Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Articles tagged with ‘Progress’

  1. Seeing through the illusion of advanced Chinese learning

    Courses and textbooks encourage narrow but advanced proficiency in Chinese, but if you want to be able to communicate well, you need to see through the illusion.

    Read →

  2. Don’t try to improve everything at once when learning Chinese

    To communicate in Chinese, many skills need to work in unison, but trying to improve all of them at once is a recipe for frustration. Instead, limit your focus to make progress and stay motivated!

    Read →

  3. 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?

    Read →

  4. 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?

    Read →

  5. 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?

    Read →

  6. How to get past the intermediate Chinese learning plateau

    When you start learning Chinese, your ability to communicate increases with every word you learn, but as your level improves, this feeling goes away and you it might feel like you’re no longer making progress. Welcome to the intermediate plateau!

    Read →

  7. How long have you studied Chinese? 290 years or 58 992 hours!

    This article is built on a survey of readers’ study time and shows clearly that counting study time in years is completely bunk. It also shows that most people greatly overestimate how much they actually study.

    Read →

  8. Measuring your language learning is a double-edged sword

    Spaced repetition software offers a great way of measuring progress, every step forward is recorded and clearly visible. However, this is also a trap, because even though SRS is useful, it’s just a tool, not a comprehensive strategy. Measurable progress is a great help, but only if you use it correctly.

    Read →