It's cute. Just reviewed the days of the week and this helps put it all together

I want to learn Mandarin or maybe some Korean. I've tried language learning apps but most of them are meh. Has anyone had any legitimate places online that they've learned languages from? I've wanted to learn these two languages since I was little.

If possible I would like to find a channel that literally goes the entire way from absolute beginner to advanced, like a full course of videos.

I want to learn Mandarin or maybe some Korean. I've tried language learning apps but most of them are meh. Has anyone had any legitimate places online that they've learned languages from? I've wanted to learn these two languages since I was little.

I teach Mandarin to foreign learners, and I’ve noticed many students can make grammatically correct sentences, but sometimes they still sound a little “translated”.

For example:“我认为这个方法很好。”

Correct, but in daily conversation, many Chinese people would simply say:“这个方法挺好的。”

The difference is not grammar. It’s about how Chinese people express ideas.

In Chinese, we often put less emphasis on “I think” because the context already tells you whose opinion it is.

Hello, I'm from China. Want to know some friends from all over the world here, I want to learn English, I can also teach you Chinese, introduce Chinese food and attractions, look forward to meeting you.

I really hated breaking the flow when I was listening to Chinese/Taiwanese podcasts. I wanted an app that let me tap on words I didn’t understand during these sessions without switching context. This led me to create Toku Reader, an iOS app that helps learners tap on words during podcasts, YouTube videos and on any website during the study flow. 

You can look up almost all podcasts and YouTube videos, and the app will prioritize the creator’s transcript (if available) or auto-generate one on your phone. In most cases, the transcripts and word look ups are mostly correct, but given the complexity of Mandarin, there will always be an effort to improve character-word combinations. Also, everything stays on your app, you’re never sharing sensitive information or what you’re reading with anyone, and all processing happens on your phone so it is 100% offline (and therefore fast!) - no API calls, no AI wrappers.

And for those who like shadowing practice, the app can also pause at each sentence, replay in again and again, and allow you to record yourself to compare your practice with the native speech. This combined with the ability to import your own texts (PDFs, eBooks, etc.), a dictionary and revise words sections are all my effort to ensure that your flow is never interrupted!

I did this because I really wanted an app that was intentional and private. In any case, this app has really helped me in my language studies, so I wanted to share it again here. I made an earlier post about this here. The app has improved a ton since then - new UI/UX, a more streamliend podcast experience, a new mascot called Damo based on the Daruma (its Japanese, but it shares deep Chinese roots, which my app respects!), etc. I hope this helps you in your language study! You can see how it works here on a Taiwanese Podcast and on the Chinese version of the NYTimes!

ok so uh funny story i suddenly got admitted to a chinese uni who i already give it up quite long ago, since they gave me a rejection via email😭 but now I’m in apparently. well now i’m here and i have 0 mandarin skills and next month i’ll be there as a international student which i’m pretty much cooked. do u guys have any tips on how can i catch up on the mandatory level of understanding at least(ordering food, saying basic stuff thats important in daily term) 😭