When learning Mandarin Chinese, there are 4 main areas to focus on to learn Mandarin Chinese. They are mainly:
1. Listening
You need to practice listening Mandarin Chinese to build a sense of familiarity. You can do so by watching Chinese tv shows, radio and listening to people speaking Chinese in general. You can also check out Mandarin Chinese songs by famous artistes such as JJ Lin, Jay Chou or G.E.M.
2. Speaking
It would be good if you have the environment to learn Mandarin Chinese by speaking to native chinese speakers. While China may the best place to do this as you will be immersed in Chinese from the start and forced to practice it, Singapore also provides a beginner friendly environment to practice Mandarin Chinese since most of its people are bilingual.
3. Reading
Following a text book is a great way to get started reading and should be done at the beginning. If you do not have textbooks, you can go to the library and borrow Beginner friendly books such as children's story books with simple Mandarin Chinese.
4. Writing
Writing is probably the hardest part so practice writing emails and start with practicing 10 characters a day!