Podcast Episodes
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281 - Reading is a lot like spaced repetition, only better
Season 1 Episode 281
You can build vocabulary in Chinese with flashcard apps and spaced repetition, but reading is more effective and more enjoyable. It helps you recogni…
9 months, 1 week ago
280 -Chinese characters and words that refuse to stick: Killing leeches
Season 1 Episode 280
How long does it take to learn a Chinese character or word? It varies, but some vocabulary just refuses to stick, no matter what you do. These are ca…
9 months, 2 weeks ago
279 - Learning Chinese words: When quantity beats quality
Season 1 Episode 279
Everybody knows that knowing many words is important, but how important is it? And how should you expand your vocabulary in Chinese?
#learnchinese #vo…
9 months, 3 weeks ago
278 - A minimum-effort approach to writing Chinese characters by hand
Season 1 Episode 278
Chinese characters are beautiful and fascinating, but learning to write them by hand is time-consuming. If you want to learn to write Chinese charact…
10 months ago
277 - Cultivate your Chinese flashcard garden... or burn it down and start afresh
Season 1 Episode 277
Flashcards are powerful, but what if your deck feels more like an overgrown thicket than a carefully cultivated garden? Do you clear away the weeds a…
10 months, 1 week ago
276 - 4, 3, 2, 1: Fluency! A great technique to boost your Mandarin speaking ability
Season 1 Episode 276
Do you want to speak Mandarin fluently, no matter what your level is? Use the 4/3/2 technique to build confidence and flow!
#learnchinese #fluency #fl…
10 months, 2 weeks ago
275 - How to talk about Chinese characters in Chinese
Season 1 Episode 275
How do native speakers talk about Chinese characters?
The writing system is not phonetic, so you can't spell out words, but it is still possible to ta…
10 months, 3 weeks ago
274 - Why not going to China now could actually be good for your Chinese
Season 1 Episode 274
Going abroad to learn Chinese in an immersion environment can be great, but unless you plan to stay for years, you might be better off delaying your …
11 months ago
273 - What a big Rubik’s Cube taught me about Chinese characters
Season 1 Episode 273
How small can Chinese characters be while still being legible? How much information do they contain per unit area? And what can a big Rubik’s cube te…
11 months ago
272 - Learning (or not learning) Chinese slang
Season 1 Episode 272
Slang and swearing often top the list of what people want to learn in a foreign language. But is this curiosity actually helpful for learners, or jus…
11 months, 1 week ago