Learning how to learn Chinese
In this course, I want to share my solutions with you to help you learn better.
I want you to enjoy all the benefits without having to go through all the trouble of figuring out how to do these things on your own.
Also, as I mentioned earlier, some solutions were only visible in hindsight and would have been impossible to figure out before learning Mandarin to an advanced level.
Ideally, courses and textbooks should help you with these things, but after all these years of learning and teaching Chinese, it’s abundantly clear to me that they do not.
While courses and textbooks are good at giving you hundreds or thousands of things to memorise, they don’t focus on making you a better language learner.
They are still great tools, but they need to be used properly to have the desired effect. There are also many things that you need to know when you learn Chinese that aren’t even mentioned in textbooks.
⚡ Buy now – $128
30-day money-back guarantee! More info below.
With professional guidance from me
Each lesson of the course ends with a call to action. All students will benefit from doing these activities, but if you want my guidance, I’m here to help you! I will check what you have done and offer constructive feedback whenever I can. Here are some examples of what kind of support you can expect:
- Feedback on long-term study goals based on your learning situation
- Verification that you’ve grasped core aspects of how Chinese characters work
- Help analysing challenges you might be facing regarding listening ability
- Advice on how to create an immersion environment at home
- Help shifting the focus to the process when speaking and writing
- Feedback on how to improve your pronunciation
- Advice on how to fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule
And more! The goal here is to help you learn how to learn, to find an approach that works for you and allows you to reach your goals. You can figure all these things out on your own, but some things are just easier with a guide!
⚡ Buy with professional guidance – $288
30-day money-back guarantee! More info below.
Money-back guarantee, no risk involved
Not sure if the course is suitable for you or if you will like the content? The course is built on thousands of hours of studying, teaching and researching how to learn and teach Chinese. I’m confident the course is good, but we’re all different, and what if it doesn’t work for you?
Don’t worry! I have a 30-day money-back guarantee, meaning if you enrol in the course and find that you don’t like it, I’ll give you your money back. After all, the goal is to help you improve how you learn, and if I can’t achieve that goal, I’ll return your money, no questions asked.
Please note that if you purchased the course with professional guidance, you can only get a full refund if you have not yet submitted responses and received feedback from me. You can still get a refund for the basic version of the course, however.
Honestly, though, I think you will look back at this a year from now and consider this an investment worth making. Learning how to learn is something you’ll benefit from for the rest of your life!
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to make full use of the course?
An open mind, an internet connection and a device capable of playing normal video.
I’m a beginner/intermediate/advanced student, is this course for me?
Yes! Beginners will find tons of helpful information and inspiration throughout the course. You might also want to check out Unlocking Chinese: The Ultimate Course for Beginners, which is specifically aimed at new learners. The course works for intermediate and advanced students as well since it focuses on how to learn, not actual language content. Most of the methods I talk about are equally applicable on all levels, those that are not are clearly labelled.
Why should I take this course about how to learn Chinese instead of studying more?
Good question! Taking this course is a long-term investment. If you have a test next week, you’ll be better off if you spend the time to learn characters, words and grammar. However, if you have a long-term goal of learning Chinese, the earlier you invest time and energy into figuring out how to learn, the more you will benefit. If you increase the efficiency of your learning now, each hour you then spend learning Chinese will count for more. In addition, if you’re not careful, you will miss many important things that simply aren’t covered by most courses, textbooks and teachers. Naturally, you shouldn’t just take this course; you must also study!
Why should I trust your advice, can’t I work these things out on my own?
You could, but it would take you many, many years of full-time studying and tens of thousands of dollars in course fees and learning materials. And by the time you figure out how to learn characters, tones or something else, you will already be an advanced learner who knows these things. You will be able to look back and see the error of your ways and what you should have done instead. This is exactly the situation I find myself in now. I wish I had known these things when I was still a beginner, intermediate or even advanced learner, not now when it’s already too late! The only thing that remains is to help other people along.
Is this course only for Mandarin Chinese or does it work for other dialects as well?
The reason I use Hacking Chinese instead of Hacking Mandarin is that most of what I talk about is relevant for Chinese in general. Thus, the course should work well for other dialects too. That being said, the course is primarily designed using examples from Mandarin since this is what I have studied and taught the most.
Can’t I just read about all your ideas on your website?
Yes and no. Yes because I have touched upon most of the topics in this course on the website itself. I invite you to check out the nearly 500 articles I’ve written so far about learning Chinese. However, 500 fragmented articles written over many years differ from a comprehensive course. This course ensures you don’t miss the forest for the trees; it helps you connect the dots. Also, the course offers both audio and video to help you improve the way you learn. I don’t expect you to have read the articles on the website so that any vital information will also appear in the course.
Zachary Danz summed up the difference between the website and the course quite well: “As someone who has followed Hacking Chinese for a long time, I couldn’t be happier – I feel like I have the full picture of the message Olle has for Chinese learners, whereas before it was scattered and incomplete.”
Is this course mostly about theory or is it practically applicable too?
This is not a long bullet-point list of things you should do to improve your learning. I don’t believe in such an approach for several reasons. First, learners and learner situations are different, so it’s necessary for you to understand why you should do what I advise you to do. Then you can determine what steps to take.
Second, I’ve found that simply telling people what to do doesn’t work. Most people don’t heed the advice and keep studying the way they’ve always done, even if they approve of the advice when it’s given. The only way is to convince you that I’m right. To make sure that you apply what I teach in the course, there are many calls to action and each video contains concrete exercises you’re supposed to complete and hand in. To put it briefly, the course is practical, but it also includes the theory necessary to motivate the calls to action.
I study traditional characters, will I be able to benefit fully from the course?
Yes, definitely. Since this course is about learning strategies and understanding enough about how Chinese works to learn effectively, characters are mainly used as examples. As far as possible, I have chosen characters that are the same in simplified and traditional Chinese. In cases where that’s not practical, I have chosen examples in simplified Chinese that should be easy to understand even if you have only studied traditional. Take a look at this picture from the video course, which is unusually heavy in characters. If you think that’s okay, then everything will be fine! And if, for some reason, it isn’t fine, you can always get your money back within 30 days.
How can I get in touch if I have more questions?
You can contact me directly at editor@hackingchinese.com.
Many courses and textbooks show you the characters, words and grammar you need to become proficient in Chinese, but they don’t teach you how to learn them!
As an intermediate Chinese learner, this course is super helpful. The book had me nodding at a heap of things I’d learnt the hard way, wishing I knew them when I started, as well as highlighting areas that I’m currently missing in my study. The videos are an added bonus, as they are pushing me to act on improving.
The Hacking Chinese course is useful for all levels. It helped me change my outlook on learning the language as well as offering some practical tips for studying Chinese.
Hi! My name is Olle Linge. I started learning Chinese in 2007 when I was 23. Since then, I have studied in many settings: serious immersion programs abroad, high-intensity programs at home, online courses, and on the side while working or studying other things.