Sometimes the revelation that comes with learning Chinese has nothing to do with Chinese characters, but with Chinese pronunciation. With Chinese, one syllable can have many different meanings based on the tone it is spoken with, so it is crucial to practice your listening skills from the outset. In their haste to learn as many Chinese words as possible, some students spend most of their time memorizing vocabulary words in the hopes that their pronunciation will somehow magically improve as time goes on. This is rarely the case. Although it is unlikely that your tones will ever be perfect without practice, you can develop good listening skills even when you only know a handful of syllables, and in later years these skills will serve as the building blocks for your comprehension skills.
One idea for a listening exercise is to choose a syllable and listen to the four tones for that syllable. For example, you could listen to the syllable “ma” and hear how it sounds when it is spoken in a flat tone, a rising tone, a dipping tone and a falling tone. Instead of repeating the word immediately, try to decide which tone you just heard before you repeat it. This will help you start thinking about whether the pitch goes up or down, and how sharply. Once you have decided which tone you heard, try to repeat it and compare your pronunciation with the one you just heard. Even five minutes spent listening to a single syllable is more valuable than trying to listen to ten different words as fast as you can.
One pitfall students sometimes fall into is reading the tone marks as if they were accent marks instead of pronunciation guides. For example, a student will look at the two characters for “mā” or “mǎ” and pronounce them almost identically, instead of distinguishing between the two tones. If you find yourself doing this, try exaggerating your tones when you practice. Listen to the rising tone and try to repeat it, really letting your voice rise at the end. Listen to the falling tone and repeat it, really letting your voice drop at the end. With time you will not need to exaggerate your tones so much, but in the beginning this will help you remember to pay attention to the tones when you repeat each word.
When you practice your listening skills, try to do so in a concentrated way. Your fifteen minute study session could be much more productive if you spend the first three minutes listening to a few different syllables. Spend a few more minutes practicing the individual syllables and paying attention to the direction of the tones. In the second half of your practice session you could work on practicing two-syllable words, which will have more complicated tones. Finally, end your practice session by listening to a short sentence and trying to write down the tone numbers for each syllable before you look at the correct answers.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see improvement right away when you practice your tones. Some days it will seem like you still can’t tell the difference between two tones, especially if they are spoken quickly. Don’t try to practice more words, just concentrate on the same few words you already know and try to listen again when the speaker is going slower. Eventually your listening comprehension will improve, and it will aid your speaking abilities later on.