This week we talked to Julien Gaudfroy, one of the best foreign speakers of Mandarin of all time. We hear about his personal story living in the country, language learning philosophies, the nuances he's picked up the years, and his advice for those trying to reach the highest levels in a foreign language.

Check out the podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oai17s8_3EQ

Outline:  
0:00 Who is Julien Gaudfroy  

2:46 How Julien Started Learning Mandarin Chinese 

05:54 "Learning Languages is Easy Compared to Being a Musician" 

6:40 How Long Did it Take To Reach Perfect Pronunciation? 

8:30 Study Methods That Julien Used  

15:30 Learning Chinese Outside of China  

18:25 Thoughts on "Shocking Natives" Videos 

21:03 The Truly Advanced Level of Shocking Natives 

27:24 Nuances of Accent in Mandarin 

28:40 Julien Speaks Chinese