Learn HOW to learn Chinese with hosts Jared Turner and John Pasden. You will learn tips, strategies, and insights so you can supercharge your language learning. You will also be inspired by guest interviews with people from all over the world who have learned Chinese. Both Jared and John both lear
Ever feel confident speaking Chinese with your teacher or tutor, only to find yourself completely lost when you're with a group of native speakers? Why does your Chinese suddenly seem to fall apart? In this episode, Jared and John explore why group conversations present such a unique challenge for Chinese learners, even those with strong conversational skills. They uncover the "invisible help" that tutors provide, the hidden complexities of group dynamics, and why understanding individual speakers doesn't necessarily mean you’ll be able to follow a group discussion. Drawing from their own…
Sharing a heater with the family dog during Chinese New Year. Sitting in the front seat of taxis to practice Chinese with the drivers. Rehearsing a speech in Chinese to thank her team at a store opening in Shenzhen. For Cassandre Egolf, learning Chinese has become inseparable from her life in China. Growing up in France, Cassandre heard plenty about China from her mother, an Air France flight attendant who had studied Chinese herself. Cassandre wasn't particularly interested. Years later, stranded in Sri Lanka during COVID and considering a job in Shanghai, she started using apps to learn…
In celebration of Teachers’ Day in China, Jared and John reflect on the teachers who have shaped their language-learning journeys and what actually makes a great teacher. They share stories of teachers who were hilarious, inspiring, technically brilliant, and sometimes simply there with the right advice at exactly the right moment. They also discuss the different strengths of native and non-native language teachers, why experience and expertise can make such a difference, and an important truth about learning: ultimately, the student has to do the learning. A great teacher can’t simply pour…
In a mildly confusing bit of podcast naming, Jared Turner sits down with comedian Turner Sparks. Turner moved to China in 2004 to teach English, planning to stay for just one year. He ended up staying for twelve. In this episode of You Can Learn Chinese, Turner talks about learning Chinese out of necessity, from struggling through everyday conversations with almost no shared language to using Chinese while building and running a business across China. Turner shares stories from his years in Suzhou and Shanghai, including launching Mr. Softee ice cream trucks in China, navigating local…
Jared and John discuss the frustrations faced by a learner who came to John for help—particularly with pinyin and distinguishing similar sounds in Chinese. They explore why learners often misapply English pronunciation rules to pinyin and how comprehensible input can help ease the learning curve. This episode serves as both a deep dive into the phonetic and perceptual challenges of learning Chinese and a reassuring reminder that, while the path to fluency can be frustrating, personalized strategies and persistent effort can lead to real progress. Links from the episode: Mandarin Companion…
What does it mean to walk in the footsteps of an ancestor whose life connected China and America more than a century ago? In this episode, Ben Lee shares how moving to Wuhan in 1992 pushed him to learn Chinese for survival—and eventually led him back to a remarkable family legacy. His great-grandfather was part of the Qing Dynasty’s Chinese Educational Mission, became an early voice in Chinese American literature, and even crossed paths with Mark Twain. Ben and Jared explore heritage, identity, education, and the lifelong rewards of learning Chinese. Ben also shares practical advice for…
Whether you're planning your first trip to China or reminiscing about past adventures, Jared and John share why even a little Chinese can transform your experience, from connecting with locals through place names and ordering regional specialties to navigating trains, buses, and the occasional unexpected adventure. Along the way, they swap memorable stories of language mishaps, overnight train rides, questionable transportation choices, and the kinds of travel misadventures that become some of the most memorable stories. They also discuss the balance between relying on translation apps and…
What happens when a childhood choice turns into a life-changing career change? In this episode, Jared talks with Jake Hines, an Australian content creator based in Xiamen, China, whose Chinese learning journey began in high school thanks to a nudge from his mom. After years working as an engineering project manager, Jake left his stable career during COVID to pursue a very different path: traveling through China, creating videos, and rebuilding his life around the language he had once studied as a teenager. Jake shares how early trips to Nanjing sparked his fascination with Chinese, why he…
Are you getting everything you can out of your Chinese lessons? Jared and John share practical strategies for multiplying the value of every class or tutoring session. You'll learn how to review lesson notes more effectively, identify the corrections that matter most, create better flashcards, and use recordings to improve your pronunciation and speaking ability. They also show how modern AI tools can analyze lesson transcripts, uncover recurring mistakes, highlight useful vocabulary, and generate personalized review materials based on your actual conversations. Whether you study with a…
When Emma first came to China for a two-month internship, she had no intention of learning Chinese. In fact, she had spent years telling herself she simply wasn't a "language person." But after returning to China a second time, a desire to communicate her strict vegan diet led her to begin studying Mandarin. What started as a practical goal soon became a transformative personal journey. In this episode, Emma shares how she went from intense textbook study and relentless productivity to discovering that real language growth happens through connection, conversation, and embracing mistakes. She…
