What is the secrete behind learning mandarin chinese as a speaker of another language.

Hello Alieu,

There is not secret ! Look at the Chinese characters ,at first they will seem overwhelming and "wow , I can't make it " .
Yet strange enough your brain can keep a pictorial memory of those intricate diverse characters and eventually with lots (and i mean it "lots")of practice manage to memorize them.
As for reading of course the pinyin system facilitated the whole process.
The pronunciation with the 5 tones are not that easy, but listening and practicing will get you there .
I don't manage to pronounce correctly yet , and that is probably due to insufficient oral practice.
So it takes you to be really serious about learning and dedicating more than the usual time you dedicate for learning another language.
Good luck:)