Laowai Chinese:  Tips and Strategies to Learn Chinese

Laowai Chinese covers various different topics related to learning Chinese — vocabulary, resources, and even pronunciation to name a few topics.  The blog is well written and maintained by Albert Wolfe.   Albert started teaching himself Chinese in July of 2005 and rather than have people learn the lessons he did as he learned he decided to post what he learned on Laowai Chinese.  He’s currently working on a book Chinese 24/7 which is a textbook to help students study Chinese without a formal classroom environment.

2 posts worth checking out:

• Master the Tones:  Tips to help students learn and improve their Chinese tone pronunciation
• What Foreigners Like to Eat:  A list of food that foreigners like to eat and how to order it in Chinese

Beijing Sounds: Beijing sounds, mostly language, through foreign ears.

Beijing Sounds is a Chinese learning blog focused on listening and pronunciation skills related to the Beijing Chinese accent.  They have been around for a few years and what’s unique about Beijing Sounds is how they have audio clips of authentic Chinese speakers accompanying many of their posts.  They also include pinyin with any Chinese written so beginners won’t be clueless as to what is being said.   The blog is authored and edited by the mysterious SYZ.

2 posts worth checking out:

• Does the Beijing-R Mean Anything?:  A discussion on the Beijing habit of adding “-er” or “-r” at the end of Chinese words
• Where Not to Look for Beginner Mandarin Lessons:  Spouse, babysitter… a few places not to go looking for a Chinese language education

Pinyin News: the blog of Pinyin.Info

Pinyin News is the official blog of Pinyin.Info (a guide to the writing of Mandarin Chinese in romanization).  If you can’t guess by the name the blog and website are all about pinyin.  The blog covers issues on the technical details of writing pinyin, sightings of pinyin in real life, and issues related to Chinese learning.  For a beginner pinyin is a great place to start to get familiar with the pronunciation mechanics of Mandarin Chinese.  The blog is authored and maintained by Mark Swofford who is located in Banqiao, Taiwan.

2 posts worth checking out:

• San Francisco Chinatown Signage:  Chinese signs in San Francisco and their pinyin and cantonese pronunciations
• Online texts in Hanyu Pinyin:  List of Chinese language content that has accompanying pinyin

Mandarin Student: An English person learning Mandarin from the Internet

Mandarin Student is the Mandarin language learning blog of Chris.  Chris is from Bath in the United Kingdom and has decided to undertake learning Chinese online.   On his blog you can find Chinese language learning resources he has accumulated and other tips and tricks to help other students.  This is a great blog to read for beginners of Chinese or those looking for the latest online tools to supplement their own learning.

2 posts worth checking out:

• Mandarin Chinese Learning Resources:  A list of some web 2.0 online tools that have helped him learn Chinese
• The Best Thing I Did in Starting to Learn Mandarin:  Title says it all…

Learning Chinese Blog: Experiences in Learning Chinese

The Learning Chinese Blog is Philip Perry’s blog that documents his experiences as he learns Chinese.  This is a newer blog compared to the other blogs mentioned, but it is another great blog for beginners since the Philip himself recently started learning Chinese.

2 posts worth checking out:

• Learning Hanzi: Philip’s strategies for remembering Chinese characters
• Useful Websites:  A list and description of various online tools and resources for learning Chinese

–BONUS BLOG– Lost Laowai “Learning Chinese” Blog Posts

Lost Laowai is technically an expat blog where many different authors contribute blog posts about their experiences living in China.  However, they do have a “Learning Chinese” category for their posts that is worth checking out.  Since there are many different contributors to the blog you get many different perspectives on learning Chinese.

2 posts worth checking out:

• Fallacies in Learning Chinese:  Some great pitfalls to avoid when learning Chinese
• Good Character, Bad Character:  Background on the interesting manner in which countries are named in Chinese

There you have it.  That’s the list so far.  If you have any other additions you think should be added to the list don’t hesitate to post a comment or contact us.  Happy studying!

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