Ask Benny: New "Language Hacking Mandarin" Book Release

02/02/22 • 9 min

This week Benny talks about his experience with Mandarin, and why it doesn't deserve its reputation of being a difficult language for native English speakers to learn. He explains that if you focus on speaking, and leave the Chinese characters to one side, there are actually a lot of things that make Mandarin less complicated than many other languages.

Benny discusses learning and teaching Mandarin with Northwestern University professor, Dr. LiCheng Gu in more detail in episode 85. Benny, Shannon Kennedy, and Dr Gu worked together to write the new "Language Hacking Mandarin" book, which is a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to make quick and effective progress speaking Chinese.

You can get a copy of "Language Hacking Mandarin" here.

To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email [email protected]

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You can get a copy of "Language Hacking Mandarin" here.

To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email [email protected]

Join Our Patreon

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives.

Previous Episode

#84 Dr. Gu on Co-Writing ‘Language Hacking Mandarin’

Northwestern University Professor and author, Dr. LiCheng Gu, has a conversation with Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy about co-authoring Language Hacking Mandarin, how language education has changed over the last 30 years, and why Chinese is easier than you think.

Language Hacking Mandarin is available now. You can order it from your preferred retailer, online or in stores.

Featured Resources

Language Hacking Mandarin

Mentioned in this Episode

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

Teaching foreign languages at the university level
How language education has changed over the last 30 years
Learning Chinese characters
Why Chinese is easier than you think
Common challenges Chinese learners face and how to overcome them
Creating language courses and books
Working on the Language Hacking Mandarin book, and how its approach to language teaching is vastly different from traditional language learning
The conversational approach to language learning and how it “sits” in academia
Advice for getting started with Chinese
Using pinyin when learning Chinese
How languages are taught and learned in China versus the US

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Join Our Patreon

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives.

Next Episode

#85 Alicya on Wine Tasting to Learn French

Writer and long-term expat, Alicya, speaks with Benny and Elizabeth about learning French through the lens of another passion - wine tasting.

This episode features Alicya, who made significant progress with her French speaking ability in just 90 days with the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge.

We actually guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning. You can find out more here.

Featured Resources

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge

Mentioned in this Episode

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

Arriving in France with zero French
Why the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge is so good, even for a shy or introverted person
What it’s like living in France as an American
Why Alicya had a harder time with French than Spanish and Italian
How to make the most of a language exchange opportunity
Raising a bilingual child
Learning to read, and reading to learn
Wine as a gateway to learning about French culture and history
Developing a French “wine language island”
Learning to do things using your target language
How to tackle a polyglot Challenge

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Join Our Patreon

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives.