Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Articles published in March 2012

  1. Answer buttons and how to use SRS to study Chinese

    Spaced repetition is very powerful compared to massed repetition, which is why software utilising the spacing effect is growing ever more popular. In this article, I discuss how to review vocabulary using SRS, including how to use the various answer buttons and some other functions commonly available.

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  2. Defining Language Hacking: Lessons Learned From Hacking Chinese

    This is just a short notice to let you know that Defining Language Hacking: Lessons Learned From Hacking Chinese, an article written by me, has been published over at The Mezzofanti Guild. As the title implies, it deals mainly with language hacking, but I also talk a little bit about my own background and my approach […]

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  3. The importance of counting what counts when learning Chinese

    The way in which we count proficiency or progress have a huge impact on how we study. This is relevant for teachers and students alike. Teachers should strive towards counting (grading) what counts (is important); students should do likewise when assessing themselves and also be aware of what kind of consequences counting the wrong things can have.

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  4. Hacking Chinese back again after server crash

    As you might have noticed, Hacking Chinese was down for almost a week and went online again only this morning. The server that hosted the site crashed (hard disk failure) and I had to restore everything from backups, which were fortunately made fairly recently. Some comments might have been lost, but otherwise all content is […]

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  5. The 10,000 hour rule – Blood, sweat and tears

    10000 hour rule for learning Chinese

    The 10,000 hour rule is quite simple. It states that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice to become really good at something. The most important lesson here is that talent is far less important that people think. Even towering geniuses work very hard. Blood, sweat and tears are what counts in the end, not talent.

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