How I Learned Chinese in California

Originally published on June 2, 2024

For 10 years I didn’t set foot in China.

I learned fluent Chinese in Santa Monica, California. Here’s how (and how you can, too):

1) 1:1 Online Classes. Indispensable. 623 hours with dozens of teachers worldwide. No textbooks, no structure. Pure conversation on my favorite topics. Handwritten notes + review after.

2) Listening Practice. 1,000+ hours of listening practice since 2020. Mostly podcasts plus some YouTube. Must be a topic I actually care about. Full-speed native speakers only. Language learning podcasts feel infantilizing.

3) Parroting. Listening on steroids. As you listen, you simultaneously say each word you hear out loud (whether or not you know the meaning). Trains your muscle memory to sound more native. One hour/day for 250 straight days in 2022.

4) Daily Videos. 527 days publishing a 20-30 min video and counting. A spiel on topics I find interesting using new vocab. Plus hundreds more short videos (2-5 min) before that. Helps with tones and retaining new words from class + listening.

That’s it. No apps. No flashcards. No textbooks. Crucially, I don’t believe this is the best way to learn a language. It’s the best way for me.

You might read this and think “Why subject yourself to such rigid discipline? What are you trying to prove?” Maybe it sounds like a waste of time. Maybe it sounds like torture.

It’s not for me.

Learning Chinese fits perfectly with my inner grooves. It’s an intravenous drip of Flow one bluetooth connection away. The thousands of hours mentioned above felt like constant unfurling joy (with a few exceptions). It’s simply what I’m meant to do.

As I once wrote: “Learning Chinese is an infinite game that gets better and better, forever.”