I'm Learning Mandarin

Links: Peak Mandarin Newsletter: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook My blog reflecting on the summer camp experience: http://imlearningmandarin.com/2024/08/04/5-things-i-learned-from-5-days-of-total-mandarin-immersion/ Will's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@willhartmandarin/videos -- Last week I attended a five-day immersive Mandarin Retreat Summer Camp as a lead organiser. A group of 14 of us, including learners, organisers volunteers, and native tutors got together in Cheddar, in the south-west of England, and spoke nothing but Chinese for five days straight. While it’s all still fresh in my mind, I decided to get my colleague and co-founder of Peak Mandarin, Will Hart, to chat about the experience. Will also attended the retreat as an organiser and in this episode, we chat about what the experience of deep immersion was like and how we plan to make these camps bigger and better in the future.

Links: Phillipps blog: https://philippmarxen.com/?p=256 My free Mandarin learning eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook My Blog: imlearningmandarin.com -- In this podcast and on my blog, I've often discussed how Anki flashcards can be used to boost your Mandarin learning. Anki is a Spaced Repetition flashcards program that enables you to drill and create flashcards to aid your memory's retention of new information. And my guest on today's podcast recently decided to take the Anki plunge, setting himself an ambitious challenge to drill flashcards for several hours a day every day, while documenting his progress on his blog. Philipp Marxen is from Germany and has been learning Mandarin on and off for over two decades. In this episode, we discuss his recent one-month challenge, including how he structured his learning and what it was like drilling Anki for several hours a day. Does he recommend the method to others? Listen on to hear more. If you like this episode please don't forget to subscribe on your favoured podcast provider. Now onto the episode!

Links: Follow along with a transcript and translation on: imlearningmandarin.com Get your free copy of my eBook on: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook Subscribe to Will's YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@willhartmandarin/videos -- Today's podcast episode features a Chinese learning superstar who should need no introduction. Will Hart, created waves in the Mandarin learning community when he reached an incredible level of fluency in just 1.5 years while living in the UK during the Covid pandemic. Will is the co-founder of our learning platform Peak Mandarin. And he's also the subject of my eBook, Lessons from a Chinese Learning Phenomenon, in which I unpack how he used a mixture of immersion and sentence-mining techniques to become fluent in Chinese - and how I put his methods into practice to learn the language myself. In today's episode, Will talks in Mandarin about his recent attempts to learn Spanish using similar methods to the ones that previously worked so well for him. As usual, you can follow along with a transcript below, as well as an English translation. And if you like this podcast, please don't forget to subscribe to your favourite podcast provider. Now on to Will's Spanish learning adventures!

Links: Kristen's Instagram Channel: https://www.instagram.com/learnchinesewithkristen/ My Free Mandarin Learning eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook My blog: imlearningmandarin.com -- On today’s episode, I speak to Kristen, a Mandarin speaker and teacher from Canada.   Kristen has been learning Chinese since 2013. Like me, she initially began learning outside China, and is full of insights based on her experience of overcoming barriers on the path to spoken Chinese fluency.  More recently, Kristen turned her attention to helping others learn Chinese, teaching the language through her popular Instagram channel. And with over 15,000 followers, she’s become well-known within the online Mandarin learning community for her short reels teaching Chinese grammar points, phrases and pronunciation tips.  My interview with Kristen is full of gems for anyone looking to become a fluent Chinese speaker. In particular, listen out for her tips on learning Mandarin outside the classroom and structuring your learning around your interests. For anyone interested in checking out her channel, I’ve left a link to it in the description.  And as usual, if you enjoy this podcast please don’t forget to hit the subscribe button on your favoured podcast provider.  Now on to today’s interview with Kisten!

In this engaging discussion, Stacy Bridges, a dedicated Mandarin learner from the US, shares his decades-long journey with the language, starting from a school crush in the '80s. He highlights the uphill battle with tones and speaking skills, offering practical strategies such as sentence mining and mimicking native speakers. Stacy emphasizes the importance of community support and active conversation to bolster fluency, revealing that self-awareness and methodical practice are key in navigating the intricate world of Mandarin.

