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Hacking Chinese: A Practical Guide to Learning Mandarin
Learning Chinese can be frustrating and difficult, partly because it's very different from European languages. Following a teacher, textbook or language course is not enough. They show you the characters, words and grammar you need to become proficient in Chinese, but they don't teach you how to learn them!
Regardless of what program you're in (if any), you need to take responsibility for your own learning. If you don't, you will miss many important things that aren't included in the course you're taking.
If you study on your own, you need to be even more aware of what you need to do, what you're doing at the moment and the difference between them.
Here are some of the questions I have asked and have since been asked many times by students:
How do I learn characters efficiently?
How do I get the most out of my course or teacher?
Which are the best learning tools and resources?
How can I become fluent in Mandarin?
How can I improve my pronunciation?
How do I learn successfully on my own?
How can I motivate myself to study more?
How can I fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule?
The answers I've found to these questions and many others form the core of this book. It took eight years of learning, researching, teaching and writing to figure these things out. Not everybody has the time to do that! I can't go back in time and help myself learn in a better way, but I can help you!
This book is meant for normal students and independent language learners alike. While it covers all major areas of learning, you won't learn Chinese just by reading this book. It's like when someone on TV teaches you how to cook: you won't get to eat the delicious dish just by watching the program; you have to do the cooking yourself.
That's true for this book as well. When you apply what you learn, it will boost your learning, making every hour you spend count for more, but you still have to do the learning yourself.
Regardless of what program you're in (if any), you need to take responsibility for your own learning. If you don't, you will miss many important things that aren't included in the course you're taking.
If you study on your own, you need to be even more aware of what you need to do, what you're doing at the moment and the difference between them.
Here are some of the questions I have asked and have since been asked many times by students:
How do I learn characters efficiently?
How do I get the most out of my course or teacher?
Which are the best learning tools and resources?
How can I become fluent in Mandarin?
How can I improve my pronunciation?
How do I learn successfully on my own?
How can I motivate myself to study more?
How can I fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule?
The answers I've found to these questions and many others form the core of this book. It took eight years of learning, researching, teaching and writing to figure these things out. Not everybody has the time to do that! I can't go back in time and help myself learn in a better way, but I can help you!
This book is meant for normal students and independent language learners alike. While it covers all major areas of learning, you won't learn Chinese just by reading this book. It's like when someone on TV teaches you how to cook: you won't get to eat the delicious dish just by watching the program; you have to do the cooking yourself.
That's true for this book as well. When you apply what you learn, it will boost your learning, making every hour you spend count for more, but you still have to do the learning yourself.
- GenresChinaLanguageNonfiction
174 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 29, 2016
26 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 14, 2016
TL;DR; This is a good practical guide for learning Chinese. No matter what level you are at it has actionable advice, and links to good resources.
Long Review.
Between being an upper intermediate level speaker, and being a long time reader of his website, I did not think this book would have a lot of actionable advice for me, I bought it more as a show of support. I was dead wrong. There were many activities, and recourse that were completely new to me, and several that are helping me right now at my current level.
One thing I think that he does right, is address some of the big picture questions first, and then dives down into the subject matter tackling it one part a time. To many books and courses either focus completely on the method, or never get specific.
While he did the traditional bottom up view ( characters, words, and grammar), he also tackled studying in some other ways. For example, it is rarity to see a language book separate out all of the big 4 ( reading, writing, listening, and speaking) and really look deep at how to improve each one individually. This is where I really benefited from this book. I gained insights into how to better measure my abilities, and learned about new drills and resources to improve them.
Overall it was a good book. The only negative were from the writing style. These negatives are just my personal preference. The author can't please everyone.
The first was that he over used the statement "We will cover X later". You could find that many times in all the chapters but the last one, and in it there was the reverse of "We covered Y back in chapter Z."
The second was that he wrote somewhat like he does in his blog. Defensive. I understand it, and am ok with it in the blogs, but this is a book. There is no comment section here. Blog authors are always quantifying their statements, and adding in the exceptions, just in case. Very few are bold and direct, and don't worry about the overly vocal 1% that are going to get bent out of shape no matter what.
In conclusion if I know someone who wants to get serious about learning Chinese, I would recommend this book to them.
Long Review.
Between being an upper intermediate level speaker, and being a long time reader of his website, I did not think this book would have a lot of actionable advice for me, I bought it more as a show of support. I was dead wrong. There were many activities, and recourse that were completely new to me, and several that are helping me right now at my current level.
One thing I think that he does right, is address some of the big picture questions first, and then dives down into the subject matter tackling it one part a time. To many books and courses either focus completely on the method, or never get specific.
While he did the traditional bottom up view ( characters, words, and grammar), he also tackled studying in some other ways. For example, it is rarity to see a language book separate out all of the big 4 ( reading, writing, listening, and speaking) and really look deep at how to improve each one individually. This is where I really benefited from this book. I gained insights into how to better measure my abilities, and learned about new drills and resources to improve them.
Overall it was a good book. The only negative were from the writing style. These negatives are just my personal preference. The author can't please everyone.
The first was that he over used the statement "We will cover X later". You could find that many times in all the chapters but the last one, and in it there was the reverse of "We covered Y back in chapter Z."
The second was that he wrote somewhat like he does in his blog. Defensive. I understand it, and am ok with it in the blogs, but this is a book. There is no comment section here. Blog authors are always quantifying their statements, and adding in the exceptions, just in case. Very few are bold and direct, and don't worry about the overly vocal 1% that are going to get bent out of shape no matter what.
