Effective Chinese sponsors the Portland Mandarin Meetup to give students the opportunity to practice outside of class. We usually meet on Saturdays and everyone is welcome. Attendees include Chinese people, people who are actively studying, and most are just happy to have a way to keep practicing Mandarin so they don’t forget it. Every week we do ...

Continue reading »

So Effective it feels like Cheating! Pronouncing Mandarin can be difficult for English speakers. But, not any more! This incredible new tool makes it easier to identify, and correct, your own mistakes. It is especially useful on a mobile device. Here is how it works. Open your phone or laptop to the lesson you want to studying. Click or tap the fi...

Continue reading »

Mandarin is easier than you think. There are a number of features which make it easier than English. For starters the grammar is pretty simple, the words are seldom more than two syllables long, nouns don’t have any annoying rules for gender or plural, and verbs don’t have tense. But mastering pronunciation can be a challenge. So, that̵...

Continue reading »

Jing’an Park is just across the street from Jing’an temple. On a sunny day you can always find music and/or dancing. The place is mostly populate with retiree’s. I usually find opportunities to practice Mandarin there. And sometimes the music is impressive. These guys are playing a couple of musical saws (音乐锯 pronounced yīnyuè j...

Continue reading »

A traditional song of greeting and merriment is the Gong Xi song. Chinese Pinyin English每条大街小巷Měi tiáo dàjiē xiǎo xiàngEach small street and large street 每个人的嘴里Měigè rénde zuǐ lǐIn everyone’s mouth 见面第一句话Jiànmiàn dìyī jù huàThe first sentence on meeting 就是恭喜恭喜Jiùshì gōngxǐ gōngxǐIs Greetings greet...

Continue reading »