Articles tagged with ‘Teachers’
-
What native speakers know about Chinese (and what they don’t)
You say something in Mandarin, a native speaker corrects you, and you adjust. The next day, another native speaker tells you to revert to your original phrasing. What’s going on? Let’s explore what native speakers know and what they don’t!
Read → -
Why you should preview before every Chinese lesson
Previewing before Chinese lessons is a simple yet frequently overlooked method to enhance learning. By previewing, you maximise the benefits of each lesson, allowing you to focus on areas where you truly need a teacher’s guidance.
Read → -
Student Q&A, May 2024: Understanding strangers, listening with transcripts, and which podcasts to avoid
Why is your teacher is so much easier to understand than anybody else? Should you read transcripts or subtitles before, during or after listening? And why do I refuse to recommend certain podcasts?
Read → -
How to learn Chinese in the long term with intrinsic motivation
While strong motivation doesn’t necessarily accelerate your learning or improve your memory, without it you won’t spend enough time learning Chinese. So how can you stay motivated for months, years and even decades?
Read → -
Seeing through the illusion of advanced Chinese learning
Courses and textbooks encourage narrow but advanced proficiency in Chinese, but if you want to be able to communicate well, you need to see through the illusion.
Read → -
Take responsibility for your Chinese learning now
You should be responsible for your own learning, and if you outsource that to someone else, the results might be disastrous. This might sound obvious, but I think the problem is widely overlooked, especially by students enrolled in language courses.
Read → -
Do you have to learn to write Chinese characters by hand?
Chinese characters are beautiful, but they take a long time to learn, especially if you want to be able to write by hand. But do you actually need handwriting? When might you be required to write by hand? And are there any other benefits with handwriting that might make it all worthwhile?
Read → -
Why your Chinese isn’t as good as you think it ought to be
Sooner or later, most students realise that their Chinese isn’t as good as they think it ought to be. Why is that and what can you do about it?
Read → -
Why not going to China now could actually be good for your Chinese
Do you have to go abroad to learn Chinese? Will you learn Chinese simply by living abroad? And if you go, does it matter when you go if you can only stay for a short time? This article argues that it does matter when you go, and that you’re better off not going immediately as a pure beginner.
Read → -
How to get honest feedback to boost your Chinese speaking and writing
Feedback is important because it can show you how to not use the language and highlight things you hadn’t noticed before. But getting honest feedback when learning Chinese is not as easy as it seems. This article starts by looking at why feedback is necessary, and continues by discussing how to get honest feedback.
Read →