Users are struggling to train their ears to distinguish between native tones and often fail to properly replicate tones they hear. A feature that provides real-time feedback on tone accuracy would be helpful.
I've been studying mandarin chinese for about a year now using duolingo. Using the app has been useful to learn some starting vocabulary but thats about all. I've recently started trying to expand my vocabulary using a HSK1 Anki deck and listening to a lot of comprehensible input youtube channels (e.g. [说说中文](https://www.youtube.com/@ShuoshuoChinese), [Lazy Chinese](https://www.youtube.com/@comprehensiblechinese)) and am making some good progress with learning basic characters. However, I am really struggling to train my ears to be able to distinguish between native tones. When I speak in short sentences, I often fail to properly replicate tones I hear, and its hard to know where I went wrong. This has been really frustrating as I feel like I am not able to make progress. I have seen mixed advice online- some say westerners focus too much on tones and just need to listen to more mandarin, while others say to focus entirely on pronunciation in the beginning of the journey. How long did it take you to build confidence with chinese tones? Does anyone have any recommendations for some tried and true methods to develop my pronunciation/ listening skills?