How to Learn Fluent Chinese (Exact Plan for Part-Time Study)

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❤️ In this highly requested video I'll share my exact learning plan and top tips for self-studying Chinese in limited time. I'm currently in my final year studying medicine at Cambridge, and so don't have as much spare time as I'd like to dedicate to learning Mandarin. This means that I have to be very efficient with my Mandarin learning time - and so here are my top tips on how to learn Chinese effectively by yourself for free and on a part-time basis. Hope this helps! :)

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» Timestamps ⏱️
00:00 Learning Mandarin Chinese
01:35 Defining Goals and Motivation
02:20 Strategic Prioritisation
04:02 Spreadsheet Planning
04:30 Vocab and Grammar Learning Structure
05:00 Vocab and Grammar Learning Resources
06:30 How to improve Speaking
08:34 Comprehensible Input & Listening
12:27 My Excel Master Plan

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Sub count: 2,493
P.S. some of the links in this description are affiliate links that help support the channel at no extra cost to you. Thank you for the support! :)

[ruriohama]

I was scrolling on Youtube and thought, who is this cute/beautiful girl 💁🏻‍♀️

[cbosotc]

As a native Chinese speaker, I would say your Chinese is perfect.You've done a great job！And as a English learner I know how hard it is to master a second language.

[Waverlyduli]

I only just discovered Izzy on YouTube. Such a bright, articulate useful person for anyone wishing to work hard on their Mandarin. She has a very reflective take on personal study program planning and really practical tips on resources and methodology. Good on you Izzy.

[boris]

As a Chineses, I think I am qualified to say that your mandarin is almost perfect, especially having studied for only a year or so, you have mastered the accent and pronouncing the tones correctly! Congratulations !

[jamiehush]

From my experience, as someone who put off writing for two years, I recommend everyone bite the bullet and learn it. I downloaded Skritter and got the basics of writing down after 15-30 minutes a day for two months. At the same time, I started writing the answers down in my textbook, which was PAINFULLY slow at first (like one minute per character).

It helped me notice ordinary radicals in characters a lot better. Also, looking up symbols in pleco when you’re out and about my writing is faster than scanning with Google Translate.

There’s no shortcuts. But being able to crack jokes with people in Taiwan in Chinese and talk to my girlfriend’s parents for 10 minutes makes it all worth it.

[ericchen]

This is a great language learning guide, Izzy. I've been neglecting learning Chinese because of school and this is a good reminder for me.

[jacktsaibr]

Thank you for this video. As a Chinese descendant born and raised in the West, Chinese was my family language but I've left it aside for so many years I can't even read it well anymore. Your video felt like a call to me, showing me the legacy I've thrown away while you treasure it and turn it to something beautiful. I'll rescue it starting today on. Thanks for the inspiration. See you on the other side.

[sadface]

I will say, that learning stroke order is very useful for learning the basic Chinese characters. You don’t need to know it for every character, but I found it super helpful for remembering characters. You can remember them by stroke order, as well as pictographically, and phonetically.

[goober]

this is so helpful. having structure when learning languages is so key, thank you for plugging the resources that helped you

[eoghancasserly]

I've just started learning Chinese and I'm so happy to have stumbled on your amazing channel with a budget friendly and researched approach! I can already tell how much your videos and advice will help me

[masterhide]

Wow you're so inspirational. I'm struggling balancing a fulltime job, an online store, and basic stuff like home maintenance, pet care, laundry, etc. The fact that you're a full time student and still making youtube videos is very motivational. Thank you!

[victoriayuart]

Thank you so much for sharing your learning process of learning a new language! Mandarine is hard, mostly the reading and writing part! I'm willing to try out and build a spread sheet of my own to learn Japanese and also to brush up my Chinese too! Mostly the reading and writing part! Keep up the amazing work Izzy! Really love what you do and you're such an amazing inspiration! Thank you for sharing what you love! Looking forward to more new tips and advice on how to learn and improve language learning and never stop learning and improve ourselves!

[billwu]

So refreshing to hear about your language learning approach from someone who isn't trying to be a polyglot; those channels get very old very fast. This has been helpful even though I'm trying to learn other languages, thanks!

[tranceleo]

Native Chinese speaker here~ From my experience of learning english. It''s very important to listen more(If you only have time to learn it in extra free time). We had english lessons at school so after mastering the basic pronouciation, words and grammar, I started to listen to podcasts 4 years ago and keep doing that until now(After work/study, around 10-20min before sleep). It's kind of like a natural leraning process. At first, I struggle to understand each words in sentences but I find myself gradually cultivating a sense of this language and can guess the word after hearing words before it. And sometimes I don't know a word but I know its pronouciation and can guess its meaning so I try to type it in dictionary to see whether I'm right or not. I also find myself spearking more fluently~ I learn new words from podcasts or videos and I will do some readings(most efficent way to increase voca) before my lunch breark. Now I can understand most of what you say without the subtitle(You speak quite clear!!) and I'm still using this way to improve my english(Listening more plus reading sometimes). I think this approach can apply to every language(e.g. I like watching korean dramas and suprisingly find myself have cultivated a sense of korean).

[Epicer]

So much value in this video. Thank you for sharing!! Love the intent and thoughtfulness behind your learning journey, will definitely be incorporating that in my own.

[adinejabinez]

Wow! I used to self-study Chinese before, but I stopped when our classes started. Thank you for this, you are such an inspiration to do so:)

[jisooya]

So happy to find your channel, you are amazing. I was feeling bit stuck learning chinese at HSK 3 and it was getting really hard but with your tips, I'm happy to continue the journey again. 谢谢您 🙏

[kittensmitten]

Started learning Chinese in 2020 during the pandemic. I was studying for about 8 months until I completely fell off. Haven't fully studied since 2021. I'm just getting back into it and am looking for motivation to stay more dedicated again. Good luck guys

[paullee]

I’m all for learning anything new in this life. Way to go Izzy.

[anyaliu]

Your videos make me feel calm and peaceful, I love your tone.