Note: This is a guest post by the good folks at the Learn Mandarin Website. They also recently interviewed me for a post on their site about effective language learning methods. Learning Mandarin Chinese can be undertaken via a wide variety of methods. Recently, we at Learn Mandarin Now spent considerable time interviewing a […]
Chinese Language Learning Infographic
The folks at Learn Mandarin Now recently queried more than 50 bloggers (including yours truly) about their favorite resources for learning Chinese. Based on the responses, they put together this helpful graphic listing the top ten recommended language learning resources. What would you add? Image credit: Learn Mandarin Now Related Posts: How Long Does it […]
Learning Chinese in the 1920’s
As part of her research for a book about Esther Nelson, my friend Noel stumbled upon a digitized version of a Chinese language textbook used by foreign missionaries working in Sichuan Province in the 1920’s. It’s titled Chinese Lessons for First Year Students in West China, by Omar L. Kilborn. Besides the fact that the romanization is obviously not Pinyin, […]
Another Great Reason to Learn Chinese
Last month I hosted a couple of friends from China for two weeks. It was great having them here, but since they don’t speak English I and a mutual Chinese friend traded translation shifts. Wherever we went and whatever we did, one of us had to be ‘on duty.’ Needless to say it was exhausting. […]
How Long Does it Take to Learn Chinese?
Since I’ve been in China for 28 years, and speak Chinese reasonably well, I am often asked 2 questions (by foreigners), neither of which have easy answers. One is “are you fluent?” My response is usually “fluent enough to get myself into and out of trouble.” The second question is even harder: “how long did […]
A Tale of Two Tickets — The Ferry
“There will be Chinese people on the boat,” said the voice at the other end of the phone line. For the 5th time in as many days this was the response I got from a travel agent I had contacted asking for assistance in booking passage on a local ferry boat to take Noel and […]
