Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Articles tagged with ‘Paul Nation’

  1. Student Q&A, June 2024: How much time on flashcards, Remembering the Hanzi, and resources for learning characters

    How much time should you spend on flashcards? Is Remembering the Hanzi good for learning Chinese characters? And what resources should you use if you want to understand the writing system better?

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  2. Real communication: What it is, why you want it and how to get it

    A language is a structured system used for communication, so the idea to focus on communication when learning Chinese sounds obvious, but it’s surprisingly new and rarer than you think!

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  3. How to best use flashcards to learn Chinese

    Flashcards; some people love them, some people hate them. The goal of Hacking Chinese is to go beyond the black and white, and figure out how things work so we can use them to our advantage.

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  4. How to become fluent in Chinese

    Being fluent in Chinese is more about being good at applying what you know, rather than knowing everything. Many students focus too much on learning new things, and neglect mastering what they’ve already learnt.

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  5. Analyse and balance your Chinese learning with Paul Nation’s four strands

    When learning Chinese, it’s hard to make sure you’re doing the right things. Paul Nation’s four strands allow you analyse and balance your learning!

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  6. 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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  7. 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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