Exposing Mandarin learning snake oil content

Links:Read a blog by Lewys, the student I interviewed in Mandarin on the last episode, about his journey to conversational Mandarin in 12 months here: https://imlearningmandarin.com/2025/03/12/lewyss-6-month-transformation-to-conversational-mandarin-video/Learn more about my coaching programme here: https://imlearningmandarin.com/gym--So, over the past six months, I've been coaching Katharine, a busy working mom from Wales who wanted to learn Chinese to connect with her friends and help her son with his Chinese homework. And unlike most people who come to me for coaching, Catherine was starting from ground zero. She tried Duolingo for around a week, but quickly realized that she needed a more systematic approach that would actually enable her to reach her goals. So, Katharine has a demanding career. She's raising a family and she lives in the UK. Hey, so moving to China or dedicating full days to study isn't really an option. And so we set a very specific goal for her first 6 months, which was to establish a rock-solid foundation when it came to pronunciation, tones, and sentence structure. So that meant rather than cramming thousands of random words from HSK lists, focusing on the words that she needed to use herself to talk about, the things that she was interested and wanted to talk about, and making sure she could say those things really well. So making sure that her pronunciation and tones were really good for the things that she wanted to say. And so that's what she's done for the first 6 months, collecting phrases that she actually wants to say and building her own kind of personalized immersion environment where she's immersing in those things that she wants to talk about all the time while walking the dog, commuting to meetings, etc. So, in a moment, we're going to hear a clip of Katherine reading a script that she wrote about whales, entirely in Chinese with excellent tones. And after you hear that clip, I interview Katherine in English about her experience over her first 6 months of learning Chinese. So, now let's listen to Katherine in Chinese on the topic of Wales, where she's from.

💬 Links:🎯 My Coaching Programme: https://imlearningmandarin.com/gym📹 Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io0UWFtVIwk📹 Lewys’s 6-Month Progress Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29Oxh1eA9xsCan you learn Mandarin to a conversational level in just one year while working full-time and raising a family? In this video, I share Lewys’s inspiring one-year Mandarin learning journey - an example of what’s possible with the right approach.A year ago, Lewys joined my coaching programme with one question in mind: how much Mandarin can a new dad with a full-time job realistically learn in a year?Lewys works as a senior accountant and has a young daughter, so finding time to study was always going to be a challenge. Yet, through consistent effort, a structured plan, and regular coaching, he managed to make remarkable progress.This episode documents his one-year results and includes our final interview, conducted entirely in Mandarin. It’s an honest and inspiring look at what can be achieved with the right mindset and method, even when time is limited.If you’re learning Mandarin and want to see what’s possible, this story is for you.

Links:My Discord server: https://discord.gg/b9PAyKwT9pMy blog: imlearningmandarin.com--In this episode, I share my personal experiences and practical tips on how to use language exchange to supercharge your Mandarin speaking skills.I talk about:When I think it's best to start looking for a language exchange partner.Where I’ve had the most success finding partners.How I structure my sessions using a simple Green, Amber, Red system to match different stages of learningIf you're looking to build real fluency through conversation, this one's for you. Don’t forget to check out the I'm Learning Mandarin Discord server — a growing community of nearly 400 learners supporting each other on the road to fluency!https://discord.gg/b9PAyKwT9p

Links:My website: imlearningmandarin.com--In this episode, I discuss one of the biggest challenges Mandarin learners face: improving listening skills. I explore why this aspect of language learning often feels so frustrating, including the psychological hurdles unique to Mandarin and the sheer amount of vocabulary needed for smooth comprehension.I share practical strategies to overcome these obstacles, focusing on the power of consistent exposure through both extensive listening (broad, varied content) and intensive listening (focused, repeated study of specific material).

Links: My website: imlearningmandarin.com--On today's episode, I'm going to talk about a genre of Mandarin learning content which in recent times has exploded on the internet. And that is what I would broadly term as Mandarin learning snake oil. I break down how you can easily tell the difference between Mandarin learning advice given in good faith versus snake oil, basically designed to scam you.

