Student Q&A, November 2024: Pros and cons of digital tools for Chinese reading, and the struggle to find comprehensible and interesting texts

This week’s podcast episode is a reader and listener Q&A, where I answer three questions about reading in Chinese. This time, I’m answering questions about:

• The best digital tools for reading in Chinese
• Potential downsides of digital reading
• The struggle to find texts that are both interesting and comprehensible

Tune in to the Hacking Chinese Podcast to listen to the related episode (#222):

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and many other platforms!

Links to things mentioned in the introduction

• Chinese reading challenge, November 2024
• The 10 best free Chinese reading resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners

Links related to question 1: The best digital tools for reading in Chinese

• How technology can help you learn Chinese
• Links to resources mentioned:
  • Pleco
  • Outlier Linguistics Dictionary of Chinese Characters
  • Hanping
  • DuChinese
  • Chairman’s Bao
  • MyLingua
• The new paperless revolution in Chinese reading

Links related to question 2: Potential downsides of digital reading

• How technology can stop you from learning Chinese

Links related to question 3: The struggle to find texts that are both interesting and comprehensible

• Are authentic texts good for learning Chinese or is graded content better?
• Learning Chinese through comprehensible input
• An introduction to extensive reading for Chinese learners
• How to learn Chinese in the long term with intrinsic motivation
• Have fun learning Chinese or else…