yes, singing along to lyrics is the best way ... karaoke! then u try and memorise the words and yah, otherwise watch a show with chinese subtitles .. thats ho wi kept improving mine!
watch mandarin shows and listen to mandarin songs usually helps. but if you can't pick up the words like me, then i suggest finding a friend to talk to you in mandarin.
You can listen to chinese music and read the lyrics. Try www.568.com you can listen to the song and read the lyrics. Watching series and read the subtitles...
Practice always helps, right? So even if speaking to your mom only makes you realize how heavy your accent is, it's still better than not practicing at all. Find people to speak with, otherwise you're going to forget everything you learned in your course. Good luck!
I find that watching TVB series helps me with my written chinese. I do not know about mandarin, but if you are learning, try TV shows!
try listening to more mando music and watch more mando movies and try to understand thats how i learned =)
My teacher says the best way to learn is constant practice. There are many chinese sites that can help you. Just google.