Learning the pronunciation of a new language can be fascinating, opening a whole new world of sound. But it can also be frustrating, especially when dealing with something you have never encountered before, such as tones.
I should’ve focused more on hitting the tones of every new word I learned.
Many of my classmates still get many sounds wrong, but the teacher almost never corrects them.
I was taught Pinyin in te first few weeks of class, after that it was all characters and words.
I should have spent more time with pronunciation, especially the tones.
Much later, I found out that I had mixed up the second tone and the fourth tone, and I had to work hard to reverse that.
Don’t listen to the people who say “don’t worry about the tones”!
Many students feel discouraged when native speakers don’t understand what they’re saying or when they can’t hear the difference between tones or similar sounds. Pronunciation is essential; get it right now and save yourself a ton of trouble later!
Get $31 off my pronunciation course before the end of October 13
Use the promo code fa1yin1 at checkout to get $31 off any version of Hacking Chinese Pronunciation: Speaking with Confidence. You can learn more about the course by clicking the link above.
If you prefer to listen to me talking about the course, along with the three most common pronunciation errors students made in the first round of the course, you can check out this podcast episode. Note that the dates for when the course is open refer to the previous round, so it’s the date given above that’s correct, not the one I mentioned in the podcast!
Tune in to the Hacking Chinese Podcast to learn more about the pronunciation course (episode 40):
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many other platforms!
The first lesson, where I introduce the course
Section 1, lesson 5 about mimicking native speakers in its entirety
What students are saying about the course
In my language journey, I’ve found that good upfront pronunciation is the foundation… so when I started to learn Mandarin, I was on the lookout for the best material. Since then, I’ve completed a half-dozen pronunciation courses, so I can confidently say that Olle’s is the best-organized course for beginners. It’s also the most comprehensive for intermediates like me. I wish I started with it—I wouldn’t have needed any other pronunciation courses!
– Will
Working through the Hacking Chinese pronunciation course allows me to spend the time I need to truly understand how to physically make the sounds. The way Olle presents initials and finals as finite quantities that can be mastered gave me hope. I come back to the videos frequently to refresh my ears and memory; it’s an excellent resource. My tutor (who is a Beijing native) spontaneously told me my pronunciation was better, without knowing I was taking Olle’s course.
– Del Rey
This is excellent! The professional feedback was great, and I am improving where I couldn’t before. I wish this had been around when I started out learning Mandarin, but am delighted its available now and highly recommend it for a deep and clear understanding of exactly how to pronounce Mandarin Chinese properly. Make no mistake, this is the course you need.
– Simon
Hacking Chinese Pronunciation: Speaking with Confidence
Sneak peek: Section 4, Lesson 2: Finals starting with A
Sneak peek: Section 2, Lesson 4: Tone Pairs
Learn more about the course here: Hacking Chinese Pronunciation: Speaking with Confidence
I keep telling new students who ask: do spend much more time initially on pronunciation than you intuitively feel like, the importance of clear speech in Mandarin is hard to over-emphasize and will make a big difference. I highly recommend taking Olle’s course to invest in good speaking ability.
– Johan Annell, management consultant
1 comments
Lesson one sounds like a good beginning.