Articles in the ‘Organising and planning’ category
-
Student Q&A, December 2023: How many words to learn, if it’s good to learn radicals, and whether to learn simplified or traditional characters
How many words is reasonable to learn in a day? Will focusing on radicals make learning characters easier? And should you learn simplified or traditional characters, or maybe both?
Read → -
100 hours of Chinese listening in 3 weeks: What I learnt and how to apply it
The more you listen, the more you learn. That’s why I listened to one hundred hours of Chinese in just three weeks. Here’s what I learnt and how you can apply that to your own learning.
Read → -
How long do you have to study Chinese to make it useful?
For some, the allure of Chinese lies in language and culture, but for many, practical utility is more important. So, how long do you have to study Chinese to make it useful?
Read → -
Should you throw away your Chinese textbook?
Many students rely on textbooks to learn Chinese, but is this a good idea? Some people say that to unleash your full potential, you should throw your textbook away.
Read → -
Hacking Chinese Podcast three-year anniversary Q&A
This is a Q&A to mark the third anniversary of the Hacking Chinese Podcast! Should you drop everything you’re doing to learn Chinese for one year? How should you approach reading at an intermediate level? And how do you choose the best resources for learning?
Read → -
Is Chinese difficult to learn?
Is Chinese difficult to learn, even impossible? Or is it in fact quite easy? The answer is that learning Chinese is difficult, but not in the way most people think!
Read → -
Timeboxing Chinese: Get more done in less time
If you don’t invest the necessary time into learning Chinese, it doesn’t matter how good your method is. Timeboxing is a wonderful way to get more done in less time.
Read → -
Learning Chinese is more like walking a thousand miles than running 100-metre dash
Learning Chinese is more like walking a thousand miles than running 100-metre dash. Make sure that your strategy works in the long term!
Read → -
Should you use an efficient method for learning Chinese even if you hate it?
Methods for learning Chinese can be good because they are efficient, because they to focus on the right content, or because they are enjoyable, allowing you to spend more time. But no method is good in all these ways at once, so what should you do if you just don’t like the most efficient method?
Read → -
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 →