Articles in the ‘Beginner’ category Page 4
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24 great resources for improving your Mandarin pronunciation
Using the right resources is important when learning anything, but it’s essential when learning Mandarin pronunciation. In this article, I share my favourite resources, most of which are completely free!
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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?
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Beyond tīng bu dǒng, part 6: Why is listening in Chinese so hard?
Many people assume that the hardest part of learning Chinese must be the characters or the tones, but it turns out that most learners struggle more with listening comprehension. Why is that, and what can you do about it?
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Chengyu, a magic key to Chinese language and culture, or a waste of time?
Chengyu are idioms linked to ancient literature. Are they the key to Chinese language and culture or a waste of time?
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Interview: Insights from Skritter’s Complete Guide to Learning Chinese
If I wrote a comprehensive guide to learning Chinese with a special focus on vocabulary, what would it look like? Now you can find out – for free!
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Chinese speaking challenge, April 2024
It’s time for a speaking challenge! It starts on April 10th, so enrol, set your goal and improve your speaking ability as much as you can before the end of the month. This article contains more information about the challenge, some important things to keep in mind as well as some advice about improving speaking ability in Chinese.
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Student Q&A, April 2024: Learning chengyu, listening to yourself and using role-playing games to learn Chinese
Is recording and listening to your own Chinese useful for improving your speaking ability? How can you use chengyu to expand your repertoire? And how can role-playing games be utilised to improve your spoken Chinese?
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Is speaking more important than listening when learning Chinese?
What languages do you speak? Do you speak Chinese? We often use speaking to represent language ability in general, but does that mean that speaking is more important than listening?
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The best podcasts for learning Chinese in 2024
Podcasts let you create your own Chinese immersion experience, with level-appropriate stories and authentic conversations. Learn flexibly on the go with the best podcasts for beginners, intermediate and advanced students!
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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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