I'm Learning Mandarin

My eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook Links: My blog: https://imlearningmandarin.com/ Sara's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sarajaaksola On today’s episode, I speak to Sara Jaaksola, A Ph.D. researcher and Chinese teacher originally from Finland Sara first moved to China in 2010 to study Mandarin, before deciding to settle there long-term. After working as a Chinese teacher for several years, she recently embarked on A Ph.D. program, researching Mandarin learners’ motivations for studying the language. Sara has loads of interesting insights from living, studying, and teaching in China for over ten years, as well as some great tips on staying motivated throughout the learning process that we can all learn from!

Educator Duncan Parrish discusses the historical evolution of language learning methods, drawing parallels between ancient and modern techniques. They explore ancient civilizations like Greece, Rome, and China, emphasizing the pedagogical value of memorization and recitation. The impact of technology on language learning, from printed press to the internet, is also highlighted, along with the shift towards more engaging methods like podcasts and AI tutors for the future. The podcast advocates for direct immersion in language contexts and innovative app-based methodologies for effective language acquisition.

My eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook Links: My blog: imlearningmandarin.com My Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/imlearningmandarin -- Most of my guests on this podcast have had experience and success in either learning Chinese, teaching Chinese or researching Chinese. Occasionally, I have the pleasure of interviewing people with experience of all three, my recent episode with Olle Linge being a perfect example. And today I have the pleasure of interviewing another such guest. Rob Neal from the UK works for the Swire Chinese Language Foundation, an organisation that funds the teaching of Chinese in British state schools. He has over 20 years of experience engaging with the Chinese language and recently completed his PHD at the University of Cambridge. His thesis asked a question that many learners and teachers have wondered about: how important is it for Mandarin learners to get the tones right? And his findings may surprise you.

My eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook Links: Mandarin Retreat: https://www.mandarinretreat.com/ Carolina's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolina-navarro-plata/?locale=es_ES Our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/imlearningmandarin I'm Learning Mandarin blog: imlearningmandarin.com/ -- Today’s podcast episode is all about Carolina Navarro, a language educator from Spain whose Chinese learning adventures saw her overcome numerous cultural obstacles on the way to reaching professional proficiency in the language. Speaking of learning adventures, if you're a Chinese learner based in Europe, listen up! This year Mandarin Retreat are planning an awesome, fully immersive five day summer camp in the UK, packed with fun Chinese learning activities. And they want your input. In order to plan the best event we possibly can, we’re currently running a survey giving you the chance to register your interest and have your say on preferred dates, locations and activities: https://www.mandarinretreat.com/choose-your-dates Our last camp took place in Wales in August and saw learners flying in from three European countries to participate! Everyone had an awesome time learning Tai Chi, playing Mahjong, making Chinese dumplings, watching Mandarin movies and exploring the stunning countryside together, all under the guidance of professional tutors in a totally immersive Mandarin language environment (check out the photos!) Now back to today’s guest, Carolina. Carolina first went to China in 2010 where she worked and studied for the next few years, becoming fluent in Mandarin. After returning to Spain she put her Chinese skills to use working for the Confucius Institute for nine years.  Her current focus is on aiding learners in discovering their motivation for language acquisition. She conducts talks on language learning and assists families in comprehending and supporting their children's needs in learning Chinese.

Olle Linge, founder of Hacking Chinese, shares insights on learning tones, criticisms of traditional teaching methods, and the future of self-directed online language learning. The podcast also touches on the challenges faced in Chinese language education, the origins of the Hacking Chinese blog, the misteaching of the third tone, the decline in enrollment for Chinese studies courses, and the drawbacks of proficiency tests in formal education.

My eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook Links: Our Masterclasses on Sentence Mining & Tones Upcoming Mandarin Retreats Will's Youtube Channel -- One year ago I interviewed someone who totally transformed my perspective on learning Chinese and particularly reaching high levels in the spoken language. By now, listeners will be familiar with Will Hart, the Mandarin learning phenomenon who became incredibly fluent in Chinese within the space of just a year and a half.  Since I last interviewed Will here last year we’ve become friends and collaborated on a number of Mandarin learning projects. A few weeks ago he interviewed me on his YouTube channel in Chinese, which I reposted as an episode on this podcast.  I wanted to catch up with Will again to discuss what he’s been up to since the last time we spoke. In this episode Will tells us about how his learning methods have evolved over time. He also shares his experiences of immersing in Chinese both in the UK as well as on his first ever trip to China last month.

My eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook Links: Our blog: Imlearningmandarin.com Our immersive Mandarin learning retreats and masterclasses: mandarinretreat.com Jiaqi Laoshi's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themandarinstorm/ Jiaqi Laoshi's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@speakyourchinese The Mandarin Storm: https://beacons.ai/themandarinstorm -- When I think back to all the Chinese tutors I’ve had in the past, the best have without fail been people who have a passion for learning languages themselves. They draw on their own experiences of overcoming language learning challenges to help other learners acquire Chinese. My guest today is a perfect example of this. Jiaqi Laoshi is an Instagram superstar with over 85,000 followers who began teaching Chinese while living in Spain in 2020. She speaks fluent English and Spanish as well as her native Chinese and her engaging video clips have helped thousands of Mandarin learners around the world, providing them with comprehensible and compelling input. In this episode we explore her passion for languages, motivations for becoming a teacher and tips for learners looking to find engaging Chinese content appropriate to their level.

My eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook Links: Mandarin Retreat: https://mandarinretreat.com/ Will's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@will3267 I'm Learning Mandarin Blog: imlearningmandarin.com/ Our Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/imlearningmandarin -- This episode is a little bit different than usual. Instead of assuming my normal role of interviewer, on today’s show I’m taking the guest seat.   So I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed in Chinese on my friend Will Hart’s YouTube channel. We chatted about my Mandarin learning journey, the I’m Learning Mandarin blog as well as the Mandarin Retreat project. And with Will’s permission, I’m reposting the interview on today’s episode.  Will is very well known in the Chinese learning community for reaching a truly elite level of spoken Mandarin within an incredibly short space of time. Some listeners may recall I interviewed Will last year on this podcast to discuss his incredible story. If you haven’t heard that episode yet, I recommend you check it out.  I won’t deny it, making my YouTube debut in Chinese was nerve wracking. But I enjoyed it, and hope you will too listening to our conversation. I also thought it would be a good way of documenting my Chinese progress since I last recorded a podcast in Mandarin about nine months ago.

The I’m learning mandarin podcast, features stories, hot takes and considered opinions from the world’s leading linguists and successful mandarin learners. Each episode, we explore the most effective methods for studying mandarin and interview distinguished guests about their learning journey. Whether it’s tones, characters or listening comprehension or anything else you may be struggling with, the ultimate goal to help you learn how to learn Chinese. The I’m learning mandarin podcast is produced in partnership with mandarinretreat.com . Mandarin Retreat organise immersive language learning weekends and extended camps for Chinese learners in the UK and Europe. Check out their website for more details.

My eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook Links Mandarin Retreats: https://mandarinretreat.com/ I'm Learning Mandarin Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/imlearningmandarin My Roadmap to Mastering Chinese Tones: https://imlearningmandarin.com/2022/02/12/its-never-too-late-to-learn-chinese-tones-heres-how/ -- Hello and welcome to the I’m Learning Mandarin podcast. On today’s podcast we speak to a guest whose interest in Buddhism led him to begin self studying Chinese two years ago. However, after teaching himself to read the language he faced a common problem: speaking was still incredibly difficult. After years of delaying speaking and using input heavy methods he decided to start outputting and reached out to the I’m Learning Mandarin community for help and advice. Taking this step to work on his speaking led him to have an experience that would change his life forever.