I'd say a lot of tutoring and actual usage, in addition to (re)memorizing what you've learned, otherwise you won't learn/remember. The pretty-much rote memorization isn't easy but a necessity. I suffered through elementary school because I never spoke it (mandarin) at home and it never stuck in my head.
You think that what you are saying is right but people have no clue what you are saying.
Originally Posted by
moondog
Disagree. Anyone who is able to speak in complete sentences can get his/her point across, even if all words are first tone.
Truth is, as always, somewhere inbetween. It'll take time and a few iterations, as long as the context makes sense.
From personal experience, my paternal aunt and my father learnt Cantonese from immersion in H.K. but spoke with a flat tone (though Chinese, parents didn't speak the same dialect and Cantonese wasn't one of them anyway). It took his children/her nieces/nephew some time to figure out what they were trying to say.