Top 8 Ways to Learn Chinese Online

Although ideal, it’s not always possible to learn Chinese in China. While complete Chinese immersion is the best way to go, it’s amazing how much Chinese you can learn online. The internet connects us!

Here are CLI’s top 8 methods to learn Chinese online:

1. Take online one-on-one lessons by Skype, Zoom or WeChat

Financial, work and personal commitments can make it harder to learn within a classroom setting, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on learning with a qualified teacher! Learning languages from home (or pretty much anywhere else, for that matter) is easier today than ever before.

With CLI’s online one-on-one Chinese classes, you can create a virtual classroom within the comfort of your own home. There are many benefits to hiring an online Chinese teacher. Taking regular Chinese classes online is one of the best ways to stay on track and quickly reach your language learning goals.

Online one-on-one Chinese lessons over Skype, Zoom or WeChat allow you to work at your own pace based on your own personal schedule. Contact us to schedule a free trial class!

2. Read the news in Chinese

If you regularly read the news in your native language, you can start making the switch and reading about the same topics in Chinese. If reading the news in Chinese feels intimidating, you can check out The Chairman’s Bao—an excellent news-based grade reader. They provide news articles accompanied with audio, pinyin and a pop-up dictionary which you can use to save new vocab into your flashcards. Use promo code cliguilintcb to receive 30% off your first subscription.

The New York Times also has fantastic bilingual articles where you can read an article with parallel English and Chinese translation.

3. Subscribe to Chinese YouTube channels

YouTube is a great platform to access thousands of videos in Chinese. Find out more about the Top Youtube Channels for learning Chinese.

4. Change your phone or computer’s language to Chinese

This also goes for any web accounts such as Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, etc. You will be surprised how much you can learn with all the constant notifications you receive. Siri just became your new language partner!

5. Listen to Chinese music

Chinese music comes in a variety of genres so there is something out there for everyone. Learning through music is a fun and engaging way to keep your ears trained, not to mention you will have a list of songs ready for your next KTV session!

6. Utilize the wonders of Amazon Kindle

If you already own a kindle, you probably know how amazing they are! Reading lots of authentic content is a vital step on your way to fluency in Chinese. Now you can up your reading game by downloading all the Chinese dictionaries available and start reading authentic books aimed at native speakers. The current version has three dictionaries available:

• A modern Chinese - English Dictionary
• 新华词典
• 现代汉语词典

If you’re connected to wifi you can also look up words via the Google translate box.

Another great and useful function is that any words checked will be automatically saved to your flashcards where you can review them through Kindle’s “vocabulary builder” tool.

7. Install Perapera to Google Chrome

Perapera Chinese Popup Dictionary is an amazing plugin that you can add to your Google Chrome browser. When enabled, you can translate any Chinese text simply by hovering over the Chinese character or word. It is easy to use and doesn’t stop your reading flow.

8. Enjoy Language Learning with Netflix

Language Learning with Netflix is a Chrome extension that gives your Netflix account superpowers. It makes studying languages with films and TV series more effective and enjoyable. You can watch shows with two subtitles at the same time and you can even check the meaning of each word and save it to the application’s flashcards tool.

Closing Thoughts

Studying Chinese does not have to be a daunting or intimidating task, especially when there is a myriad of technical aids available to help you along the way!

Learning any language requires you to cultivate a genuine interest in its culture. By incorporating these new methods to do the same things you do in your own native language, you can effortlessly integrate and virtually immerse yourself in the Chinese language all within the comfort of your own home.

Tania Yeromiyan

Tania holds a BA in Arabic and Chinese from the University of Leeds, which led her to spend two years studying in Taiwan and Egypt as part of her degree. Her interests include Chinese traditional theater, international education, and programming. Tania travels to China annually and is fluent in Chinese.