Links:

My blog: imlearningmandarin.com

Clare's page: https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/languages/staff/1258/prof-clare-wright

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On today’s episode, I interview a long-time member of the I’m Learning Mandarin community who also happens to be a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Leeds.

Professor Clare Wright has pioneered research into second language pedagogy, with a particular focus on Mandarin.

She is particularly interested in discovering why some learners on Mandarin courses seem to do so well at reaching communicative levels quickly while others lag behind.

I first met Clare in 2018 when she interviewed me for her research into what motivates Mandarin learners to study the language.

We’ve kept in touch ever since, and in this interview, we discussed what Mandarin learners and educators can learn from her research to improve their outcomes and reach their goals.

Asiaglot will take place on March 22-23 in Taipei. To get a third off tickets go to asiaglot.com and select the 'Early Bird Weekend Ticket' option. The use the following code at checkout:

IMLEARNINGMANDARIN800

My blog: imlearningmandarin.com

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Mandarin involves a lot of hard work and sometimes we can start to question whether it's worth the struggle. But staying the course and persevering through the hard times has enabled me to have all sorts of life experiences that I would otherwise never have had. Today I'm going to talk about four of the coolest experieces I've had that made it all feel worthwhile.

These might not mean much to anyone else, but they felt cool to me:1. Studying at NTU2. Leading Mandarin Retreats3. Being mistaken for a native speaker4. Giving Keynote Speeches

Check out the episode to hear more. And don't forget to subscribe on your favourite podcast provider!

Links:

imlearningmandarin.com

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In this episode, I reflect on the past year during which I've been coaching Mandarin learners from all around the world to nail their speaking goals.

I discuss four attitude shifts that I've identified help learners make swifter progress.

If you like this episode don't forget to subscribe.

Links:

Skritter: https://skritter.com/

I'm Learning Mandarin: imlearningmandarin.com

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Today on the podcast, I’m speaking with Jake Gill from Skritter, one of the most well-known apps for learning to write Chinese characters.

Skritter has been around for years, helping learners improve their handwriting and character recognition through a unique combination of spaced repetition and stroke-by-stroke feedback.

For many students, particularly those focused on writing, it’s an essential part of their study routine.

In this conversation, Jake shares his own experiences with learning Chinese including what it was like living in Taiwan and being one of the only non-native speakers taking a course in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.

Links:

My Tones Mechanic newsletter: imlearningmandarin.com

Mandarin Companion: https://mandarincompanion.com/

Jared interviews me on his podcast: https://mandarincompanion.com/you-can-learn-chinese-podcast/63-the-truth-about-vocabulary/

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Today, I'm joined by a special guest on the podcast, Jared Turner from Mandarin Companion.

If you’re learning Chinese, you’ve probably heard of Mandarin Companion’s graded readers, which make it possible to read Mandarin from an elementary level.

I used them a lot in my own learning journey, and as I've written on my blog, they were a game-changer for me when it came to reading.

What makes this conversation extra special is that a few years ago, Jared actually had me on his podcast, the You Can Learn Chinese podcast, where we talked about my experiences learning Mandarin in lockdown.

Now, it's my turn to turn the tables and interview him!

We had a wide-ranging chat, covering how he got into learning Chinese, and why he decided to start the legendary Mandarin Companion graded reader series.

Links:

My Tones Mechanic newsletter: https://imlearningmandarin.com/

Ninchanese: https://ninchanese.com/

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On today's episode, I’m joined by Sarah Aberman, co-founder of Ninchanese, an app that makes learning Mandarin fun and accessible through gamified lessons and interactive tools.

We talk about her personal journey learning Mandarin and the inspiration behind creating Ninchanese.

Links:

Tones Mechanic Newsletter: imlearningmandarin.com

Dong Chinese: https://www.dong-chinese.com/

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On today's episode of I'm Learning Mandarin, I speak to Peter Olson, the founder of Dong Chinese.

Dong Chinese is an all-in-one Chinese learning app that enables learners to learn sentences in context using spaced repetition.

In the episode, we discuss Peter's own background. Peter was actually born in China before leaving at an early age without learning much of the language, before later moving back and rediscovering Mandarin in adulthood.

We also delve into how the challenges he faced early on as a learner shaped the approaches he developed when creating his app.

This includes some really helpful features, such as the handwriting practice tool that helps solidify memory and the comprehensible media selections that match learners to online Chinese content appropriate to their level.

Links:

Tones Mechanic newsletter: imlearningmandarin.com

Outlier Linguistics: https://www.outlier-linguistics.com/

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Ash Henson is the co-founder of Outlier Linguistics, a company dedicated to creating tools and courses that make learning Chinese and other languages more effective and engaging.

Outlier specialise in facilitating the language learning process by breaking down the complexities of the language, including Chinese characters.

And Ash is particularly well placed to do this. He holds a PhD in Chinese Palaeography and Phonology from National Taiwan Normal University, with a specialisation in the study of ancient writing systems.

Initially, he began his career as an electrical engineer and since then he has consistently sought to apply this engineering mindset to the study of languages.

In this interview, I chat with Ash about his novel approaches to learning characters and Mandarin tones.

I began by exploring his unusual background working as an engineer for NASA and how this influenced his learning approach.

Links:

Karen's website: Happy Mandarin

My website: imlearningmandarin.com

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Today's guest is Karen Cheuk, an inspiring educator behind Happy Mandarin, an organization that helps children learn Chinese in a fun and engaging environment.

Karen was born and raised in Hong Kong and went on to study at Cambridge University on a scholarship. After graduating and having a daughter, she was inspired to create Happy Mandarin.

She noticed that existing Chinese classes did not strike the right balance between fun and learning and often only catered to Chinese-speaking families, so she created Happy Mandarin to fill this gap. 

Karen is also a mother and juggles her work activities with raising a trilingual daughter. 

We had a wide-ranging chat about the importance of creating an immersive environment for children to learn a second or third language, encouraging parents to learn alongside their children and how to integrate the language into their daily lives.