I know, I know, I’m in Korea now! But after learning Chinese for so many years, having a passion for everything Chinese, and speaking it on a daily basis (I’ll let you guess about that one 
), it’s simply a part of me I can’t put behind.
Here is a page devoted to Chinese learning. I will put the links to useful online resources available to the laowais trying to learn this fascinating but very complicated language!!! If it makes you feel better, I read on Mandarin Pod that there are … tens of millions of people learning Chinese as a foreign language. So we are not alone in our struggle! I started learning that in 1999 and I have to admit, the last 5 years or so were really fruitful in new learning material. The podcast is by far the most significant change in language learning. And the fact that podcast are produced really fast guarantee the ‘freshness’ of the material, e.g. : new expressions and word uses. Also, podcasts tend to be produced by both foreigners learners and native speakers, so they really focus on learners’ needs and understand the logic of learning how to take a cab before learning how to talk about politics!
Podcasts
Chinese Pod: My favorite and the most useful language learning method I’ve been using for a long time. Daily podcasts used to be available for free, but I guess now the company shifted into profit making and now charges even for downloads. It remains however a decently priced option to learn real meaningful mandarin with modern tools! It is also one of the few options for advanced learners, as online ressources are scarce.
Popup Chinese is another option, more affordable than aforementioned Chinese Pod. It looks promising, I’m giving it a trial this week. They have material for HSK preparation, which is also hard to find online.
Mandarin Pod: Interesting podcasts geared towards the intermediate level students. Podcasts are delivered in Chinese, with an English translation of a few keywords. The transcripts are free but available in simplified characters only (run them through the Simplified-Traditional Character Converter). The topics are interesting and go beyond the food ordering/hotel booking/look at the Great Wall kind of lessons. I’m giving it a try and will come back with my opinion!
Chinese Learn Online: Podcasts with free pinyin transcripts, but you have to subscribe to get the Chinese transcripts. Listening is free, but subscriptions are more expensive than Chinese Pod. Looks promising! I’ll give it a try.
Online lessons
Chinese Tools: Haven’t tried this but for beginners, it looks like a reliable set of lessons for self-study.
BBC’s Real Chinese: A set of beginners’ lessons covering the basic topics needed to survive a trip to China! Includes pictures and cultural explanations in an interactive layout.
Dictonaries and resources
Yellow Bridge: Online dictionary, online Chinese classics, and a lot more to discover.
Zhongwen.com: Online dictionary, shows the etymology of every character. Also offers a lot of information on Chinese language and culture, and even some online reading. Interesting, well organized, a fun way to spend some time learning Mandarin!
HSK Flashcards : Flash cards and vocabulary lists for the HSK test, Practical Chinese Reader and other textbooks. Free and totally brilliant!
The Traditional to and from Simplified Converter: Great tool that does just what it say, and simplifies our lives! Easy to use and fast.
Traditional-Simplified Chinese Character Tutor: For those of us that learn Traditional but also want to be able to read Simplified one day, this is the one! I’m giving it a try and will come back for a review!
The Pinyin Tone Tool: Ok, you’re scratching your head asking: what’s that? Well, it’s an easy to use converter tool that lets you input pinyin with the tone number, and at the click of a button, will convert it into pinyin with the right accents. If you ever tried writing in pinyin, you will truly appreciate this tool!
Any suggestions from my dear readers??? You’re more than welcome to tell about your secret weapons for studying Chinese.
An interesting blog I found: Ancient Chinese Culture. Go have a look!
If you a) made it that far in the list, b) are interested in China in general, I recommend Foreigners in China, it’s like a China 101, but done smartly!
If you’re tired of looking like an idiot every time you go to a banquet and the karaoke machine pops out, because you don’t know the lyrics to popular Chinese songs, there is a cure: Chinese Tools Songs