Links: Follow this episode along with a Chinese transcript and translation: imlearningmandarin.com My free Mandarin learning eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook -- One of the most rewarding parts of running this podcast and creating Mandarin-learning content is receiving messages from learners whose lives have been changed in profound ways after taking our learning advice. Recently this podcast has featured several of these inspiring stories, and today’s episode features another one. A few weeks ago, Peak Mandarin Co-founder Will Hart and I received an email from a Pharmacy student based in Liverpool called Simon Griffiths. Simon had just finished reading my eBook, Lessons from a Chinese Learning Phenomenon – in which I unpack Chinese learning phenomenon, Will Hart’s, incredible story of Mandarin mastery – and wanted to get in touch to express his gratitude. After reading Simon’s email, Will and I reached out to him, asking if he’d be interested in recording a podcast in Chinese about his inspiring story. So on today’s episode, we hear Simon tell his story in his own Mandarin words, including his advice on how to get hooked on Chinese learning. As usual, if you like this podcast please don’t forget to hit the subscribe button on your favoured podcast provider. And if you’re interested in recording your own podcast in Chinese please get in touch by emailing info@peakmandarin.com and I’ll be happy to support you through the process.

Lewys Thomas, a dedicated Peak Mandarin student, shares his journey of learning Chinese and overcoming speaking hurdles. Initially feeling envious upon seeing fluent speakers, he turned that jealousy into curiosity, fueling his progress. He discusses practical strategies like focusing on effective vocabulary and understanding sentence structures. Lewys emphasizes the importance of consistent practice and using tools like Anki to enhance language skills. His transformation showcases how curiosity can be a powerful catalyst in language learning.

Links: My free Mandarin learning eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook Karl's Mandarin Mosaic App: https://mandarinmosaic.com/ Episode transcript and translation: imlearningmandarin.com -- On today’s I’m Learning Mandarin podcast episode, app developer Karl Baker gives us his five top tips for mining Chinese sentences. Karl began learning Mandarin several years ago as a way of communicating with his Chinese wife’s family and he’s previously written for the I’m Learning Mandarin blog about using sentence mining to improve his speaking skills. Recently, he’s started developing a new app called Mandarin Mosaic which is designed to facilitate the sentence mining process. As usual, you can follow along with a Chinese transcript below. If you’re interested in recording your own short episode in Mandarin, please get in touch at info@peakmandarin.com and I’ll be happy to support you through the development, production, and recording process. Finally, if you like this podcast please don’t forget to leave a review or five-star rating on your preferred podcast provider!

Links: My free eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook My Blog: imlearningmandarin.com Daniel's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DanielLeoSimpson -- Recently on the I’m Learning Mandarin podcast, I’ve had the fortune of interviewing a number of fascinating learners in our community.  And today’s guest is a perfect example of this. Daniel Leo Simpson is a composer from the US whose music has been played by orchestras around the world.  Daniel began learning Chinese as a hobby a few years ago and recently turned his attention to developing his speaking confidence.  He approached us for help with this, completing all our Peak Mandarin Masterclasses teaching our best methods for learning to speak Chinese fluently.  It was during one Masterclass in particular, that Daniel learned about a language exchange app called Hello Talk.  And as you’ll soon hear, this was somewhat of a Eureka moment for Daniel. He started using the app regularly to meet native Chinese speakers and got in the rhythm of speaking Chinese every day, all of which, combined with the methods he learned in the Masterclass has propelled his speaking confidence to new heights.  Before we got into discussing these recent game-changing experiences, I began by asking Daniel about his background as a musician and composer and how this influenced his interest in languages. 

Links: My Mandarin learning eBook Chinese Transcript & translation: imlearningmandarin.com A few weeks ago, I received a message from an I'm Learning Mandarin listener from the US called Jered. Jered was responding to my callout inviting listeners to produce their own short podcast episodes in Chinese, with my support. Jered is an accomplished technologist who recently moved to Taiwan to start a new venture. And he was keen to set himself the challenge of recording a podcast in Mandarin as a way of honing his speaking skills. So in today's episode, we'll hear Jered talk all about his Mandarin learning experiences and explain how speaking from early on in his studies helped him make swift progress. As usual, you can follow along with a Chinese transcript below. If you're interested in recording your own short episode in Chinese, please get in touch at info@peakmandarin.com and I'll be happy to support you through the development, production, and recording process. Finally, if you like this podcast please don't forget to leave a review or five-star rating on your preferred podcast provider.