Why do tones sometimes seem “good enough”… until they suddenly create complete chaos? In this episode, Jared and John dive into one of the trickiest realities of learning Chinese: when small tone mistakes collide with low-context situations and produce surprisingly big misunderstandings. Inspired by a real-life exchange student story in Shanghai, they share some hilarious examples of Chinese mix-ups involving pandas vs. chest hair, thesis defenses vs. poop, and one especially memorable mistake involving “receiving payment.” Beyond the laughs, this episode explores why context matters so much…
What happens when your reason for learning Chinese changes? In this interview, Jared talks with Anastasia Tulupova about her journey from a goal-driven teenager in Ukraine, determined to master the “hardest language in the world” and become a translator, to a Chinese teacher who now helps others learn more effectively. Along the way, she realized that the path she started on wasn’t the one she actually wanted. After years of structured study and passing HSK exams, everything changed when she arrived in China and discovered she couldn’t actually communicate. That moment pushed her to rethink…
What does it actually mean to be at a “level” in Chinese and why does moving up feel so slow? In this episode, Jared and John dig into the concept of leveling from both the perspective of the learner and from decades of experience in creating Chinese learning content. With John’s decades of experience building structured learning systems, from ChinesePod to Mandarin Companion, you’ll gain insight into what goes into defining levels and why it’s much harder than it seems. Along the way, they dig into why vocabulary lists alone don’t define your level, how “Swiss cheese” gaps in knowledge…
Most people struggle to find time to learn Chinese. Adam started learning it in the middle of one of the most intense study periods of his life, and kept going. A pre-med student at the University of Illinois, Adam didn’t begin with a clear plan or a class requirement. Instead, it started with curiosity: books on cross-cultural healthcare, exposure to Chinese classmates, and a growing realization that language could open doors not just academically, but humanly. In this episode, Jared sits down with Adam to unpack how that curiosity turned into real progress in just a year and a half. From…
How could learning Chinese shape your life? From meeting lifelong friends (and even a spouse!) to navigating life in China with the help of mentors, coworkers, and “ayi” caregivers, Jared and John share stories that highlight the human side of language learning. John reflects on his 25+ years in China, including how speaking Chinese led to deeper, more authentic relationships, and Jared shares unforgettable experiences, from starting a bakery in Shanghai to building trust with partners across China. Along the way, they explore a bigger question: what’s the real point of learning Chinese?…
Jade grew up knowing she was half Chinese, but without the language, family connection, or cultural context to understand what that really meant. In this deeply personal episode, she shares what it was like growing up mixed race in a mostly white community, carrying questions of identity, belonging, and cultural disconnection from an early age. Jade shares why learning Chinese became much more than a language goal. What began as a quiet lifelong pull eventually turned into something healing, empowering, and transformative during the pandemic, when she finally committed to learning Mandarin…
Should you learn Chinese by reading children’s books? It’s a common recommendation, but is it actually a good idea? In this episode, Jared and John unpack why kids’ books aren’t as “simple” as they seem. These books are written for native-speaking children who already have years of spoken fluency. They’re often read aloud by parents and packed with specialized vocabulary, proper nouns, literary language, and characters that learners rarely need early on. What looks beginner-friendly can quickly become frustrating and inefficient. So why do people keep suggesting it? Usually because it worked…
In this episode, Jared chats with Jack Mullinkosson, whose Chinese-learning journey runs from a Vice China documentary set… to living with a Chinese immigrant family in suburban California… to studying in Chengdu… and now biking from Chengdu to Hanoi. Jack got started the way many learners do: by feeling left out. On set, surrounded by Chinese speakers, he noticed how differently the foreigners who spoke Mandarin were treated. Chinese looked like a superpower, and he wanted it. With plenty of downtime during the shoot, Jack began studying characters and survival phrases, boosted by the…
Struggling with listening comprehension in Chinese? You're not alone—and this episode is here to help. Jared Turner and John Pasden dive into practical, tech-powered strategies for sharpening your Chinese listening skills using AI transcription tools and other smart resources. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to use AI tools to turn Chinese audio into transcripts you can study. Why listening comprehension is often one of the hardest skills—and how to make it easier. How to “train your ear” with slowed-down, AI-generated audio. Ways to leverage native content such as TV shows, songs,…
in this episode, Jared sits down with Alexander Brose , President & CEO of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada, to trace his remarkable journey learning Chinese and how it shaped his life and career in unexpected ways. From his early years living in South Korea with his family, to choosing Mandarin over Cantonese at an international school in Hong Kong, Alex shares how Chinese gradually became part of his identity. He continued studying the language through high school and later majored in Asian Studies at Cornell University. A pivotal summer in Harbin with the CET immersion…
Is handwriting Chinese characters slowing you down? In today’s digital world, does it still make sense to focus on writing by hand or should you just type? In this episode, Jared and John dive deep into this hot-button issue for Chinese learners: handwriting vs. typing . Pulling insights from a research paper by Chinese Breeze creator Chengzhi Chu (储诚志), they explore how character instruction is evolving and why prioritizing typing can make your learning faster, more efficient, and less frustrating , especially for adult learners. They’ll break down: Why typing Chinese is not “cheating” ,…
What began as a teenage crush became a lifelong journey into Chinese for Matthew McGuire, an Australian creator and accent coach. In this episode, Jared sits down with Matthew to discuss how he learned Mandarin without textbooks, grammar drills, or writing practice. Instead, he immersed himself in love dramas, shadowed dialogue, and built a Chinese-speaking social circle. Matthew shares how his curiosity and enjoyment guided him from impressing a girl from Sichuan to achieving real proficiency and forming meaningful friendships. He also explains how Chinese opened doors for him both…
With AI advancing at lightning speed, many are wondering: Do I still need to learn Chinese? Jared and John say yes , and in this episode, they break down 10 ways your Chinese skills remain AI-proof. These are the kinds of things no app, bot, or translation tool can truly replace. Along the way, you'll hear stories about phone conversations that left taxi drivers in disbelief, the joy of reading your first Chinese book, and how language learning leads to deeper relationships. Whether you're just starting or years into your Chinese journey, this episode is your reminder that learning Chinese…
In this episode, Jared sits down with Renata Mirkova , a Chinese language educator from the Czech Republic whose journey into Mandarin began not with a grand plan, but almost by accident. What started as a university entrance decision led her to master Chinese, live in China, and now teach both Czech and Chinese across cultural boundaries. Renata shares the unique challenges of learning Chinese in a non-English-speaking environment , including outdated textbooks from the 60s, Czech-Sinology programs steeped in history, and a lack of direct Chinese-to-Czech resources. But through her…
After 300 days of secretly studying Chinese, one guy surprises his partner with phrases like “the cheesecake is grieving” and “the purple elephant eats passion for breakfast.” It’s a bit humorous, but it also highlights a bigger issue: extreme learning methods that feel productive but fall flat in practice. In this episode, Jared and John dive into seven common extremes they’ve seen (and lived) in the world of learning Chinese. From bingeing flashcards or grammar rules to over-relying on Duolingo or doing nothing but watch TV in Mandarin, these extremes can slow your progress, or worse, burn…
Can you become fluent in Chinese without teachers, classes, or even Chinese speakers around you? For Serbian software engineer Marko Javoanovic , the answer is “yes” by focusing on “ fluency now” . In this episode, Marko shares how he started learning Japanese out of a love for anime but quickly pivoted to Chinese when he realized there were far more Chinese people than Japanese in his hometown of Novi Sad, Serbia . What began as a curiosity turned into a disciplined daily habit that transformed not only his language skills but also his friendships and worldview. Marko dives into how he…
Ever wonder how the place you study Chinese can shape your accent, comprehension, and even identity as a learner? In this episode, Jared and John dive into the importance of where you learn Mandarin in China and how different regions can affect your speaking and listening skills. From Beijing’s “pirate R’s” to the relaxed tones of Taipei and the “happy medium” of Shanghai, they explore the linguistic quirks of China’s top Mandarin learning destinations. You’ll hear: The differences between Chinese accents in Beijing, Shanghai, and Taipei Why Shanghai might be the perfect balance for learners…
What happens when you move abroad at age 10 and suddenly find yourself in daily Chinese class? For Freddy Buechel, it was the start of an adventure that took him from Singapore to Taiwan, back to the U.S., and eventually to Shanghai for a full-on study abroad immersion. In this episode, Freddy shares his winding journey of learning Chinese across multiple countries, his turning point moment ordering bubble tea as a kid, and why fluency is a “moving target.” He talks about the humbling reality of using Chinese in the wild, how boxing with a former world champion in Shanghai boosted his…
Jared and John are back with a full episode dedicated to answering listener questions covering everything from language learning strategies to cultural quirks. They explore the challenges of using sarcasm in Mandarin, how to prepare for a trip to China if you're not yet fluent, and whether watching Chinese TV shows actually helps improve listening skills. And yes, they also get into one of the most common learner frustrations: you ask a question in Chinese, but when the reply comes… you’re totally lost. It happens to everyone, so what can you do about it? They also share thoughts on…
In this replay of a fan-favorite episode, John and Jared discuss the concept of fluency now as opposed to some distant time in the future and how reading will get you there.Guest interview is with Olle Linge of Hacking Chinese and Chinese language enthusiast extraordinaire. He offers the Chinese learning tips that he wishes someone had told him back when he started Chinese.Thanks for listening to our podcast! Please write us a review on Apple Podcasts and we’ll give you a shout out on the podcast! We are also taking questions from our listeners. If you have a question, reach us at…
About You Can Learn Chinese
Learn HOW to learn Chinese with hosts Jared Turner and John Pasden. You will learn tips, strategies, and insights so you can supercharge your language learning. You will also be inspired by guest interviews with people from all over the world who have learned Chinese. Both Jared and John both lear
You Can Learn Chinese is a English learning podcast from Jared Turner. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.
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