Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

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  1. Is your flashcard deck too big for your own good?

    If you use spaced repetition software like Anki for learning Chinese and do so for a few years, you will end up with a very large flashcard deck. Some people advocate deleting the deck if it becomes too big. This article looks closer at the pros and cons of keeping large decks and why you might want to consider starting over from scratch.

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  2. 14 extra songs to learn Chinese and expand your horizons

    This is the fourth and possibly final article about Chinese music. As before, the goal this time is to expand your horizons a bit and help you find music you like. Music is useful because it’s fun and is a relaxed way of learning. We need learning of all kinds if we want to learn fast, so music fulfils a really important function.

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  3. Hacking Chinese 2012/2013: What was and what will be

    2012 was a very good year for Hacking Chinese. The website has expanded enormously and so has the number of readers. This article details some of the most important developments, some of the best articles and also some random facts. Lastly, it discusses the future. What will happen in 2013?

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  4. You can’t learn Chinese characters by rote

    My conclusion after years of learning characters is that rote learning is useless. Spaced repetition software is good, but it’s still not enough. If adult foreigners are going to learn to write Chinese by hand, we really need another method. We need mnemonics, we need active processing, we need to quit rote learning and stop using SRS mechanically.

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  5. 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.

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  6. RTI, my favourite radio station

    If you want to improve your listening ability, always having something to listen to is essential. Preferably, it should require effort to NOT listen to Chinese. Only have Chinese audio on your phone, set a radio station on autostart on your computer, etc. This article is about RTI, an excellent source of listening material. It’s good mostly because of its diversity and ease of access, meaning that you will never run out of things to listen to.

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  7. 13 more songs to learn Chinese and expand your horizons

    This is the third article in a series about using music to learn Chinese. The goal this time is to expand your horizons a bit and help you find music you like. While you probably won’t enjoy all songs presented here, it’s fairly likely that you will find at least a few you like!

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  8. Vocalise more to learn more Chinese

    Do you know how to make your passive learning more active and thereby learn a lot more Chinese? This article is about how you can increase your awareness of the language around you, process it more actively and therefore also learn more from the experience.

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  9. Don’t just read about language learning methods, try them!

    When reading about ways of learning languages, it’s easy to just nod or shake one’s head in approval or dismissal. This is not enough if we want to master the art of learning a language. We need to identify the methods or ideas that have potential and actually try them. Only then can we know if they are helpful or not.

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  10. 12 songs to learn Chinese and expand your horizons

    This is my second article about Chinese music. The goal this time is to expand your horizons a bit and help you find music you like. You will probably not like all songs presented here, but it’s fairly likely that you will find at least a few!

    Read →