#study instagram
happy friday everyone
more study and inspiring content on my instagram account if you need daily motivation: @thomreads on ig
today’s keywords: motivation, organisation, kindness
more study and inspiring content on my instagram account if you need daily motivation: @thomreads on ig
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why is it both important and crucial to have a great mindset on mondays?
mondays are the start of a new week, aka your chance to have a new beginning and by having a great mindset it will automatically influence how your week will go
get rid of all the negativity, start your mondays with achievable goals and listen to yourself
clean and organized everything that will kill your productivity or your will/envy to work and be happy. being in peace with yourself is one thing but being in an environment that brings peace to you is another thing
read, watch, listen, or do anything that will inspire your day, motivate you and show you that you can choose to change for the better and use that week to start the actual change
kindness is what will bring you good and good only. everybody knows karma is a b****, so do good, be good and it will come back to you one day
more study and inspiring content on my instagram account if you need daily motivation: @thomreads on ig
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writing, planning and studying aka the only things i have been doing lately | instagram account: @thomreads (feel free to follow)
29.07.2019 | Today I dated my boyfriend to a bookstore on my town blocks, we bought a lot of law books for preposterous prices and we were walking the rest of the day by the little pits, talking, taking pictures. It was a very relaxing and quiet day, to make up for the madness that’s gonna be my semester from Wednesday.
as much as i am taking each day as it comes, i’m thoroughly enjoying all of the reading i’ve been able to do with more time off :-)
When studying a language, I truly think if you want to improve your everyday listening and speaking, watching youtubers/content creators is invaluable.
BTW, you can also find me on HelloTalk (@a_lucie_58910) or instagram (@luc_9999)
Why use Youtubers to study Chinese?
1. They are not creating content specifically for learners of the language, hence they will use the most natural, native language (including chengyus etc.)
2. They chengyus they use will be ones that people use in real life (as opposed to a study resource that attempts to teach you chengyus, its not necessarily a bad thing, you should learn chengyus, but how do you know if they are ones that are commonly used spoken? If you here somebody using it in natural speech you will inevitably know it is one used in every speech. Therefore, you should make note of learning such chengyus. This also applies for grammar patterns and phrases as well. Basically, you wont sound like you learned from a textbook if you learn from native speakers in natural settings
3. The content is interesting. I love lifestyle bloggers, from telling you about a life story to helping their listeners by giving the advice, there is a lot of lengthy content to help you with your listening.
Below are 3 of my favourite Up主 because;
1. A lot of the content is in a simple, natural, chatting to the camera sort of format (just like a friend would chat with you)
2. They use chengyus in a natural way
3. They stories are interesting and relatable (i.e. I am a woman in my mid-20s to 30s as these content creators are. So the content is of interest to me. I am sorry I am unable to share content that is male-oriented. There should be an abundance on Bilibili/YT for you to find if lifestyle isn’t your interest.
1. MsLindaY
I have followed Linda since about 2016 actually, at the time I didn’t understand her videos, even after repeatedly watching them. I would download the audios onto my phone and listen on repeat. It definitely helped and now I can watch the videos, understanding the majority of content. She uses chengyus in a natural way and I have learnt many from her channel. I am eternally grateful for her content actually and have kept meaning to send her an email to thank her for these years of helping me in my Chinese learning journey!
She has a Linda讲故事 series and they are all about 40+ minutes long, GREAT LISTENING MATERIAL! as well us chatty GRWM videos etc. and she has videos that present American culture to her viewers (she lived in the US from her late teens if I do believe).
2. Tracey Chang 翠西
Tracey was a TV host on various Chinese news channels and is bilingual (she grew up in US but is from Beijing). She scatters English in her videos (but not in the annoying way that I see some uploaders… I don’t know why, it grates on me hahaha, but anyway :P)
Her videos are also about chatty GRWMs, videos talking about a certain topic (such as her employment history or what its like to work on Wall Street, or her and her husband’s LDR story). She has just given birth so recently has many videos related to pregnancy and being a mum also!
For me Tracey is very inspiring because she not only creates interesting content, she is bilingual and she is very interested in current affairs and business, she epitomises the ‘working woman’ it shows through her videos.
3. 维多 Vittos
Vittos is a blogger that posts her content mainly on bilibili, she has many long videos that talk about topics related to being a better person, self-care from within and loving yourself etc. to be totally honest, I’m not sure its the sort of content I’d watch in English, but in Chinese its great as, again, its natural language and not too difficult, just like a friend chatting with you. Videos are often up to 20 to 30 minutes long.
The below video is her recounting her study abroad experience in Italy (she speaks Italian!)
