@Candy - I disagree. I think it's not difficult for foreigners to learn tones. just look at some of the non-chinese presenters on CCTV. there are some tone change rules 一， 不， 两个三声等等. but as long as you remember it's fine. As for the "you don't need to learn tones as proficient as natives" point..that's wrong. I've made the tone mistake now and again and the meaning of my sentence changed. Furthermore, I have actually seen chinese people correct other chinese people on their tones as well. tone is VERY Important! @Jeremy just listen and repeat. If your textbook has tapes/CDs just follow what the tape does. also like Dany said practice with a native speaker. also try the finger trick. when I stared I used my index finger as a tone guide when speaking. first tone I moved my finger across horizontally . second tone moved it up a bit on an angle. third tone I did a U shape. fourth tone moved it down on an angle. as for the stop tone made a dot in the air

The best way to learn the tones well is to practice with native speakers as we did with our friends and parents to graspe the tones !And then practice makes perfect! Wish you good luck with it!

i guess chat with some native speakers will help

No,children learnt speech by their parents that likes you learnt speech,they didn't have drill to help their tones. Every charaters not only have one tone,but also has other tones.one charater has different pronunciations in different phrases,and sometimes it has a special tone in special phrases.Also,tones are impacted on local pronunciation. Everywhere have no absolute mandarin, unless the official media. Children would correct their nonstandard tones in school. really difficult to response you.I hope my words can help you a little.

if you want to know it clearly,you should learn it from Bopomofo.