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If you are making the decision to study Mandarin, then one of the things you will have to ask yourself is whether or not you will learn Chinese writing. Known as Hanzi, this intricate system of characters can be quite intimidating to Westerners and many people do not bother to master it.
If you are only studying Mandarin as preparation for a vacation and plan to communicate via speech most of the time, then you will probably be all right if you do not learn Chinese writing. Many Westerners will study Pinyin, a form of Chinese writing which is based on the Roman alphabet and phonetics. Doing so will allow you to pick up Mandarin more quickly since you will only need to know the spelling and tone of each word.
However, there are some major disadvantages you will encounter if you do not learn Chinese writing. These drawbacks become particularly evident if you plan on staying in China for a long time or want to become fluent in Mandarin.
The first problem encountered is when a word is a homonym. Homonyms are words which sound the same but have different meanings. In Pinyin, these words are spelled the same, making it difficult at times to decipher the meaning. However, if you learn Chinese writing, then you will find each homonym has its own character. This knowledge makes reading and writing much simpler.
The second problem comes when a person masters Pinyin first and wants to learn Chinese writing later on. While you may speak Mandarin, you will be essentially learning the characters from scratch. This situation will put you on the same level as a young schoolchild. In addition, you will find yourself doing a large amount of memorization to understand the various characters and their meanings.
If you do not mind taking the extra time to discover Mandarin, then it is much easier to learn Chinese writing at the same time you are learning the words. This method means studying the characters along with Pinyin and their English translation. It takes longer to pick up the entire language when you learn Chinese writing at the same time, but your education will be much more thorough. In addition, you will find understanding the written word is an invaluable skill to have.
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Whether you decide to learn Chinese writing or not comes down to a matter of preference. You may find your learning style allows you to commit the characters to memory quite easily. In which case, studying only Pinyin at the start may not be a hindrance for you. On the other hand, if you are a visual person, then you could find when you learn Chinese writing it is easier for you to commit the words to memory. You can always give both methods a try to see which way works better for you.