(click on the link to go to bilibli below)
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av77109513?t=2120
What are some of your favourite creators? I’d love to know for even more inspiration. Please share so we can learn and improve together :)
Here are recent podcasts I have discovered that I think are suitable for intermediate learners. They are 100% or 99% in Chinese and are suitable to listen when you are on the bus, cleaning your room or eating your dinner (basically, great for studying in that ‘fragmented time’)
Additionally, if you find the RSS code for each podcast you can add it into the Feedly app so you can easily organise in one place and listen on your phone. I can do a tutorial on this if you’d like?
左右汉语 Intermediate Chinese
This podcast is presented by a single host and discusses a new phrase or chengyu in a natural way with many example sentences. It’s good for easy listening whilst learning something useful along the way.
https://podbay.fm/podcast/1195293457
iMandarinPod
This has resources for beginner to lower advanced. It has great dialogues with explanations and new vocab for the intermediate classes. The lower advanced podcasts are in the format of slow news segments, and the transcripts are available. The news segment resource is invaluable and something I’ve not seen elsewhere.
https://podbay.fm/podcast/214936144
Speak Chinese Naturally
This podcast is also in the format with one host and is essentially all in Chinese. Its an ongoing podcast and is updated regularly.
https://podbay.fm/podcast/1459401769
World Languages - discussions on Australia
I podcast that is no longer active, there are about 6 episodes discussing Australian culture in slow Chinese. It perfect for us who already are familiar with western culture but hearing it discussed in Chinese. It is easy to follow and a discussion between two hosts
https://podbay.fm/podcast/250276067
Bonus resource for lower intermediate learners:
Mandarin / English
This is a bilingual podcast (an English native speaks English and a Chinese speaks Chinese). The discussions are interesting and not so ‘boring beginner’ topics that all podcasts discuss and become very samey. For example, one episode discusses Investing. Because there is one host speaking English you can keep up with the more difficult content and makes for easy listening. To be honest, I’d prefer if the Chinese host spoke more but it’s about even, but otherwise its a great podcast all in all.
Podcasts are simply the best way to squeeze in study time into busy schedules. Doing any sport, doing groceries, walking to/from school and work, extra time can be squeezed in (I always think back to the analogy with the stones, pebbles, sand and water in a cup, remember that post by Hacking Chinese?).
Below is some Intermediate to advanced appropriate listening material. If you have any suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me!
By the way, I am thinking of creating an Instagram account, is that anything you are interested in? Let me know!!
Podcast software/Apps:
Stitcher, Spotify and Ximalaya all have mobile apps and desktop versions for easy syncing.
Podcast Shows:
Ximalaya Podcasts:
- 青春逗[this show is presented by two 海归 (Chinese returnees, i.e. two Chinese who have lived abroad and come back to China), therefore they sometimes mix English words within the podcast. It is a contempary topic discussion podcast, spoken in natural language between the two presenters and sometimes a third guest] https://www.ximalaya.com/shishang/18796952/
- Linda讲故事 [naturally spoken language, one person retelling a story, natural and unscripted] https://www.ximalaya.com/qinggan/29392148/
- 健康生活100问 [has a question about nutrition and it answers the question in 3-5 minute short episodes, for example ‘is MSG really bad for health?’, 'which is healthier, cow milk or soy milk?’] https://www.ximalaya.com/jiankang/18734760/
- 故事FM [each episode has a different person come to tell their story about some kind of topic, such as being abused, quitting a 'top school’, and other stories that tell lives of very ordinary people but presents a picture of lives of ordinary chinese people with a story to tell. It’s also spoken in natural, unscripted language with a host] https://www.ximalaya.com/toutiao/7878702/
- 失眠小姐[Short 3-5 minute 'life advice’ to soft background music] https://www.ximalaya.com/qinggan/292190/
- 唐诗三百首 [Learn the 300 Tang Poems] https://www.ximalaya.com/ertong/16479532/
- Kaela的中文广播 Learn Chinese with Kaela [a naturally spoken podcast presented by Kaela, transcripts for the show found at https://gaerdan.wordpress.com/ https://www.ximalaya.com/jiaoyu/16634873/
Stitcher Podcasts:
Simply search the below podcasts in your podcast app
Misc Podcast Websites:
These podcasts you can access through the podcast website (the ones with *s are ones I have used and are very good, its worth spending time on the website, you can download the MP3s to your phone)
o https://www.slow-chinese.com/podcast/*
o http://justlearnchinese.com/mini-novels/
o https://mandarinbean.com/category/advanced/
o http://justlearnchinese.com/category/chinese-short-stories/
Do you have anymore? Please share in the comments!