In conclusion if I know someone who wants to get serious about learning Chinese, I would recommend this book to them.
May 3, 2016
What wonderfully beneficial advice would you offer your younger self? Perhaps in lieu of his younger self, Olle offers this gift of sage study advice hard won through many years of teaching Chinese. Hacking Chinese is filled with practical study help true of learning any skill or subject. I now embark onwards with a renewed patience for learning and it's distinct facets; all which will need attention, cultivation and next steps. Your next step is to read this book.
July 1, 2016
I feel like I've worked pretty hard on my Chinese so far, but this book has given me so many more ideas of how I can work BETTER. I just wish I had read this book at the BEGINNING of my studies, rather than almost four years later. No point crying over spilled milk...just have to the best I can with what I know now. And a lot of that comes from this excellent book. If you're learning Chinese, READ THIS BOOKǃ
June 3, 2024
This book is about how to learn chinese in the most effective way. The author is Swede who is not a language genius, and he had a hard time learning languanges in school.
Actually before reading the book, I already know and implement a lot of this book trying to say, such like how memory work, how to improve listening, etc. But given so many resources mentioned in this book, it enriches my knowledge and improves my way of learning to be even more effective now. One of important thing said is the importance of inputs. I just understand why my chinese is not as fluent as i'd like to be. It turns out that I still lack a lot of inputs. So i must spend more time to have a lot of inputs. The good news is i can increase these inputs without having to set aside dedicated free time, but rather by taking my regular hours to do a lot of passive inputs.
For me, the most importance share in this book is the tips how to learn and remember chinese characters more effectively, by not remembering it as a whole but remembering it on its each components. I practically do that now and it worked.
For those who still new to learning language and still don't have much progress learning it, i actually recommend you to read this book. I'm sure it will help a lot
Actually before reading the book, I already know and implement a lot of this book trying to say, such like how memory work, how to improve listening, etc. But given so many resources mentioned in this book, it enriches my knowledge and improves my way of learning to be even more effective now. One of important thing said is the importance of inputs. I just understand why my chinese is not as fluent as i'd like to be. It turns out that I still lack a lot of inputs. So i must spend more time to have a lot of inputs. The good news is i can increase these inputs without having to set aside dedicated free time, but rather by taking my regular hours to do a lot of passive inputs.
For me, the most importance share in this book is the tips how to learn and remember chinese characters more effectively, by not remembering it as a whole but remembering it on its each components. I practically do that now and it worked.
For those who still new to learning language and still don't have much progress learning it, i actually recommend you to read this book. I'm sure it will help a lot
February 23, 2023
It's hard to rate this because I think that how much you get out if it will depend on pre-existing factors. It's book that would be good for people taking language learning seriously for the first time, however it doesn't have enough Chinese-specific "hacks" that make it worth it if you already know the general theory. It does have a lot of list of references, however some are outdated and don't exist anymore, and a lot of them you can find easily without using this book.
Overall if it's your first time studying a language outside of the public school system, or you're really struggling with where to start, it will most likely be a good help. But otherwise you probably won't find enough here to make it worth it.
Overall if it's your first time studying a language outside of the public school system, or you're really struggling with where to start, it will most likely be a good help. But otherwise you probably won't find enough here to make it worth it.
January 1, 2019
An all-in-one guide to language learning
Though focused on Chinese, this book holds great advice for all language learners. I really enjoy the author’s tone and approach. I’m just getting started with learning Mandarin, but have come back to this book again and again for advice about where to most effectively invest my time and energy. Truly valuable!
Though focused on Chinese, this book holds great advice for all language learners. I really enjoy the author’s tone and approach. I’m just getting started with learning Mandarin, but have come back to this book again and again for advice about where to most effectively invest my time and energy. Truly valuable!
April 14, 2020
I found this a fun read. I appreciate how the book is laid out, and how there's lots of nice actionable ideas. I also appreciate that Olle writes pretty well, considering English is not his native language. There are tiny signs of this ("Chines"), but overall it's pretty good.
October 7, 2022
excellent and thought provoking
excellent and thought provoking and helpful as can be. It definitely will help me learn Chinese since the advise is good, practical and pulls no punches. The website is also excellent.
excellent and thought provoking and helpful as can be. It definitely will help me learn Chinese since the advise is good, practical and pulls no punches. The website is also excellent.
October 18, 2020
Some solid advice on learning Chinese. I especially enjoyed the parts where he dedicates himself to the specifics and peculiarities of the language.
February 9, 2023
Mostly theory on how to learn chinese better not a tips or tricks (or shortcut) to learn the language.
February 21, 2023
Good for any language learning
October 11, 2019
The claims around this book were a little stronger than what it actually satisfies. There are a few sections of useful, self-contained advice, but a lot of the book feels like blog articles with links to the real resources or upsells, which I guess is what it's derived from. That's not so bad, but I would have just read the blog archives if the book had been pitched to me more honestly.
Someone who has never read a book about self-directed language learning and who only wants to learn Chinese could benefit a lot from this book; anyone who's read similar, general books (Fluent in Three Months comes to mind, but also Polyglot, and others) will be familiar with all the general ideas.
Someone who has never read a book about self-directed language learning and who only wants to learn Chinese could benefit a lot from this book; anyone who's read similar, general books (Fluent in Three Months comes to mind, but also Polyglot, and others) will be familiar with all the general ideas.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews