1. The Mandarin Blueprint Method Has Landed!

欢迎光临! Welcome!

You can now subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or you can subscribe by copying the following URL into your favorite podcast APP:

https://www.mandarinblueprint.com/feed/podcast/

The Mandarin Blueprint Podcast focuses primarily on The Mandarin Blueprint Method online curriculum. Creators Luke Neale & Phil Crimmins answer questions and comments, discuss topics related to China and Mandarin learning, and have special guests.

00:09 – Launch Week! Welcome & Thank You

1:43

LUKE TAYLOR, UK

Thanks for the heads up. I must admit I also didn’t expect to fly through it so quickly. Being a student with too much free time does have its benefits! The course itself has been incredible. I’ve always had a very good memory, but the thought of learning each character through rote memorization before finding your course was daunting to say the least. Now I’m finding I must stop myself from learning too many characters in one day or I wouldn’t get anything else done ? I live with a group of Chinese friends here in the UK, and they’re astonished at how I’m able to learn how to read and write a new character in a matter of minutes. I’ve now found I’m able to make some sense of what’s being said when they speak in Mandarin, though their native talking speed still makes this challenging! The pronunciation course is helping significantly in this regard however. I’m looking forward to moving through the rest of the Chinese learning course, and very excited to start putting what I’ve learned into practice. A huge thank you to you and Luke for putting the course together. I can already see it’s two steps ahead of anything else out there.

7:00

GIL

Is 汽 qì used for both air and gas?

8:54

RYAN SMITH

A fictional option I ended up going with that wasn’t on this list was Rufio from the movie Hook (1991). Loved that movie when I was younger, and he’s a very visually distinctive character with an attitude.

11:57

ABIGAIL

Why does ‘qu’ change to a 5th tone in chūqu? I’m not aware it fits one of the tone change rules.

13:47

RYAN SMITH

Chinese Character: 十 shí – “ten”

Actor – Sean Connery. I have a childhood friend named Sean, but I can imagine Connery’s voice & furrowed brow in my head better than him (way out of touch).

Room + Set: Kitchen of my childhood home

Props:

– Twig for my pet chinchillas

– Cigar (I smoke these on very special occasions)

Keyword connection: 10 commandment tablets

SCENE:

Sean Connery is smoking a cigar in my parent’s kitchen, sitting at the kitchen table. The smoke is wafting through the kitchen, sweeping over the Aramaic etchings of the 10 commandments while the tip is glowing red as he inhales. Smoking is something my parents would never allow in their house, so I take one of the sticks for my chinchillas from the priority mailbox they come in and smack the cigar to knock it out of his mouth.

19:15

YARDEN IZAK

For the Israelis between us- names in Hebrew with Shi

Shiran

Shikma

Shir

Shira

Shirley

Shiri

Shiraz

Shimona

21:24

NASEEM SHAWARBA

Does the throat move when I say o?

22:20

RYAN SMITH

Chinese Character: 干 gān “dry”

Actor: 6+ year coworker Greg

Location: Grounds of the hospital where my inf*an*t was born and I played ambul*an*ce driver for my wife

Props:

– Cigar

– Crucifix

SCENE:

Greg is standing outside, propped against one of the many whirring air conditioners, smoking a cigar with me. The cigar is making my mouth incredibly *dry*, as they tend to do for me, so I tap it against a crucifix sticking out of the top of the air conditioner to get rid of a bunch of ash to bide some time for my mouth to stop being so *dry*.

28:37

RYAN SMITH

What’s the difference in meaning between 哦 ò and 知道了 zhīdào le?

30:30

ADAM CARDILINI

I might have missed it but why is it important to choose a ‘male’ name here? The person I want to choose for ‘r-‘ isn’t male and isn’t actually human, it’s my doggo ‘Renni’. I am closer to her than anyone else in my life other than my wife, so she is easy to remember. Would it muck up the method later on to choose her for ‘r-‘?

33:34

NASEEM SHAWARBA

How should the shape of my mouth be when i say q in qū

35:15

NASEEM SHAWARBA

Rén Does my tongue move when I switch from r to en? Should I pronounce en with curled tongue?

39:43

DIMITRIS PITIANOUDIS

Thank you and congratulations! Being teacher myself and having many good coaches I have to admit you did very well. happy to stumble on this one, keep going.

41:12

SIDNEY GREEN

I am 75 years old and have just completed the Pronunciation Course. It has been fantastic! I have been trying to learn Mandarin on my own for over four years but this course has shown me all the ways in which my pronunciation was appalling and why I wasn’t getting very far very fast. Thank you so much, Luke and Phil. I feel really motivated now to go on.

42:54

RHONDA

Hey there! Just wanted to say thank you, not only for the great system but more importantly on your daily reminders/ encouragement that I think helps so much. We all have just twenty-four hours every day. Most of us are already stretched thin. Once we commit, we should follow through and be reminded of why we choose to learn a language, take up a new hobby,  start an exercise program, etc. Again thank you so very much for everything. Many Blessings 🙂

And this concludes the first episode of The Mandarin Blueprint Chinese learning podcast.