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One way to improve pronunciation is to try recording yourself speak. There are plenty of dialogues on the website for you to download. Compare your sound with that of the native speakers. This is a good way to track your progress and identify your weaknesses. Some sounds will be a lot harder to imitate. Listen to how different speakers say the same sound. If you take the time to perfect your pronunciation at this stage, you will come out sounding much more natural in later stages when you are speaking more quickly with less time to think.

We each have our different reason for learning Chinese. However, you are conveying a great sign of respect to Chinese people by attempting to learn their language. It is understandable for many speakers of foreign languages to want to learn English as it’s considered the International language. However, it isn’t as common for an English speaker to take the trouble to learn their language. Even while living in Taiwan and meeting foreigners living in China, I noticed that many didn’t take the time to learn the culture and local language as it wasn’t really required for their stay. So expect to be in the minority and to be commended for your pursuit in learning Chinese.