This course is currently under construction and is not open for enrollment.
If you are interested in the course, you can leave your email address here.
Do you struggle with finding the right methods to learn Chinese? Do you feel like there’s never enough time to dedicate to your studies? Are you uncertain about what to focus on for maximum impact in achieving your goals?
Many learners, whether in formal education or studying on their own, eventually realise they’ve wasted much time and effort on the wrong things. This is because courses and textbooks seem to offer you everything you need, but rarely do.
With over sixteen years of experience in learning, teaching, and writing about Mandarin, I’ve designed this course to give you the insights and strategies needed to learn Chinese on your terms.
As an independent learner, you’ll know what to study and how to do it, no matter how busy you are, where you live, and what stage of life you’re in. Take control of your learning journey now!
My teacher only tells me what to learn, not how to learn!
I’m too busy to study, how can I learn Chinese when I have a full-time job?
I’m trying to learn Chinese on my own, but feel overwhelmed by all the choices I have to make.
Now I realize that many of the things we focused on in class were actually useless!
I’ve put a lot of hours into learning Mandarin, but I still can’t have a conversation.
Section 1: Learning Mandarin Pronunciation
Welcome to the course
Mastering Mandarin on your terms
How your goals impact what and how you learn
Building a personal Chinese curriculum
Study strategies: Learning how to learn
Investing enough time and effort to learn Mandarin
Section 2: Plotting your path to mastery
Where are you now? Where do you want to be?
Long-term goals for learning Mandarin
Goal skill requirement analysis
Goal alignment: Courses, teachers and textbooks
Benchmarking: How are you doing right now?
Plotting your path to fluency
Making sure you’re moving forward
Identifying and overcoming problems
Feedback: Are you doing the right thing?
Section 3: What to learn: Building a personal Chinese curriculum
A balanced approach to learning Mandarin: The four strands
Meaning-focused and comprehensible input
Extensive reading and listening
Meaning-focused output and communicative language learning
Fluency development: Consolidating and mastering what you already know
Language-focused learning: Vocabulary and grammar
Tools and resources to support your learning: Courses, textbooks and teachers
Non-professional assistance: strangers, friends and partners
Section 4: Study strategies: How to get the most value for the time you invest
How to improve listening ability in Chinese
How to improve reading ability in Chinese
How to survive and thrive in spoken conversations
How to express yourself and interact in written Chinese
Communicative strategies for better spoken and written conversations
Fluency can be practised directly: Here is how to do it!
Learning and remembering Chinese words and characters
Conquering Chinese handwriting
How to pronounce Mandarin clearly and with confidence
Mastering Chinese grammar through comprehensible input and explicit studying
Tools and resources to help you on your journey
Section 5: Investing enough time and effort to learn Mandarin
Investing more time in learning Chinese: Simple, yet very difficult!
Three approaches to managing your studies and learning more
Learning Chinese as a busy adult
Habit hacking for Chinese learners
Getting things done with time boxing and other techniques
Boosting motivation for long-term success
You’re not alone on your journey: professional and non-professional assistance