mandarin

asia

Faking it: Simple Phonetic Mandarin Chinese for Tourists

April 20, 2012 0 steve

If you’re only coming for a couple of weeks it’s a bit unlikely you’ll learn Mandarin so here’s a very rough guide to making yourself understood, beyond just pointing at things.

asia

Failing to Learn Chinese: Beyond the tipping point

November 11, 2011 0 steve

After a sudden burst of learning Chinese on an intensive course, I became caught up in work and barely practiced for a month. Inevitably, starting one-to-one lessons with the same tutor was an exercise in embarrassment as I’d nearly forgotten everything she’d taught me that wasn’t related to ordering in restaurants.

asia

Failing to learn Chinese: Trying too hard

September 20, 2011 17 steve

After some time not really learning Chinese, then taking a rapid leap forward online, I decided to try an Intensive Mandarin Course.

asia

Grasping Chinese – Beijing, China

August 10, 2011 0 steve

Following my earlier post about Failing to Learn Chinese and all the excellent feedback, the creator of a system called Grasp Chinese contacted me.

asia

Failing to Learn Chinese

July 1, 2011 0 steve

Having been in China for over a year now, I’m painfully aware that I’m still terrible at Chinese.

china

Live the Language, a short video of Beijing

April 28, 2011 0 steve

EF have produced a series of videos combining beautiful visuals and some clever typography to advertise their language learning schools. The one below is for Beijing, but London, Paris and Barcelona have their own videos.

china

Chinese for Kids? – Beijing, China

December 14, 2010 0 steve

Whilst I'm persevering with learning Mandarin from Rosetta Stone and a Lonely Planet Phrasebook I went on-line to the Confucius Institute (the state sponsored Chinese School) to brush up on my tones.

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A travel blog covering living, working, volunteering and travelling in over 90 countries

mandarin

Faking it: Simple Phonetic Mandarin Chinese for Tourists

Failing to Learn Chinese: Beyond the tipping point

Failing to learn Chinese: Trying too hard

Grasping Chinese – Beijing, China

Failing to Learn Chinese

Live the Language, a short video of Beijing

Chinese for Kids? – Beijing, China

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Popular Posts

How to apply for a Chinese visa in Hong Kong

Simple guide to choosing a VPN for China (and elsewhere!)

One born every minute : Chinese Scams in Beijing

Beijing Zoo is horrible

Less common tips for first-time visitors to China

Recent Posts

Sapsan fast train – Moscow to St Peterburg

In Photos: Hermitage Museum – St Petersburg

A view across St Petersburg

Catherine’s Palace – Pushkin, near St Petersburg

Nevsky Prospect Walking Tour – St Petersburg, Russia

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