Podcast Episodes

223 - Four key principles to improve your Mandarin listening comprehension

Season 1 Episode 223

Listening is the cornerstone of language learning, yet many students struggle to improve their Mandarin listening comprehension. Fortunately, making progress isn’t as difficult as you might think; ju…

Published on 11 months, 2 weeks ago

222 - Student Q&A, November 2024: Pros and cons of digital tools for Chinese reading, and the struggle to find comprehensible and interesting texts

Season 1 Episode 222

Is reading digitally in Chinese better than on paper? What are the best digital tools for reading? And what should you do if you can’t find texts that are both interesting and at the right level?

#le…

Published on 11 months, 3 weeks ago

221 - How to learn Zhuyin (Bopomofo) in two hours

Season 1 Episode 221

Many people believe that learning a new script is challenging, but mastering systems like Zhuyin (Bopomofo) or Japanese kana is surprisingly easy. With the right approach and resources, you can do it…

Published on 11 months, 4 weeks ago

220 - Do you really know how to count in Chinese?

Season 1 Episode 220

Counting is one of the first things we learn in a foreign language, yet mastering it takes time. While basic numbers may seem simple, using them effectively in communication requires much more than j…

Published on 1 year ago

219 - Three things I wish I had known as an advanced student of Chinese: Time machine, part 3

Season 1 Episode 219

Improving your Chinese after you reach an advanced level requires new ways of learning and new sources of motivation. If I could go back in time to give a less proficient version of myself advice, he…

Published on 1 year ago

218 - Don’t learn Mandarin pronunciation by reading, listen and mimic instead

Season 1 Episode 218

Don’t try to learn pronunciation by reading. Instead, the best way to improve is to listen to and mimic native speakers. Focusing too much on how sounds are written down can actually make it harder t…

Published on 1 year ago

217 - Student Q&A, October 2024: Pronouncing the final -i after sh-, the initial z- and if Pinyin is a good transcription system

Season 1 Episode 217

How is the Pinyin final -i pronounced after sh? How is the initial z- pronounced compared to z in English? And is Pinyin a good transcription system for learning pronunciation?

#learnchinese #pronunc…

Published on 1 year ago

216 - How to use YouTube and other video platforms to learn Chinese

Season 1 Episode 216

YouTube and similar platforms offer a vast treasure trove of content that can help you learn Chinese, whether you're watching videos in Chinese or exploring content about language and culture. But ho…

Published on 1 year, 1 month ago

215 - Three things I wish I had known as an intermediate student of Chinese: The time machine, part 2

Season 1 Episode 215

Traversing the intermediate Chinese learning plateau requires a shift in focus. Here are three pieces of advice for intermediate learners of Mandarin.

#learnchinese #intermediate #timemachine #learni…

Published on 1 year, 1 month ago

214 - YouGlish: A free service to hear and see Chinese words in context

Season 1 Episode 214

How words are pronounced and used depends on context, but traditional learning materials lack the diversity to prepare you for real-world Chinese. Fortunately, YouGlish is a great tool for studying l…

Published on 1 year, 1 month ago