Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Articles in the ‘Organising and planning’ category Page 3

  1. How to start learning Chinese again after a break

    Are you picking up Chinese again after a break, and struggle to find the words and characters? Does spoken Mandarin sound vaguely familiar but incomprehensible? Then this guide will help you get back on track!

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  2. How to survive and thrive in a difficult Chinese course

    How do you survive a Chinese course that’s too hard for you, regardless if you ended up there on purpose or because of circumstances? What are the key strategies to ensure you stay afloat and learn as much as possible?

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  3. Learning Classical Chinese is for everyone (no, seriously!)

    Classical Chinese is something all learners will encounter, whether it’s because it’s part of a course you take, because you’ve started learning formal, written Chinese or simply because you want to read the Art of War, the Analects or Tang poetry. How can you learn Classical Chinese and what resources should you use?

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  4. Is taking a Chinese course that’s too hard good for your learning?

    Chinese has a reputation for being hard to learn and it can be even harder if you take a course that is above your level. But why would you do that? What are the potential pros and cons of deliberately seeking out a learning environment where just keeping your head above water will be hard?

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  5. Should you enrol in a Chinese course or are you better off learning on your own?

    Some people think enrolling in a course is the best way to learn Chinese, but others say that courses are useless, and swear by the effectiveness of self-studying. So should you enrol in a Chinese course or are you better off learning on your own?

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  6. Why your Chinese isn’t as good as you think it ought to be

    Sooner or later, most students realise that their Chinese isn’t as good as they think it ought to be. Why is that and what can you do about it?

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  7. Chinese language logging, part 3: Tools and resources for keeping track of your learning

    Logging you language learning can be very useful, and there are many tools and resources out there to help you, but which are the best and how do you use them?Logging you language learning can be very useful, and there are many tools and resources out there to help you, but which are the best and how do you use them?

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  8. Chinese language logging, part 2: A healthy, balanced diet of Mandarin

    How do you balance your learning to make sure you get a healthy diet of Mandarin? Logging how much you listen, speak, read and write is easy, but are there better ways of doing it?

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  9. Chinese language logging, part 1: Why and how to track your progress

    How much time are you investing into learning Chinese? Or is it maybe better to talk about it using a unit other than time, such as how many books you’ve read? Are you reading more than you’re writing? Or is listening, speaking, reading and writing maybe the wrong labels to use?

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  10. 20 tips and tricks to improve your Chinese writing ability

    Writing is one of the four basic language skills, and one that learners of Chinese struggle with a lot. Good writing is based on lots of reading, but beyond that, there are plenty of other things you can do to improve your writing ability in Chinese beyond the characters themselves. Here are twenty tips and tricks!

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