Welcome to Jiāotán

• Speed up your Chinese learning
• Design your own learning model
• Cut through the minefield of information

Hi friend! My name is Andrew and I made this site as a personal roadmap to help me with learning Chinese. It can be difficult and confusing to understand and choose from all the learning content out there on the web. There is a minefield of people trying to sell you classes and apps and systems.

I have done a lot of research and testing and purchasing of these tools. I have had many stops and starts in my own language learning journey and this site is where I am sharing back to the language learning community what I have learned about the 'process' of learning Chinese.

While this site is my personal tool kit, of course I am very happy to share it with you and see if the tools, content and links here can also help you in your Chinese language studies. Keep in mind this site is not a Chinese learning program in itself but a guide to help you decide on the tools and programs that will get you to success as quickly as possible. I am sharing what I found has worked for me after many missteps and years of stops and starts. It's not exhaustive - there are far too many apps and systems out there to review every single one. These are my personal findings filtered down to what works for me.

Jiāotán or in hanzi, 交谈 - means 'chat'. I thought this was an appropriate name because getting yourself to the point of being able to have a simple 'chat' in your target language is an important milestone to becoming conversational.

Let me say right away that I am no Mandarin expert - I'm still a beginner! I built this site to help me overcome my personal obstacles in my Mandarin journey. So you might get more from the tools and content here if you are still starting out like me rather than if you are a more advanced student.

While it's true I am a beginner with my Chinese, I have been 'begining' now for quite a long time (I am embarrassed to admit it is measured in the years)! During all this time I have had several stops and starts and in-between I have done quite a lot of research into why it takes me so long, how I can speed up my language acquistion and what I can do better to stay motivated. I have also scoured the web for all kinds of free and paid content to help me in my quest. The good news is there are 1.4 billion people speaking this language so there is no shortage of content!

If you take a look at the Approach section I talk about the approach I have finally settled on and how it seems to be work for me. You will also find links to videos with tips, tricks and various methods for learning new languages. It can be helpful and interesting to understand the methods of learning just as much as the language content and vocabulary itself.

My method, which is a custom mix of language learning approaches, may work for you too or you may find a different mixed approach works better. Everyone has their own prefernces so either way I hope I have gathered enough different types of content and 'inputs' here for you to use as building blocks so you can build your own personalised language training regime.

In the Toolkit section you will find links and reviews for the apps I think are helpful. The goal here is not to be comprehensive but provide just enough tools in your toolkit to get you started in a conversation and keep you there. I have split up the tools into Learning Tools - apps that guide your through structured learning; and Translation Aids which includes things like dictionairies, lookups as well as translation. You will also find some tips on how to set up your computer or device for Chinese language learning.

The Training section is where you can find content to help you learn. these are just some small free tools I have developed for my own learning, such as Flash Cards and Schedules.

The Flash Cards tool is some code I dreamed up in my spare time so I hope it's not too janky for you. It should work ok on your mobile but desktop might be better. I have a few ideas to add new capabilities so it will continue to evolve. Reach out using the Contact Us link below if you have suggestions or a 'deck' you would like me to add.

The Schedules section is my attempt to provide you with some tools and patterns to help you build your language learning routines. Consistency is key here - take it from someone who has had many stops and starts. If you don't get into a regular learning rhythm you will find it tough. Use these to help build a schedule that works for you, with the content type that works for you.

Finally, the Inputs section has lots of links to various forms of Mandarin input. Input is essential to help you tune your ear to Chinese. The more you listen you will increase your familiararity with the sounds. And varied input sources will help you with the differences in pronunciation. Comprehensible Input will help you fast track your conversational comprehension of Chinese.

Please note that all the external content I link to is owned and produced by the respective owners. I am merely cataloguing it here for my own convenience (and yours). If you enjoy and get value from this content you should defintiely provide feedback to the original artists and producers and support them with likes, follows, purchases and good will.

As for this site, all the tools and lists I have personally built, are free for you to use for your personal language learning journey. Please don't resell or claim to own any of my content, designs or formats - it's here for the language learning community. I am not selling anything and I am not sponsored or paid by any apps or companies. All my reviews are unbiased, personal opinions based on my own research and experience.

If you have any ideas or want to help out with creating and publishing Mandarin learning content feel free to reach me using the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page below. I am also happy to review your app but please understand my opinion will be my own based on my actual experience.

Welcome again - I hope I can provide some help and motivation to you for your Chinese language journey - there are more than 1.4 billion Chinese speakers on this planet of ours - so let's take this adventure together and get chatting with them!