Learning Mandarin Chinese

I am a student of Mandarin Chinese.

I hypothesize that to foster U.S.-Chinese relations and to eliminate incidents of hate crimes against people of Chinese and Asian descent in the U.S., empathy, understanding, and communication are imperatives. We need to speak each other’s languages.

With others, I am writing a series of brief dialogues in simplified Chinese characters, pinyin, and English using words that may help foster mutual empathy and understanding. The series, entitled “Meaningful Words,” is here.

I wish to join a groundswell of U.S. adults learning Mandarin Chinese. Since time is of the essence, I seek accelerated, efficient acquisition of proficiency.

I am attempting to distill and synthesize the findings of research on adult language acquisition, brain science, and psychology to derive a systematic, research-informed protocol for adults to acquire proficiency in Mandarin Chinese efficiently.

After one year of studying Mandarin Chinese, I summarized my findings and experience here.

Based on my literature reviews on second language acquisition by adults, the online learning program that most aligns with these findings is Mandarin Blueprint. I elaborate here.

Here are YouTube videos of my progress:

I passed the HSK 1 and HSK 2 Mandarin Chinese proficiency exams (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì 汉语水平考试) on June 19, 2021.

I have drafted a proposal for an introduction to learning Mandarin Chinese for people aged 50 and over. I am a teacher of English for a small group of young students in China. We are using this curriculum.

I am tracking the evolution of my thinking in posts on my site. The posts are housed in this category.

If I can answer questions or be of service, please contact me.

Note: I am a student of Mandarin Chinese and also a mental health counselor, able to provide counseling services only to residents of Virginia, U.S.A. This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical or professional advice. Consult a qualified health care professional for personalized medical and professional advice.