Episode 06 is finally here! This is a longer dialogue than usual, so let’s just start practicing.

We can't understand a language outside the context of the people who live it and speak it. A human language cannot be contained in an artifact like a dictionary or even a database, because it is a living thing, which exists through the people who live by it.

Let’s learn another tone pair, using a magic phrase and a silly dialogue full of everyday expressions. In today’s lesson, we slow down the magic phrase practice, to make it easier to keep up with all the new words.

Today's tone pair, 2-3, is easily confused with the one we learned in episode one, 3-2. Today we'll spend some time practicing differentiating between them. Then we'll hear another fun (slightly absurd) dialogue to practice our listening skills, and absorb some new words.

Let’s learn another tone pair. Can you identify the tones? In this lesson, we’ll use a dialogue to practice listening for this tone pattern, and learn a lot of useful words and phrases in the bargain.

Welcome back for Season 3! In this series, we are going to do a deep dive on the tones in Mandarin. This lesson, I’ll start by explaining the importance of tones, and the best way to approach learning them. Then, we’ll dive right into learning the first of 16 tone pairs.

Let's hear a line-by-line translation of the dialogue from lesson 16.

In this lesson, we get to hear the last dialogue in Season 2! Mrs. Kang (康太太) goes to get dinner ready, leaving Xiao Li, A-Ming, and Lili to talk. What do they talk about?

Let's hear a line-by-line translation of the dialogue from lesson 14, and then practice with a Q&A.

新年快樂！Happy Lunar New Year! In honor of the new year, this dialogue involves lots and lots and lots of food, prepared by Mrs. Kang (康太太). Can you guess what else is happening?

Welcome back! After a long, unplanned break, we're back! Let's finally find out what happens to Xiao Li (L) and A-Ming (M) during their impromptu visit to Mrs. Kang's (K) house.

In this new dialogue, Mrs. Kang (康太太) arrives with the water and something else that Xiao-Li (小李) hasn't seen before. And she receives a surprise phone call...

I talk about the importance of curiosity as fuel, and then we'll hear the line-by-line translation of the dialogue from Lesson 10.

Xiao-Li (小李) goes to get some water at Mrs. Kang's (康太太) house, but it seems that something else is on her mind…

We'll hear the line-by-line translation of the dialogue from S02 Episode 8, and then we'll further reinforce the vocabulary and practice answering some questions with a mock interview.

Xiao-Li (小李) and A-Ming (阿明) are on the way to the convenience store when they run into an unexpected obstacle.

We'll hear the line-by-line translation of the dialogue from S02 Episode 06, and then we'll further reinforce the vocabulary and practice answering some questions with a mock interview.

Learning a new language can become a gateway to exploring an undiscovered side of yourself. Find out how in this lesson. In the dialogue, Xiao-Li (小李) and A-Ming (阿明) realize there's nothing to drink in Xiao-Li's apartment.

One fun, engaging way you can give your Mandarin learning a boost is by conducting interviews with your Mandarin-speaking language parents, friends, or teachers. In this lesson, I offer some advice about how to turn the interview into a powerful language-learning tool. Then, we'll hear a line-by-line translation of the dialogue from Lesson 04.

What makes a good language parent, and how do you find one? In this episode I share some tips based on my own language learning experience. In the dialogue, 小李 is finally home after a long absence, and 阿明 notices that he seems a little nervous.