Some students ask many questions, but fail to ask the really crucial ones. Some students don’t ask at all, but might be considering these questions...
Category: Chinese
The real challenge with learning Chinese characters
When talking about learning Chinese characters with people who haven’t learnt Chinese yet, there are two kinds of reactions. Is it hard to learn...
The simple trick I used to double the amount of Chinese I listen to
Listening ability is probably the hardest skill for learners of Chinese. You eventually get the hang of learning characters and even pronouncing...
The three roads to mastering Chinese
There is a lot of talk about the f-word in the online world of language learning. What does it mean to be fluent? What is the best way to...
The time barrel: How to find more time to study Chinese
The time barrel was first mentioned in an article I wrote about background listening a while back. I needed a metaphor to explain how it was...
The Hacking Chinese free tone training course
Last week, I wrote an article about how to learn to hear the tones in Mandarin. In my opinion, that’s a very important question. The most obvious...
The virtues of learning Chinese through language exchange
A language exchange is simply two people who want to learn each others’ languages. Sometimes, people say that it’s more a matter of body language...
The three factors that determine how much Chinese you learn
When learning Chinese, three factors determine your progress: the content you study, the methods you use, and the time you dedicate. To achieve...
Three steps to more and better Chinese listening practice
Image credit: Tony Clough If you look at what methods work well for learning Chinese (or any other language), you will see the word “immersion”...
Three things I wish I had known as a beginner student of Chinese: The time machine, part 1
I first launched Hacking Chinese to answer the question of how I could have learnt in a better way, hence the current tagline “A Better Way of...