I'm Learning Mandarin

Philip Markson, a former student of Mischa Wilmers, shares his inspiring journey of founding AsiaGlot, the largest polyglot conference in Asia. The conference aims to celebrate Asian languages and foster a vibrant linguistic community. Philip discusses his innovative use of Anki for mastering Mandarin and reflects on a life-changing coaching experience that boosted his speaking skills. With engaging activities and expert talks, AsiaGlot promises to be a unique gathering for language enthusiasts, filling a void in the region.

Explore the personal milestones that make learning Mandarin an adventure. Discover the excitement of studying at a renowned university and leading immersive retreats. Hear about the surprise of being mistaken for a native speaker, which highlights the progress made. Finally, experience the thrill of giving keynote speeches and sharing valuable insights with fellow educators. These moments prove that perseverance pays off and make the journey uniquely rewarding.

Discover how attitude shifts can transform your Mandarin learning journey! The host shares insights from coaching diverse learners, emphasizing the importance of setting specific goals. Learn how self-belief, embracing corrections, and letting go of ego can pave the way to mastering the language. With inspiring community stories, this discussion is all about fostering personal growth and motivation to achieve speaking goals.

In this engaging talk, Jake Gill, Co-founder of Skritter, shares his transformative journey in learning Chinese over 16 years. He discusses the challenges of mastering tones and pronunciation, especially during his time in Taiwan. Jake also highlights his transition from a blogger to the CEO of Skritter, reflecting on how the app empowers learners with personalized insights. He emphasizes the importance of consistency, setting achievable goals, and embracing mistakes as vital steps in language acquisition.

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/ -- 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/ -- 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/ -- 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/ -- 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 -- 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.

Links: Glossika: https://ai.glossika.com/ The I'm Learning Mandarin blog: imlearningmandarin.com -- In this episode, I talk with Michael Campbell, a true language enthusiast and the founder of language learning app, Glossika. Michael has dedicated a significant portion of his life to understanding and mastering languages, having lived in Taiwan for most of his life and become proficient in many Chinese languages and dialects along the way. In this wide ranging interview we discuss how growing up surrounded by polyglots in the intelligence community inspired him to take up languages as well as the driving force behind the creation of Glossika. Glossika takes a unique approach to language acquisition, focusing on building “muscle memory” through repeated exposure to sound patterns. This method, coupled with a clever blend of increasing and decreasing spaced repetition intervals, helps learners internalize the natural flow and structure of their target language. I began by asking Michael how and why he started learning Mandarin.