Hi, everyone! Sorry for the long gap between posts! We have made quite a bit of progress on our Woodpecker App. It now runs much more smoothly than before. In addition to having the option to view the lines of subtitles before and after the current one playing, you can…

In general, there are two kinds of language learners. Those that have a specific goal in mind and thus study the vocabulary and grammar relevant to that goal. And there are those who study a language entirely out of an interest for the language itself. The first tends to be…

You have been watching Mandarin shows on your phone, sometimes looking at the subtitles, sometimes not. Yet somehow you still cannot understand what someone just said. Perhaps you have difficulties distinguishing various sounds, like me. Or perhaps the tones constantly give you a headache or they talk too fast for…

樂生活 or the “Life” channel on YouTube aims to provide viewers with tips and suggestions in making your life better by making crafts or through cooking. Having started in 2012, the YouTube channel has already gotten 150,000 subscribers. The following blog will introduce five of their cooking videos. Whether you…

Otherwise known as The News Lens, 關鍵評論網 (guan1 jian4 ping2 lun4 wang3) is a website focused on providing diverse and different points of views on various topics. Unsatisfied with modern media, 關鍵評論網 has started making waves in Taiwan since its establishment in 2013. The staff there have made it their…

天下雜誌 or “Commonwealth Magazine” was established in 1981 by 殷允芃 (yin1 yun3 peng2). At the time, she worked as a journalist stationed in Taiwan for the Wall Street Journal. In the beginning, the magazine leaned more towards topics related to Taiwan’s economic situation. However, it has expanded to cover topics…

You have started to get more into Chinese and, all of a sudden, you discover the infamous and often daunting 成語 or idiom. With histories that can date back over two thousands years, do not underestimate the frequency in which Chinese people use them. Whereas most 成語 contain four characters,…

When it comes to learning Mandarin, not all shows and movies give the same language benefits. For example, in a two-hour-long movie called 愛情萬歲 or “Vive l’Amour,” the characters hardly had any dialogue. In some aspects, movies like this might have artistic value or benefit beginners who do not want…

Ok, so you have taken up the challenge of studying Mandarin. Perhaps you want to learn about the culture. Maybe you want to get a competitive edge in finding a job. Or maybe you study Mandarin just to fulfill some college credits. Of course, there are countless other reasons why you might…