#8 Tones, Music, and Confidence

Jared & John discuss everything you wanted to know about tones but were afraid to ask. They highlight why they are important, what makes them difficult, where learners usually go wrong, and how to polish your tones to sound better than you thought possible. You’ll get a rant about Chinese teachers using English names and mixing simplified and traditional characters together.

Guest interview is with Dr. David Moser, Chinese professor, author, Chinese language performer, translator, media commentator, and author of the famous paper “Why Chinese is So Damn Hard”. David shares his experiences of learning Chinese, performing xiangsheng 相声 (comic “cross talk”) on Chinese national TV, and strategies that helped him achieve mastery in the language.

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Links referenced in this Episode.

Confidence and Tones

The Process of Learning Tones

Masters Thesis on Learning Tones

Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard

Crazy English Method – Learning English by Shouting

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