Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Articles in the ‘Intermediate’ category Page 24

  1. Advanced listening and reading with Skeptoid Chinese

    Skeptoid is a podcast about popular myths, using science and research to examine them critically. The Chinese version is excellent practice for advanced learners, with both text and audio!

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  2. Task-based Chinese learning and teaching

    Task based language learning and teaching is built around working with tasks in the target language with a clear focus on meaning (communication). Focus on form should come after the task has been completed.

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  3. Let’s play 迷霧中 (Into the Haze)

    Let’s play 迷霧中 (Into the Haze)! In this post, I share a video where I play a small part of the game, summarising and commenting on what’s going on in English (the game is of course in Mandarin).

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  4. Learning (or not learning) Chinese slang

    Learning slang in Chinese can be fun, but it’s worth remembering that in most situations, it’s actually much less useful than more standard ways of expression. Slang is used in a limited context and changes quickly.

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  5. Playing Codenames to learn Chinese and other languages

    Codenames is one of my favourite games, and it also happens to be an excellent game for language learning! In this article, I suggest ways of playing it in Chines, along with a tool that generates grids of code words for direct use in the classroom or elsewhere!

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  6. Into the Haze: A new text adventure game for Chinese learners

    Into the Haze is an interactive text adventure game for Chinese learners. Your brother is missing and you need to enter a city covered in a poisonous haze to find him. The story is presented through text and audio, and depending on your choices, the game will develop differently. If you make bad choices, perhaps because you didn’t fully understand the options, you might fail and will have to try again. Good luck!

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  7. Comprehension-based listening vs deep end immersion

    What works best for improving listening ability, graded content targeted at your specific level or deep-end immersion? The answer is that both approaches are necessary, but which you use depends a lot on practical considerations, as well as how much time and energy you have to invest.

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  8. How to become a Chinese-English translator and what it’s like to be one

    This is an interview with Carl Gene Fordham about how to become a Chinese-English translator and what it’s like to work as one. The questions were collected from readers and combined into this interview!

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  9. 10 ways of using games to learn and teach Chinese

    Playing games to learn Chinese

    Games are great for learning languages. Here are ten ways you can use games to learn or teach Chinese as a second language!

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  10. A student’s guide to comprehension-based learning

    In this third and final article, the focus is on how students can make their own learning comprehension-based, with or without a teacher. It draws from the principles and ideas of the previous articles and allows you to apply these to your own learning.

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