Learn Chinese in Taiwan

SHOW ME HOW

How would your life in Taiwan improve if you could speak and understand Chinese?

  1. Do you have trouble figuring out what to say in Chinese?
  2. Even when you do know what to say in Chinese, do you have trouble being understood?
  3. Do you have trouble understanding when others are speaking to you in Chinese?
  4. Are you constantly having to rely on local Taiwanese to help you with even the most basic of tasks?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then I hear you.

I'm Adam, and like you I came from abroad (Canada) and settled here in Taiwan. I only meant to stay for a year, but 17 years later, I'm still here (what can I say, this place draws you in!)
I thought that just by living here, I'd pick up Chinese. But yet, a few years in, I could barely string together a proper sentence. What was wrong with me??
The truth is, it wasn't me (and it isn't you!). It's the language! And how we learn Chinese isn't the same way people learn English. You need a new approach, designed specifically for English learners. That is what I've created here. Chinese - Learn Online (CLO) was designed for English speakers by English speakers.
I sat down with experienced teachers from Providence University in Taichung (I later designed a companion website for them) and created the course that I wish I had from the beginning.

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What is it?

CLO is an online course in Mandarin Chinese that you can complete on your mobile device or computer during your spare time. It consists of audio lessons (under 15 mins long) followed by exercises to check your understanding. Complete two lessons a day, five days a week and you can complete the course in six weeks.

The course consists of levels of 60 lessons. For each lesson, do the following:

Here's how it differs from other courses and programs you may have tried.

1. It's all in English. I remember enrolling in my first Chinese class. I couldn't understand a word the teacher said - and that was lesson one! Mandarin immersion is great and all, but teach me some basics first before throwing me in the deep end!


2. It focuses on the skills you need to learn. Most classes at local language centers spend a lot of time teaching you to write characters. It makes sense that you spend the most time on this aspect, but it's also the skill you're least likely to use. Pro tip: Learn to write your name in Chinese and perhaps your address (if you really want to impress people) and that will cover 98% of anything you'll ever need to write in Taiwan. Imagine if you could take all the time spent on writing and use that to develop skills you would actually use (listening, speaking, reading, typing). CLO allows you to choose which skills you want to focus on, so you can spend all your time in the right areas.


3. It was designed in Taiwan using Taiwanese speakers True story: The first online Chinese course I found was actually designed in Beijing. It used accents and vocabulary that weren't used in Taiwan. Instead of being impressed, locals scoffed at me for speaking that way...

CLO was designed in Taichung, using local Taiwanese speakers and supports traditional Chinese characters. Brace yourself for the compliments you'll start getting! (Note though that there are a few lessons that talk about differences between Chinese spoken in China, just so you have that awareness if needed)


4. It forces you to review. There's no point in learning vocabulary if you're just going to forget it all the next day. CLO gets you over this hurdle in two ways. After each lesson, various activities test your understanding of the vocabulary, grammar and sentence patterns used. Don't continue with the next lesson until you've completed the relevant activities. Later lessons reuse what was taught earlier and build upon it. Important vocabulary and concepts will get reused in different contexts, resulting in automatic review for you.


5. It works on your schedule. When I first got to Taiwan, I started teaching at a school during the day and then filled up my evenings with private classes. I didn't want to enroll in Chinese classes since that was time I could be teaching, so it was costing me double. But yet I had lots of time during my commutes or spare time between classes that I could put towards learning. CLO was designed to be used during this spare time.

Hi, my name is Kim. I’ve studied conversational Mandarin Chinese using the Pimsleur Program – Levels 1, 2 and 3, Instant immersion, Travel Talk and also briefly in a language institute in Taichung, Taiwan. I have to share that chinesetrack.com has been the single most useful, effective, convenient and fun way of studying the language. It is also the most reasonably priced method of learning Mandarin Chinese that I’ve come across in all my research to find the best way of learning the language. My Chinese speaking friends are amazed at my progress since I have been studying with CLO.

Kim L.

Taiwan
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Avoid the mistakes many other learners make

There are two main challenges that new learners have, when it comes to learning Mandarin Chinese

1). Tones: Unlike English, Chinese is a tonal language. This means if you say the right word but with the wrong tone, you can be easily misunderstood.

CLO gets your brain used to these tones by providing you with a LOT of material to listen to. As you get used to it, later lessons speed up the Chinese you're hearing as your brain adapts to it.You'll find Chinese being used throughout the lesson. But this is all Chinese that was taught to you before, so it will be mainly review. Imagine being able to have complete, in depth conversations with Chinese people - using their native language - and being able to understand everything they say, and more importantly have them understand you back! We slowly replace the English used in lessons with Chinese that was taught before. This gets your brain used to hearing Chinese. Later lessons are conducted mainly in Chinese, that was taught earlier. If it ever gets too difficult, review earlier levels to get back on track.

Here’s sample audio from a lesson in level 1:
Notice how it’s mostly in English.
Now here’s sample audio from a lesson in level 3:
Notice how it’s mostly in Chinese? But this is all Chinese we teach you in levels 1 and 2, so it’ll be review for you by then.
Along the way, review activities will be testing your comprehension of the material to make sure you’re keeping up.

2). Characters: Do Chinese characters scare you? After all, there are thousands of characters out there - however will you learn them all?

CLO solves this problem in two ways. If you find it overwhelming, then just focus on listening and understanding. All the transcripts and exercises can be done in pinyin (writing out the Chinese using the English alphabet). You can always go back and redo the course using characters when you're ready for it. Ready to get into characters now? Then choose between simplified or traditional characters (the course fully supports both). As the course goes from easy to more difficult, so will the number of characters. Flashcards and other exercises are provided with each lesson to test your understanding of the characters learned so far.

As far as the course goes, I started with number one just for context and I am now on lesson 57. I am not sure what level my Chinese actually is, but I have known most everything on the lessons I have finished so far. Although, it has been a great review for me on grammar, vocabulary and tones.

I have enjoyed listening to you and Kirin a lot. I think it was a great idea to have listeners from many different places, but overall, I would agree that I prefer to listen to Kirin’s Taiwanese accent. Also, I just finished the level 1 review (lessons 58, 59 and 60). I thought the format was very challenging (in a good way). It seemed that throughout level 1, you would say something in Chinese and ask for a translation into English. So, the difference in the review, where you spoke English and asked for the Chinese translation, was both welcome and challenging. I enjoyed it and would welcome more lessons like it. Keep up the good work!

Parrish R.

Teacher, Taipei, Taiwan
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Course Levels

Here is the content of the first 3 of 7 levels. Each level takes about 3 months to finish, if you spend half an hour a day, 5 days a week.

Level 1

Absolute beginner

  • Week 1: Tones, Greetings, Counting, Shopping
  • Week 2: Family, Introductions, Time
  • Week 3: Jobs, Hotels, Classroom phrases
  • Week 4: Menus, Clothes, Colors
  • Week 5: Directions, Pets, Childhood
  • Week 6: Weather, Ordering drinks, Review

Level 2

Already know the basics

  • Week 1: Greetings, Schools, Shopping
  • Week 2: Descriptions, Making choices, Types of tea
  • Week 3: Meals of the day, Chinese dishes, Doing business
  • Week 4: Traffic, Leisure activities, Clothes
  • Week 5: Tourists, Zoo animals, Health
  • Week 6: Ordering at a restaurant, Directions, Review

Level 3

Intermediate learner

  • Week 1: Teaching vocabulary, Self introduction, Sports
  • Week 2: Describing people, Fruits, Bathroom supplies
  • Week 3: Ailments, Meal items, Habits
  • Week 4: Housework, Classroom language, Seasons
  • Week 5: Going on a date, Meetings, Money
  • Week 6: Foods, Shopping, Review

Complete Course

Designed for those looking to become functionally fluent. Learn listening, speaking, reading, writing and typing using a variety of topics.

There are 420 lessons included split across 7 levels of difficulty from beginner to intermediate.

Expect to spend 200+ hours to complete this course.
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