Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

About

On this page you will find information about Hacking Chinese and related topics:

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Learn more about Hacking Chinese

Hacking Chinese logoI have studied three foreign languages: English, French and Mandarin Chinese. In my language learning life so far, I have been taught a lot about grammar, words and culture, but I have seldom been taught the most important thing of all: how to learn a language!

Most teachers and textbooks focus on the language itself and present material for the students to learn, but don’t show them how to learn those things. Even more important, successful learning requires a long-term strategy, but most courses and teachers only offer short-term solutions.

On Hacking Chinese, I try to answer questions like:

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This website is dedicated to unveiling the mysteries of learning a language in general and about learning Chinese in particular. If you don’t take responsibility and think for yourself, it will take ages to reach a decent level, but if you become aware of how to learn and study efficiently, fluency is within reach.

If you’re new to Hacking Chinese, I suggest you check the welcome page. It features the most important content on this website, along with a brief introduction to what Hacking Chinese is.

Apart from a wealth of articles about learning Chinese, Hacking Chinese also has two separate sections:

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Hacking Chinese? “Hacking”? “Chinese”?

“Hacking” is about understanding how language learning works and using that knowledge to your advantage. It’s about the constant search for a better way of learning. Language hacking is related to computer hacking in the shared values of resourcefulness, experimentation and optimisation, but of course involves nothing illegal or bad. Language hacking is good for everyone and completely safe, even if it might bring you into conflict with conservative teachers.

To the outsider, “Chinese” might look like a straightforward term. It isn’t. However, what I mean here is simple enough: I mean all aspects of Chinese as it’s spoken, written, used, studied or otherwise exists in the world today. As for spoken Chinese, I focus mostly on Mandarin, but if you for some reason want to learn another dialect, I can assure you that almost all articles here are still relevant. In fact, most of what I share here can be used for learning any language!

Opening doors rather than showing the correct way

The primary goal of Hacking Chinese is not to tell you the ultimate solution to all language learning problems, because it’s naive to think that there is such a Golden Path™ to Instant Success®. Research and science might lend credibility to certain methods, but even so, students and their learning environments differ wildly across space and time. My mission is to open doors and show you a multitude of paths to reach your destination, but it will be up to you to actually walk there.

Please support Hacking Chinese!

Support Hacking Chinese on Patreon!If you like what I’m doing, please support me. I provide all the 300+ articles on Hacking Chinese for free, as well as Hacking Chinese Resources and Challenges. Supporters also get rewarded with extra content and other bonuses. You can checkout the details on my Patreon page:

Hire me

My strength is that I am a non-native speaker of Chinese who has reached an advanced level. This means that apart from being able to teach, I also have broad knowledge of methods, resources and tools that will help you reach your goals. I also think I have a rare combination of analytical skill, academic knowledge and practical experience both as a learner and a teacher, which is useful in a number of context, such as when designing courses, textbooks, learning tools and software. If you want to know more about my education background, please refer to my LinkedIn profile.

In essence, if you hire me, you hire the mind behind Hacking Chinese. I will do my best to help you, but exactly what that means and how it will be achieved depends on you. Here are some examples of what people have hired me to do before. If you want to hire me, use the contact form below:

  • Language coaching: Learning a language is a massive undertaking and learners sometimes rightfully feel lost. What’s the next step? What should I be focusing on? How can I prepare myself for going to China? How can I maintain my Chinese after leaving China? How can I ensure I get the most out of the time and money I invest in learning Chinese? See my Patreon page or contact me for individually tailored solutions.
  • Lecturing and teaching: I have previously held lectures about study technique for Chinese, mostly focusing on how to learn the important things that usually aren’t taught in a classroom, such as how to learn vocabulary sufficiently, what resources exist online to help you learn on your own and much more. Judging from the responses I’ve received from these lectures, students really lack this kind of guidance.
  • Consulting and analysing: I have seen my share of textbooks, learning software and websites. I have also gone through the process of learning three foreign languages to an advanced level. I also seem to be fairly good at dissecting and analysing things in a systematic manner. If you’re developing any kind of product related to Chinese and want my help, I will do my best to provide insightful comments and help you succeed.

This should cover most of the reasons why you might want to hire me. If you are interested, please contact me at “editor@hackingchinese.com”. You can of course also send me a message on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn!

About myself

blackhedge-cropHaving covered the most important things about the website above, I think it might be in order to say something about myself. Hi! My name is Olle Linge (Chinese name: 凌雲龍). In short, I’m a Swedish guy who takes an interest in too many things. Studying languages (mostly Chinese and English) is what’s occupied most of my time since graduating from high school and I have a degree in teaching both Chinese and English.

My Chinese studies so far include three years of studying in Sweden and four years in Taiwan. I’m currently working with Chinese language education in various forms, including teaching, professional development, consulting and content production. Please see my LinkedIn profile!

Apart from languages, I like writing (articles, fiction, games), sports (gymnastics, unicycling, diving, volleyball) and games (role-playing, boardgames, Rubik’s cube).

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Contact

If you want to hire me, ask me questions or just say hello, please send an e-mail to “editor@hackingchinese.com”. You can of course also send me a message on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn!