Keeping Up Your Chinese
Keeping Up Your Chinese: Online Resources and Classes in New York City
From The American Mandarin Society (May 9, 2014; Issue No. 8):
Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, gave an excellent lecture this week entitled "After the Homework Stops: Retaining Mandarin Proficiency Throughout a Career." ...A couple of the key takeaways were (a) it is not really possible to simply maintain your Chinese; you either work to improve it or you progressively lose it. There is no treading water. And (b) the importance and utility of vocab lists. Keep a list of words and phrases (and sentences!) that you come across and review it each day. Reviewing can happen in all those little dead spots in your day...and work on saying the phrases out loud. Saying them in your head is a surefire way to keep them passive instead of active.
What to do once you return from China? New York's Chinatown and Flushing neighborhoods present a few opportunities to practice Mandarin, but the vocab will most likely be dumpling-centric. To keep up with your Mandarin, you might want to take a class, join a club, or attend some events.
Some of the below I have participated in, and some of these I have not; some are New York based, some are not. So, while I cannot personally vouch for all of these resources, here are a few opportunities around the city that don't cost much (or anything at all):
From The American Mandarin Society (May 9, 2014; Issue No. 8):
Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, gave an excellent lecture this week entitled "After the Homework Stops: Retaining Mandarin Proficiency Throughout a Career." ...A couple of the key takeaways were (a) it is not really possible to simply maintain your Chinese; you either work to improve it or you progressively lose it. There is no treading water. And (b) the importance and utility of vocab lists. Keep a list of words and phrases (and sentences!) that you come across and review it each day. Reviewing can happen in all those little dead spots in your day...and work on saying the phrases out loud. Saying them in your head is a surefire way to keep them passive instead of active.
What to do once you return from China? New York's Chinatown and Flushing neighborhoods present a few opportunities to practice Mandarin, but the vocab will most likely be dumpling-centric. To keep up with your Mandarin, you might want to take a class, join a club, or attend some events.
Some of the below I have participated in, and some of these I have not; some are New York based, some are not. So, while I cannot personally vouch for all of these resources, here are a few opportunities around the city that don't cost much (or anything at all):
($$) ABC Languages - 146 West 29th Street, Suite 6E
This company offers a multitude of language classes: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and the list goes on. They're located not just in NYC but also San Francisco, Menlo Park, Westchester, and Fairfield.
American Mandarin Society
Supporting the development of the future stewards of U.S.-China relations
($$) Hills Learning - 380 Lexington Avenue – 17th Floor
Project Pengyou
Project Pengyou is a global community of 4394 people and 317 groups with firsthand China experience.
Dictionaries
Classical Chinese dictionary
Digital Resources for Sinologists
Other
While these didn't make the "formal" list, I wanted to provide a few other hyperlinks (honorable mentions) that I've bookmarked through the ages:
American Mandarin Society
Supporting the development of the future stewards of U.S.-China relations
The American Mandarin Society posts various events you can attend in many different locations. They also have a section of the website dedicated to language learning resources.
April 5, 2016: new China Syllabi Project, designed to help expand your knowledge of China beyond your current areas of expertise. Check out our annotated, bilingual syllabi (with vocab lists) on Chinese politics, the environment, economics, military, and more
April 5, 2016: new China Syllabi Project, designed to help expand your knowledge of China beyond your current areas of expertise. Check out our annotated, bilingual syllabi (with vocab lists) on Chinese politics, the environment, economics, military, and more
Asian Language Exchange & Social Network (ALESN) - 100 Hester Street, New York, NY 10002
Volunteer-run program that is focused on teaching Chinese and other Asian languages.
ALESN has FREE language (Mandarin, Japanese, Cantonese, and others) and culture classes you can take at the local middle school on Hester Street between Eldridge St. and Forsyth St. I personally have dropped by a few Mandarin sessions myself, and they're a fantastic and informal way of keeping up to speed or even learning something new. Unfortunately, they don't have high-level courses, but you still can't beat free. Added bonus: it's right around the corner from Prosperity Dumpling, so treat yourself once you've learned some new vocab.
Asia Society - 725 Park Ave, New York, NY 10021
Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.
The Asia Society, a formidable institution originally founded by John D. Rockefeller the 3rd, hosts outstanding events on topics that touch upon all Asian regions. They've also recently created a new Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) headed by former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.
The British Broadcasting Corporation has a page dedicated to learning Chinese, which includes free lessons, pronunciation guides, phrases and more. BBC also has a Podcast of 20th Century China, which is all in Mandarin.
Cbox
American Mandarin Society: Cbox is a free mobile app that gives you access to live streams of over 40 Chinese television channels. You can watch all CCTV channels and satellite channels (卫视) right on your Android or Apple mobile device. This is a great way to keep yourself immersed in Chinese throughout the week while practicing your listening skills. You can download the app on the CNTV website here. Once you have downloaded the app, select "直播" to browse through channels.
Cbox
American Mandarin Society: Cbox is a free mobile app that gives you access to live streams of over 40 Chinese television channels. You can watch all CCTV channels and satellite channels (卫视) right on your Android or Apple mobile device. This is a great way to keep yourself immersed in Chinese throughout the week while practicing your listening skills. You can download the app on the CNTV website here. Once you have downloaded the app, select "直播" to browse through channels.
Believe it or not, the PRC's own CCT (China Central Television) website has a great Learn Chinese page. It's all about Soft Power, baby.
The state-owned international radio broadcaster website is not a bad resource, which hosts myriad videos and auditory clips for your self-learning pleasure. They also have a podcast, Speak Chinese 口语角, which has 3-4 minute clips on various Chinese words and phrases. Consider it a portion-controlled way to digest your Mandarin learning.
New York City's Chinatown is famous for its food and its fakes (handbags? watches?). The dumplings you can eat and Karaoke you can sing elicit strong memories of living in China (minus the smog). Events such as the Chinese New Year parade and Mid Autumn Festival activities can help keep you connected to Chinese culture. Visit their website to learn more about the food, culture, and activities you can experience around town; they even have a section on schools for educational information.
Chinese Text Project
The Chinese Text Project is an online open-access digital library that makes pre-modern Chinese texts available to readers and researchers all around the world. The site attempts to make use of the digital medium to explore new ways of interacting with these texts that are not possible in print. With over ten thousand titles and more than one billion characters, the Chinese Text Project is also one of the largest databases of pre-modern Chinese texts in existence.
Chinese Text Project
The Chinese Text Project is an online open-access digital library that makes pre-modern Chinese texts available to readers and researchers all around the world. The site attempts to make use of the digital medium to explore new ways of interacting with these texts that are not possible in print. With over ten thousand titles and more than one billion characters, the Chinese Text Project is also one of the largest databases of pre-modern Chinese texts in existence.
China Institute -125 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065
China Institute advances a deeper understanding of China through programs in education, culture, business and art in the belief that cross-cultural understanding strengthens our global community.
In addition to the events they post online, the China Institute also offers Mandarin courses for both adults and children.
CourseHorse
CourseHorse centralizes and curates learning opportunities, to increase ease and confidence in discovering your path to personal enrichment. We map the most meaningful mix of courses and classes for people who want to enrich their lives and never stop discovering.
CourseHorse
CourseHorse centralizes and curates learning opportunities, to increase ease and confidence in discovering your path to personal enrichment. We map the most meaningful mix of courses and classes for people who want to enrich their lives and never stop discovering.
In New York, Chicago, and LA, CourseHourse aggregates local classes for both professional advancement as well as fun and personal learning. Check out their language section--Mandarin and many others included--to find opportunities in the city and receive emails for when courses in your desired subject become available.
Lang8
From American Mandarin Society: Lang-8 is less chat-oriented and more focused on composition. You can post journal entries or essays and native speakers will edit your drafts. Another great way to improve your writing skills is to translate English texts into Chinese. Choose a topic that you are interested in and find a relevant English article. After translating it into Chinese, you can use Lang-8 to receive feedback and corrections. Lang-8 is a great tool to help improve your formal writing skills and is very useful for anyone interested in writing in Chinese.
Lang8
From American Mandarin Society: Lang-8 is less chat-oriented and more focused on composition. You can post journal entries or essays and native speakers will edit your drafts. Another great way to improve your writing skills is to translate English texts into Chinese. Choose a topic that you are interested in and find a relevant English article. After translating it into Chinese, you can use Lang-8 to receive feedback and corrections. Lang-8 is a great tool to help improve your formal writing skills and is very useful for anyone interested in writing in Chinese.
From American Mandarin Society: The Marco Polo Project is a great organization whose website compiles Chinese articles and allows members to compose and edit English translations. Articles can be searched according to difficulty so you can find the articles most suitable for your Chinese level.
Online Courses
MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are trending now as the "education of the future". With an online course you can study where, how, and when you want--often at a reduced rate or even free of charge. While MOOCs mirror other higher-educational institutions in the diversity of classes offered (often because they are often aggregators of content produced by colleges and universities), with a simple search function you can find your own selection of Mandarin classes. There are many websites to peruse, a few of which include:
Online Courses
MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are trending now as the "education of the future". With an online course you can study where, how, and when you want--often at a reduced rate or even free of charge. While MOOCs mirror other higher-educational institutions in the diversity of classes offered (often because they are often aggregators of content produced by colleges and universities), with a simple search function you can find your own selection of Mandarin classes. There are many websites to peruse, a few of which include:
($$) Hills Learning - 380 Lexington Avenue – 17th Floor
Highly Interactive Language Learning Services
Hills Learning, located at Grand Central, offers Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, and Thai courses for a spectrum of learners.
italki
American Mandarin Society: Find language partners and practice your language skills. There are many Chinese native speakers on italki and many are willing to speak to you over Skype to help you practice your Chinese. An additional benefit is that you can search for informal or professional tutors to give you lessons. If you are willing to pay extra for tutoring, you can easily find a professional tutor to give you classes for under 10 dollars an hour.
italki
American Mandarin Society: Find language partners and practice your language skills. There are many Chinese native speakers on italki and many are willing to speak to you over Skype to help you practice your Chinese. An additional benefit is that you can search for informal or professional tutors to give you lessons. If you are willing to pay extra for tutoring, you can easily find a professional tutor to give you classes for under 10 dollars an hour.
Where learning Mandarin Chinese is made easy.
The New York Chinese Language Center offers beginners, intermediate, and corporate language classes. Their website also includes a resources page to help you learn more about vocab, culture, and tourism.
($$) New York University
NYU offers Mandarin classes at their school of Continuing Professional Studies. Since they're non-credit courses, you don't have to apply or register to be a student at NYU; you just have to sign up for a class. They also offer a non-credit Certificate in Foreign Language in Mandarin.
Jessica, or BaiJie, helps Chinese to learn English as well as English speakers to learn Chinese. OMG MeiYu teaches Mandarin native speakers to throw around some English slang, while Jessica's newer site, Crazy Fresh Chinese, teaches English speakers some colloquial Mandarin. You can also follow OMG MeiYu and Crazy Fresh Chinese on Twitter (and pretty much every other American and Chinese social media site). *Extra props to Jessica for being a graduate of Middlebury's Chinese Summer School program.
Project Pengyou
Project Pengyou is a global community of 4394 people and 317 groups with firsthand China experience.
Like the Facebook that connects foreigners returning from the Middle Kingdom, Project Pengyou is a social media site trying to foster bilateral ties and connections based on shared experiences. They post events and jobs, too.
Popup Chinese
I personally use Popup Chinese regularly, often listening to the (produced from the Pop-Up Chinese studio in Beijing) on my lengthy subway commutes. The podcast has beginner, intermediate, and advanced language podcasts in addition to the current events related podcast presented in English. The website, a resource in its own right, has a killer annotation/translation tool that made my beginner language courses back in college just a bit more manageable.
Slow Chinese 慢速中文 (Podcast)
Bite-sized Mandarin clips that play v-e-r-y slowly, so you don't miss any language learning opportunities.
Popup Chinese
I personally use Popup Chinese regularly, often listening to the (produced from the Pop-Up Chinese studio in Beijing) on my lengthy subway commutes. The podcast has beginner, intermediate, and advanced language podcasts in addition to the current events related podcast presented in English. The website, a resource in its own right, has a killer annotation/translation tool that made my beginner language courses back in college just a bit more manageable.
Slow Chinese 慢速中文 (Podcast)
Bite-sized Mandarin clips that play v-e-r-y slowly, so you don't miss any language learning opportunities.
Dictionaries
Classical Chinese dictionary
Digital Resources for Sinologists
Other
While these didn't make the "formal" list, I wanted to provide a few other hyperlinks (honorable mentions) that I've bookmarked through the ages:
- Chinese Music Radio on Tunein
- Free Chinese Lessons
- HSK Flashcards
- New York Times in Chinese
- Phonemica - Linguistic map of China with Mandarin and other dialects. Good listening practice as it has pinyin and so you can follow along with the native speakers and differences from city to city.
I'm sure that for every resource or website I could think to post there are five more out there I haven't even come across yet. Please take the above to be a starter list (not an exhaustive one), and send me anything good I may have missed--I'm still learning, too.
Chinese Cultural Resources
Chinese Cultural Resources
- China in Africa Podcast
- China History Podcast
- McKinsey on Greater China Podcast
- Sinocism (Bill Bishop)
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