Anybody who's ever studied Chinese properly knows that Mandarin is all about tones and pronunciation. SO YOU NEED TO SPEAK IT! Books and CDs can only do so much, but what will really carry you is DAILY PRACTICE and ACTUALLY CONVERSING with Chinese people.
You may know the pinyin and definition of 1,000 words and characters, but if you still can't say them right, NO CHINESE PERSON WILL UNDERSTAND YOU!
It's not about which is the easier dialect to learn versus putonghua. Like everything else in life, it's about patience and determination - how much time you want to invest studying and immersing yourself in the language comes down to HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT IT?
It's really all about PRACTICE.
Self studying is great, but if you're really serious about learning and improving your Mandarin skills, some kind of structured learning is still needed. The best would really be to take up 1-on-1 classes, where a teacher is solely focused on helping you get the tones and consonants right (those annoying zh, ch, j, q, c, ch, etc.). Or an intensive group class where you can speak Mandarin EVERYDAY.
Live the Language (LtL) Mandarin school is a new language school in Beijing that specialises in MAKING SURE STUDENTS ACTUALLY END UP SPEAKING CHINESE.
The faculty is made up of top quality teachers who are all Bachelor (and some even Master's) - degree holders in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language from China's top universities.
You can have private 1-on-1 classes up at the school, in your home, at your office or favorite coffeeshop... the teachers can go to you! Or you can join a SMALL group class (maximum 6 students), if you want intensive but more affordable option.
You can study on a monthly basis, semestral, yearly or just on weekends. You can ask for a customised program (for example, one that has a heavy emphasis on speaking to practice your pronunciation), rates are quite flexible and you can request for other activities and services that will 'immerse' you and allow you to really LIVE THE LANGUAGE, such as work internship programs, immersions in the Chinese countryside, kung fu class, cooking class, calligraphy class and others. Everything is geared towards MAKING SURE YOU ACTUALLY END UP USING YOUR MANDARIN DAILY and THAT YOU MAKE PROGRESS.
If you want more information (especially since I am a non-Chinese who knows the challenges of learning this increasingly important language and has some tips and advice on studying), send me an email at
ting@livethelanguage.cn, or check out the school at
www.livethelanguage.cn. We have some useful tips up there on how to learn Mandarin better!