The unstoppable progress of today’s technology has been the source of significant advances in language learning, and Chinese is no exception.

Both mobile apps and online resources have led to many possibilities for improving the effectiveness of studying. However, in this article, we are going to focus on Online Chinese lessons, which constitute a veritable revolution, as they permit access to good teachers regardless of where you are.

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Nowadays there is no shortage of free resources for learning a language: websites, apps, forums, videos, podcasts, you name it. However, many people are still looking for a more professional Mandarin course, the type of course that is generally paid. Personally, in the past few years, I have bought a few of them. Why?

There are two main reasons for that:

• Often, you must pay if you want the best resources. Think of FluentU, Yoyo Chinese or Skritter. Who would take the time to develop such a wonderful learning tools for free?

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Apps have turned into one of the most useful formats for learning Chinese (and any other language), as they offer an efficient way to establish knowledge and study in any place and situation.

However, today there are hundreds or even thousands of applications, and the majority of them are ineffective or even useless.

In this article, we evaluate some of the best apps for learning Chinese, depending on which aspect of the language you want to improve.

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This is my review of ChinesePod, my favorite podcast for learning Chinese language.

The first version of this review was published in 2012. Because the product has changed a lot since then, we update this article every so often to add new functionalities.

I will explain how a podcast is different from a traditional Chinese course, introduce the main features of the product and the prices of the different kind of subscriptions. Also, I will point out the most common mistakes that people make when they start using a podcast to learn a language. [Read more…]

At the end of 2020, a new version of the International Chinese Language Education Standards (汉语国际教育汉语水平等级标准) was published to bring the current situation up to date. This revision has caused significant uncertainty and speculation in terms of how it could affect the current official Chinese language level evaluation system, in other words, HSK exams.

What are HSK tests?

Introduced in 1992, the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK, 汉语水平考试) is the official standard Chinese language level test for non-native speakers.

The HSK is designed and managed by the Hanban (汉办), a public institution working under the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.

What are the International Chinese Language Education Standards?

The International Chinese Language Education Standards (汉语国际教育汉语水平等级标准) are a guide establishing the guidelines that apply to Chinese language learning by non-native speakers.

On the practical level, these standards are the basis for designing and evaluating the different skill levels. Therefore, they are guidelines that determine how to teach Chinese, how and what you should study, and how skill levels are evaluated. [Read more…]

Online learning becomes increasingly popular and we’ve seen many schools popping up in the past years. LTL Flexiclass has received much attention thanks to its special way of training students.

As increasingly more Chinese-learners want to know more about LTL Flexiclass, I decided to write this article where we review the following topics:

What is LTL Flexiclass?

LTL Flexiclass offers online-based courses and offers both fixed- and flexi-classes. In short, flexi-classes means that you participate in classes with 3 and a maximum of 6 students, for maximum quality and attention.

The fixed classes include group classes, 1-on-1 classes, HSK classes, kids classes. Everything is online. In addition, they are most famous for the flexi-classes that include different levels, spoken only classes, and online meetups. [Read more…]

Cantonese isn’t as big as mandarin, nor is it that popular among foreign learners. However, some people still want to learn the language, might they plan to relocate to the Southern Chinese areas, or have a family that speaks the language.

Cantonese is spoken in Macau, Hong Kong, and in the Guangdong province, including cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Also, you’ve probably noticed that many Chinese communities overseas also speak the language in cities like San Francisco and London.

The reason is that many immigrants from Guangdong previously settled in larger cities in Europe and the US, preserving the language in these areas. Truth be told, Cantonese is not the easiest language to learn due to the many tones, for many people difficult pronunciation, and characters.

But, it’s still possible and something you should try if you are interested in the language!

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