Links;Notebook LM: https://notebooklm.google.com/My website: imlearningmandarin.com--In this episode, I’m sharing a tool that’s completely blown my mind, it might be one of the most impressive things I’ve ever come across for language learning. It’s called Notebook LM, and it’s a website run by Google.Here’s what makes it so powerful: you can feed it any content: websites, text, even audio, and it will generate a podcast-style conversation between what sound like two real human voices. The result is super chatty, natural, and surprisingly hard to tell it’s AI-generated.I first discovered NotebookLM a few months ago and started using it to make casual English podcasts. At the time, I remember wishing it supported other languages, especially Mandarin, because it just seemed like it had so much potential for language learning.Well, that’s now changed, NotebookLM recently rolled out support for a bunch of new languages, including Mandarin. So today, I’m going to walk you through how this tool works and how you can use it to supercharge your Mandarin learning.

Links:Sign up for the I'm Learning Mandarin Newsletter to get updates as soon as new spaces become available at the I'm Learning Mandarin gym: https://imlearningmandarin.com/Find out more about the I'm Learning Mandarin gym: https://imlearningmandarin.com/gymChris Blogpost Month 1: https://imlearningmandarin.com/2024/1...Chris Blogpost Month 2: https://imlearningmandarin.com/2025/0... Chris's Blogpost Month 3: https://imlearningmandarin.com/2025/0...Chris's Blogpost Month 4 & 5: https://imlearningmandarin.com/2025/0...--A few months ago, I received an email from a Mandarin learner named Chris Foley.Chris had been studying the language for several years and could already hold conversations. After marrying his Chinese wife, he set an ambitious new goal: to sharpen his spoken delivery, especially his pronunciation and tones, in time for his Chinese wedding ceremony in 12 months. Soon after, he joined the I’m Learning Mandarin gym, with me as his coach, and committed to documenting his journey through monthly blogs and interviews at the 6-month and 12-month marks.In this video, I speak with Chris entirely in Mandarin to reflect on his progress at the 6-month milestone.

My blog: imlearningmandarin.com--In this episode, I delve into the question: Is Taiwan a good place to study Mandarin? I draw on my experiences of living and studying in Taiwan and give it an overall rating out of 10 across three criteria:1. Overall as a place to live.2. Quality of teaching.3. Immersive opportunities.

Links: My blog: imlearningmandarin.com--

Links: My blog: https://imlearningmandarin.com/Mandarin Retreats: https://imlearningmandarin.com/uk-mandarin-immersion-retreats/--New vocabulary learned:1. 甜筒Pinyin: tián tǒngEnglish: Ice cream cone甜 = sweet筒 = tube/cone (refers to the cone shape)Together, this means an ice cream cone. 2. 中焙 / 中深焙 (used in the context of coffee roasting)中焙Pinyin: zhōng bèiEnglish: Medium roast中 = middle / medium焙 = to roast (especially coffee or tea)This is a medium roast — a balanced roast level often used for drip coffee.3. 原路折返Pinyin: yuán lù zhé fǎnEnglish: To return by the original route / retrace one’s steps原路 = original path / the same road折返 = to turn back / go backOften used in navigation, or metaphorically in life to mean going back the way you came.4. 知难而退Pinyin: zhī nán ér tuìEnglish: To retreat in the face of difficulties / to back off when realizing something is too hard知 = to know难 = difficulty而 = and / yet / but (classical-style connector)退 = to retreat / withdrawRefers to making a wise decision to step back after recognizing a challenge is too tough to overcome. Sometimes used to describe prudence, sometimes cowardice, depending on context.5. 隐眼 (shortened form of 隐形眼镜)Pinyin: yǐn yǎnEnglish: Contact lenses隐 = hidden眼 = eyeShort for 隐形眼镜 (yǐn xíng yǎn jìng) = invisible (contact) lensesColloquial and very commonly used in Taiwan and among young people.