Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Articles in the ‘Listening’ category Page 2

  1. The 10 best free Chinese listening resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners

    Listening is the most important skill of all, because it accelerates all other learning and is crucial for social integration. What are the best free Chinese listening resources out there for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners?

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  2. Insights from my recent trip to China: The importance of top-down listening

    Understanding Chinese involves more than just knowing words and phrases; it’s about using context to interpret meaning. My recent trip to China highlighted the crucial role of top-down listening in navigating dialects, speech patterns, and unexpected questions.

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  3. Learning to hear the sounds and tones in Mandarin

    As infants, we perceive the world without categories. Learning our first language forms sound categories, aiding understanding but losing other sound distinctions. As adults learning a second language, we need to regain this ability. But how?

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  4. 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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  5. 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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  6. 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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  7. Chinese speaking challenge, April 2024

    Chinese speaking ability

    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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  8. 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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  9. 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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  10. 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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