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NCLC 2022 presentation: Embracing constraints and encouraging students’ creativity

Written by April Zhang on Monday, 25 April 2022. Posted in Book Fairs & Conferences

NCLC 2022 presentation: Embracing constraints and encouraging students’ creativity

Attending a big event, such as NCLC, was always something worth talking about. It was especially cool to be a speaker, even a small one as I was among all the big shots. It was a good opportunity to learn and to share some of my experience.

Ask MSL Master - How Chinese characters are introduced to Chinese children

Written by April Zhang on Sunday, 20 February 2022. Posted in Front Page

Ask MSL Master - How Chinese characters are introduced to Chinese children

Occasionally I receive some good questions about learning Chinese. I never thought about publishing any until today, as it suddenly occurred to me that other people might also be interested in these questions. Below is one I received from a 79 years old grandma from Australia, Pat. 

The best entries in the Chinese Writing Contest just published!

Written by April Zhang on Saturday, 01 January 2022. Posted in Chinese Writing Contest

The best entries in the Chinese Writing Contest just published!

Of all the prizes offered for contestants who participated in the Chinese Writing Contest 2021, the coolest one should be to become a published author. This is a recognition with a far reaching effect.

With the newly published book, Easy-to-Read Chinese Short Stories, Book 1, seventeen contestants have won this bragging right. Their work is now available for a wide range of audiences worldwide.

How likely is it for China and the US to have a big clash?

Written by April Zhang on Thursday, 23 December 2021. Posted in Student's Posts

How likely is it for China and the US to have a big clash?

When working on Mandarin Express Intermediate Level A, at the end of each chapter, students are required to present something for at least five minutes on a topic they select. 

Over the years, there have been some amazing speeches. Two weeks ago, a particularly timely one was delivered by Nathan. There were some really good thought provoking gold nuggets there. 

Chinese Reading and Writing series now on SuperMemo and tips on using SRS

Written by April Zhang on Thursday, 11 November 2021. Posted in Front Page

Chinese Reading and Writing series now on SuperMemo and tips on using SRS

SRS (Spaced Repetition Software) is quite popular among Chinese learners. It uses an algorithm that controls how frequently flashcards are shown based on how students grade themselves in previous tests. This is a learning tool. 

However, a tool is a tool. It can be both very helpful or utterly useless. All depend on how you use it. Here I’m going to share some tips on using SRS, and how you can practice recognising Chinese characters and words, taught in the Chinese Reading and Writing series, using SuperMemo cards. 

From a Chinese learner to a Chinese teacher

Written by April Zhang on Wednesday, 22 September 2021. Posted in Student's Posts

From a Chinese learner to a Chinese teacher

This is an inspirational story from a colleague working in a university in Trinidad & Tobago, Janine L. 

Dedicated and hardworking, she shares her past learning experiences and talks about what it took to get to where she is now.

Complete Beginner’s Chinese Reading and Writing Course Kits just arrived

Written by April Zhang on Sunday, 12 September 2021. Posted in Front Page

Complete Beginner’s Chinese Reading and Writing Course Kits just arrived

Thanks for all the engineers, designers, coordinators, printers, couriers and the supporting staff, after overcoming countless small hiccups, finally, Complete Beginner’s Chinese Reading and Writing Course Kits just arrived. One of them is already reserved for the grand winner of this year’s Chinese Writing Contest.

Tones and pitch changes of Putonghua and drunken Welshman

Written by April Zhang on Sunday, 11 July 2021. Posted in Student's Posts

Tones and pitch changes of Putonghua and drunken Welshman

A fact that all Chinese language learners will eventually learn by personal experience is the changes of tones and pitches. Shared by Tony many years ago, this hilarious recounting of his personal experience will definitely put a smile on your face, as it did to all of us. That was the reason that he wrote it down.

Mandarin audio course Basic Level B now available!

Written by April Zhang on Thursday, 03 June 2021. Posted in Front Page

Mandarin audio course Basic Level B now available!

After the release of Mandarin audio courses of Intro Level A, Intro Level B and Basic Level A, the fourth audio course, Mandarin Express Basic Level B, is now available! Building up from the previous three courses, the topics featured in this course are more connected to our life and our experience of the world, and at the same time, English explanation is reduced to the minimum.

Audio lessons of Mandarin Express Basic Level A just released!

Written by April Zhang on Wednesday, 12 May 2021. Posted in Front Page

Audio lessons of Mandarin Express Basic Level A just released!

Train your ears with Mandarin audio lessons first, and finish with re-enforcing exercises in the Work Book. Listen better, and speak well. We’re here to help you achieve just that. The third release of Mandarin audio lessons of Mandarin Express Basic Level A is now available!

Free your eyes and train your ears with Mandarin audio lessons

Written by April Zhang on Sunday, 11 April 2021. Posted in Front Page

Free your eyes and train your ears with Mandarin audio lessons

A great way to improve Chinese listening skills is to use ears to learn Chinese first, eyes second. This is especially important for beginner students who are so often baffled by all the similar tones and many look-alike pinyin words. To achieve that, audio lessons are a wonderful tool students should look into. That’s exactly what I’m currently working on. Following the previous release of Mandarin Express Intro Level A audio lessons, I’m happy to announce that Intro Level B audio lessons have just been made available!

Bring listening into the core of your Chinese study

Written by April Zhang on Wednesday, 17 March 2021. Posted in Front Page

Bring listening into the core of your Chinese study

Listening has always been a weak spot for beginner students who are learning Chinese. After they’ve learned some phrases, they experience a total blank when the same phrases are coming out from other people’s mouths. Today, I’m happy to announce that we have added one more solution to our tool kit for beginner students to develop their listening skills.

Announcing an exciting offer for the Complete Beginner’s Chinese Reading and Writing Course Kit

Written by April Zhang on Tuesday, 12 January 2021. Posted in Front Page

Announcing an exciting offer for the Complete Beginner’s Chinese Reading and Writing Course Kit

With the final video lesson of Chinese Reading and Writing 6 uploaded, all the ground work is finished, and the Complete Beginner’s Chinese Reading and Writing Course Kit now entered its final development stage. We’re excited!

The sixth Online Chinese writing course completed, the final step achieved!

Written by April Zhang on Thursday, 07 January 2021. Posted in Front Page

The sixth Online Chinese writing course completed, the final step achieved!

A business guru once said something like this: Don’t overestimate how much you can do in one day, and don’t underestimate how much you can achieve over a year. This is so true. After a little more than twelve months of intense effort, with the final lesson of Review 6 uploaded last night, the entire video lessons of the Chinese Reading and Writing series are finally completed!

One step further in learning Chinese online - the fifth writing course uploaded

Written by April Zhang on Monday, 14 December 2020. Posted in Front Page

One step further in learning Chinese online - the fifth writing course uploaded

After some intense and productive weeks, I’m happy to announce that the fifth Chinese writing course is completed, uploaded, and ready for viewing. Based on the textbook Chinese Reading and Writing 5, eighteen online lessons have been released.

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