainings, exercises and personalized feedback. Apply here.