I'm Learning Mandarin Mi Kai

Links:



My free eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook



My Blog: imlearningmandarin.com



Daniel's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DanielLeoSimpson



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Recently on the I’m Learning Mandarin podcast, I’ve had the fortune of interviewing a number of fascinating learners in our community. 



And today’s guest is a perfect example of this. Daniel Leo Simpson is a composer from the US whose music has been played by orchestras around the world. 



Daniel began learning Chinese as a hobby a few years ago and recently turned his attention to developing his speaking confidence. 



He approached us for help with this, completing all our Peak Mandarin Masterclasses teaching our best methods for learning to speak Chinese fluently. 



It was during one Masterclass in particular, that Daniel learned about a language exchange app called Hello Talk. 



And as you’ll soon hear, this was somewhat of a Eureka moment for Daniel. He started using the app regularly to meet native Chinese speakers and got in the rhythm of speaking Chinese every day, all of which, combined with the methods he learned in the Masterclass has propelled his speaking confidence to new heights. 



Before we got into discussing these recent game-changing experiences, I began by asking Daniel about his background as a musician and composer and how this influenced his interest in languages. 

Links: My Mandarin learning eBook



Chinese Transcript & translation: imlearningmandarin.com



A few weeks ago, I received a message from an I'm Learning Mandarin listener from the US called Jered. Jered was responding to my callout inviting listeners to produce their own short podcast episodes in Chinese, with my support.

Jered is an accomplished technologist who recently moved to Taiwan to start a new venture. And he was keen to set himself the challenge of recording a podcast in Mandarin as a way of honing his speaking skills.

So in today's episode, we'll hear Jered talk all about his Mandarin learning experiences and explain how speaking from early on in his studies helped him make swift progress.

As usual, you can follow along with a Chinese transcript below. If you're interested in recording your own short episode in Chinese, please get in touch at info@peakmandarin.com and I'll be happy to support you through the development, production, and recording process.

Finally, if you like this podcast please don't forget to leave a review or five-star rating on your preferred podcast provider.

Links:



To get updates on future Peak Mandarin live Q&A events subscribe to our free newsletter.



Follow this podcast along with a Chinese transcript on imlearningmandarin.com



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If you’ve listened to this podcast for long, you’ll know that our purpose here is to support learners like you to achieve your Mandarin-speaking goals.

So on today’s podcast episode, I’m broadcasting a live Q&A
session I recently hosted together with fluent Mandarin speaker and YouTuber, Will Hart.

The session covered the best ways to go about practicing Mandarin speaking and was hosted for subscribers to our Peak Mandarin newsletter, giving learners a chance to put their questions to us directly and seek our advice.

We had a lively and interesting discussion covering a range of questions, from how to structure language exchange sessions to how to use sentence mining to improve your speaking.

This event was part of a series of monthly live Q&A series we’re hosting as part of our Peak Mandarin project.

Whether you’re an intermediate or beginner learner, Will and I were in the same place not so long ago.

And our goal now is to use our knowledge and experience to help you structure your Mandarin learning as effectively as possible and avoid falling into some of the same pitfalls we did!

So if you’re interested in attending future discussions and taking part in similar Q&A discussions with Will and me in the future, sign up for our free newsletter and we’ll send you emails about all our events.

Now let’s get into the Q&A!

Links:



My free Mandarin learning eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook



Chinese transcript and translation: imlearningmandarin.com



Clement's Twitter: https://x.com/cjpgverrier



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On today’s podcast, I broadcast the first of what I hope will be many Chinese monologues submitted by listeners to this podcast.

Today’s recording is by Clement, an I’m Learning Mandarin listener from France who lives in Taiwan. He talks us through his fascinating Chinese learning experiences.

I first met Clement in Taiwan a year ago after he attended a group language exchange session I organised.

He’s since gone on to use many of the methods we recommend on this podcast, including sentence mining and tone training and, as you’ll soon hear, has achieved an outstanding level of pronunciation and spoken
fluency within just two years of learning.

As usual, you can find a Chinese transcript for this episode along with an English translation on imlearningmandarin.com

If you like this episode please don’t forget to leave a five-star
rating on your favoured podcast provider. And if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts you can also leave a review.

Now over to Clement!

My Free Mandarin Learning eBook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook



My Chinese learning Blog: imlearningmandarin.com



James's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameswonglife



James's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JamesWongLife/videos



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On today’s podcast, I speak to James Wong, a commercial model and influencer from the UK who has an incredible story of overcoming adversity to become fluent in Chinese.

James’ dad is from Hong Kong but moved to the UK as a child. James was raised monolingual in English but as an adult decided to explore his heritage by taking on Chinese languages. He moved to Taiwan to study Mandarin a few years ago and has lived there ever since.

His Chinese learning journey would eventually see him reach a high level in spoken Mandarin, master the tones, and even take part in several televised interviews in Taiwan.

These achievements were made all the more remarkable by the fact that James has severe hearing loss.

I began by asking James about his mixed heritage background and early exposure to Chinese language and culture growing up.

My free Mandarin learning ebook: https://www.peakmandarin.com/free-ebook



Follow this Chinese podcast along with a transcript and translation: imlearningmandarin.com



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In today’s episode, I talk about the recent history of Chinese
attitudes towards foreigners speaking Mandarin and how this differs from the English-speaking world.

It’s always struck me that the way Chinese people react to foreigners speaking their language can have a major impact on our learning journey.

On the one hand, it feels nice to be showered with praised as a beginner for saying a few basic words.

But on the other hand, this can get old quickly.

And the culture of treating foreign Chinese speaking as an entertainment spectacle, with international Chinese speaking competitions broadcast on TV to a whole
nation can seem odd for learners who’ve never encountered it before.

So today I discuss the origins of these attitudes and the reasons why Chinese people tend to react the way they do when they hear non-native speakers speak Mandarin.