Mandarin Monkey Podcast Podcast Por Mandarin Monkey arte de portada

Mandarin Monkey Podcast

Mandarin Monkey Podcast

De: Mandarin Monkey
Escúchala gratis

Chinese and English Language podcast. A mixed couple (Tom & Ula) living in Taiwan, teach Chinese through the use of Chinglish (Chinese and English) on a variety of topics. Learn Chinese, study methods, Entertainment, news, life, business, hints and tricks to learning Mandarin. Hear a native speaking naturally and at natural pace but with the English translation so you can follow the context of the conversation. Enjoy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mandarin Monkey Aprendizaje de Idiomas Biografías y Memorias Ciencias Sociales
Episodios
  • 444 Episodes Later… This Is Why Learning Mandarin Still Feels Hard

    444 Episodes Later… This Is Why Learning Mandarin Still Feels Hard
    Feb 4 2026

    Learning Mandarin isn’t just about vocabulary or grammar.

    Sometimes it’s about confidence, fear, and not feeling “good enough”.


    In episode 444 of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, we talk honestly about:

    – Why language “levels” can actually hurt learners

    – Speaking Mandarin without destroying your confidence

    – Trial lessons that start way too basic

    – Learning through conversation, not correction

    – Why progress feels invisible even when it’s real

    – Being scared to speak, even after years of learning

    – How creativity, experience, and repetition change everything


    This episode drifts between English and Mandarin, just like real life does.

    Because that’s how language is actually learned.


    If you’ve ever felt stuck, nervous, or frustrated with Mandarin…

    this one’s for you.


    🎧 Listen, relax, and remember: you’re not bad at languages.

    You’re just still learning.

    📩 Got a question for our Friday mailbag?

    Email: chat@mandarinmonkey.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Más Menos
    42 m
  • Why “Ask” Is Wrong in Mandarin | Mandarin & English Podcast | Mailbag Episode

    Why “Ask” Is Wrong in Mandarin | Mandarin & English Podcast | Mailbag Episode
    Jan 30 2026

    This is a mailbag episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast.


    We answer listener questions about a deceptively common Mandarin mistake:

    why you can’t use “ask” the way you do in English.


    Ula explains why 問 is for asking questions, but doesn’t work when you’re asking someone to do you a favour, and why 請 is often the natural choice, even though it doesn’t translate cleanly into English.


    We also respond to listener emails about:


    • learning Mandarin without a clear end goal
    • why grammar turns people off languages
    • patience, time, and long-term progress
    • how hangouts and lessons help people stick with it


    Ula speaks Mandarin pretty much throughout.

    Tom speaks English pretty much throughout.


    🎧 Lessons, hangouts, and more:

    mandarinmonkey.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Más Menos
    49 m
  • Would You Risk Your Life for Fame? | Mandarin & English Podcast

    Would You Risk Your Life for Fame? | Mandarin & English Podcast
    Jan 28 2026

    This episode is a fully bilingual English–Mandarin conversation. Tom speaks in English. Ula responds entirely in Mandarin.


    We talk about:

    Extreme risk and a climber scaling Taipei 101

    Whether dangerous stunts should be streamed live

    Travel plans including Lapland, skiing holidays, the Maldives, and the US

    Fear, animals, parenting, and how perspective changes over time


    This is not a scripted lesson.

    It’s how Mandarin is used naturally in real life.


    If you’re learning Mandarin and want:

    Real listening practice

    Natural speed and phrasing

    Mandarin used in context, not explained to death


    This episode is for you.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Más Menos
    42 m
Todas las estrellas
Más relevante
I studied Chinese about 10 years ago and have recently begun re-learning it. I'm quite busy though and it's hard to dedicate time daily lessons at this point, and I also want to make sure I'm going to stick with it before I commit financially to something like that. I had the idea to just try some immersion for free by listening to this podcast while I am doing non-meeting things at work, kind of in the background. After one day of listening to two podcasts, I woke up the next morning and began remembering all kinds of things I had forgotten from 10 years ago - it definitely is "sinking in" and tapping into the deeper parts of my mind.

Aside from that, it's quite entertaining most of the time, and I enjoy the way it goes back and forth from English to Chinese. I've slowly started to add a few other things into my learning, like the Drops app (5 free minutes of vocab every day), and the more I listen to the podcast the more I am wanting to do - the more I am inspired to continue learning.

If I could make one suggestion for the hosts, I would love if you could provide the website names (or a link somewhere on your website under "resources") for some of the things you all reference. You often talk about good resources to help people learn, but I have had a hard time finding some of those just by Googling - but I would like to find them! Just a thought...

While this podcast probably won't ever just teach you Chinese if you do nothing but listen to it, I think this is a wonderful supplement to other learning you are doing. I've also been doing a Paul Noble audio program through Audible and I was having a hard time remembering some of it when I was "away from" it. Now that I've started listening to this podcast daily, everything I'm learning is sticking better in my memory - I think of it way more often, and it's becoming more natural. And you WILL learn some things just by listening as well.

Thank you for hosting this podcast - I really enjoy it! If you're an English speaker wanting to immerse yourself in more Chinese language, this is a great, free way to do so.

This was just what I was looking for

Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Helps my mandarin so much! I get the input I need from Ula and the context from Tom. Plus it’s fun.

Great show

Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.