Wanting to teach yourself Chinese or looking to improve your Chinese skills? Below is a comprehensive list of apps, podcast, music, book and video suggestions to help improve your Chinese language level. All tried and tested by a Chinese language learner. Find your level (beginners, intermediate, advanced) then the skill you would like to improve underneath.
TOP PICKS
PODCASTS AND MUSIC
INTERMEDIATE
Maomi Chinese – link
BOOKS
HSK Standard Course
Standard Course: 课本 by Jiang Liping, 姜丽萍 from levels HSK 1 – 6.
Books on Amazon
Local library
Your local bookstores
New Practical Chinese Reader
New Practical Chinese Reader vol.1 – Textbook by Liu Xun from levels 1 – 6.
Books on Amazon
Local library
Your local bookstores
MP3 CD
Link to a PDF version of the first textbook here.
MY WORKBOOK
READING
BEGINNERS
ADVANCED
VIDEOS
BEGINNERS
Series on streaming platforms
INTERMEDIATE
Series on streaming platforms
WEBSITES
TUTORS
Yuna on iTalki
This could be you
Yuna is a particularly good teacher for beginner students as she speaks very clearly and slowly.
Xiaoyan at Fang Yuan Concept is a great teacher, especially for intermediate/advanced students. She has an excellent cultural understanding of France and can easily teach in French and English.
If you would like to appear on this website as a Chinese teacher, please contact me 🙂
Below is a comprehensive list of apps, podcast, music, book and video suggestions to help improve your Chinese language level. Find your level (beginners, intermediate, advanced) then the skill you would like to improve.
ESSENTIALS
TOP PICKS
BEGINNERS
App: Pleco – The best Chinese-English dictionary.
INTERMEDIATE
Podcast: Maomi Chinese– Weekly intermediate podcasts
ADVANCED
Podcast: Confident Business English – great podcast for advanced learners wanting to boost their business English
BEGINNERS
LISTENING
READING
WRITING
SPEAKING
VOCABULARY
App: Du Chinese– Read along stories to learn Chinese characters
PROS: Follow along characters; can add or remove pinyin; available in simplified or traditional characters; audio speed can be adjusted; can add vocab to flashcards; English translations
CONS: Only some lessons are free
Book: Learning Chinese Characters – Volume 1 – workbook for learning how to write HSK 1 level characters
PROS: Great format; stroke order with practice grids; reasonably priced compared to other workbooks
CONS: Requires investment; volume 2 available
Website: British Council A1 Speaking – Learn some basic useful phrases for conversation
PROS: Slow, steady, clear English with various British accents; can switch on the subtitles; transcript also available; speed can be adjusted; different tasks
CONS: Does not encourage you to speak the language out loud
App: HelloChinese – Game-based learning, great for bite-sized information
PROS: Targets all skills;
CONS: Limited attempts; annoying reminders
Website: Cambridge English – Listening practice for basic comprehension
PROS: Transcript to follow along with if required; activities
CONS: Limited content
Website: British Council A1 reading – Learn to read basic texts in English
PROS: Preparation and comprehension questions; downloadable PDFs
CONS: Limited content; no audio, HINT: copy and paste into a ‘text to audio website’ such as this one to hear spoken text.
Website: British Council A1-A2 Grammar – Everything you need to know from verb tenses to prepositions to conjunctions
PROS: Comprehensive grammar content; clear explanations; grammar tests
CONS: Classic learning style (i.e. in written form)
Website: iTalki – Paid online 1-to-1 lessons
PROS: Selection of different teachers from different parts of the world; different price ranges; suits your schedule
CONS: Investment required
App: Pleco– Your go-to Chinese-English dictionary
PROS: Free version; handwriting option; flashcard system; audio pronunciation; OCR; Chinese-French dictionary (downloadable); works offline
CONS: Stroke order only for basic characters; add-ons required for better features
INTERMEDIATE
LISTENING
READING
WRITING
SPEAKING
VOCABULARY
Podcast: Maomi Chinese – Weekly podcast for intermediate Chinese learners
PROS: Authentic Chinese; great length; free transcript available
CONS: None!
App: Todaii: Easy Chinese– App to practice reading Chinese characters
PROS: Integrated dictionary; short texts, auto translation; words categorised by HSK level; free HSK tests
CONS: ‘only’ 10 free reads per day; ads on free version
Website: BBC Learn English Grammar – All the info you need to master English grammar
PROS: Bitesize grammar content; videos for the more audio-visual learners; free worksheet
CONS: Quite superficial explanations
App: Tandem– Language exchange
PROS: Free language exchange app; translation capacity; allows voice notes
CONS: Be prepared to be hounded! HINT: Toggle off the ‘Show in the community’ button to avoid having too many language partners – this is key to keeping the discussions alive!
YouTube: 理查老师的中文直播课-Richard Chinese – Common phrases and useful vocabulary used in daily life
PROS: Daily live broadcast lessons; all levels; simplified and traditional characters;
CONS: None. This is such a great free source!
Website: Mandarin Corner – Everything you need to learn Mandarin!
PROS: Variety of topics; different video lengths; also available on YouTube; subtitles in various languages
CONS: Transcripts are usually premium content; website is very ‘busy’
Your local library!
The cheapest way to improve your reading skills is to read authentic content. There is nothing quite as satisfying as reading a book from start to finish in a foreign language. Your local library will have an array of English books for all levels. HINT: Find a topic you actually enjoy and don’t worry if you don’t know every word – try to grasp the general meaning.
App: Complete English Grammar Book – Comprehensive grammar app covering all aspects of the English language
PROS: Covers all grammar points; clear structure; common grammar mistakes
CONS: Traditional layout (only in written form)
Mini-course: 5 days to improve your speaking – Tips and suggestions to improve your English speaking
PROS: Useful tips for improving your speaking; clear understandable English; short videos
CONS: A little outdated (filmed during the pandemic)
App: HelloChinese- Vocabulary builder app
PROS: Free app for building own vocabulary; compatible with Google sheets for importing long lists of vocabulary; automatic translation; pronunciation provided; can create flashcards;
CONS: Not all languages are available
More for fun: DECODE English playlists
ADVANCED
LISTENING
READING
WRITING
SPEAKING
VOCABULARY
App: RedNote/XiaoHongShu
Website/app: The Guardian – News articles from around the world
PROS: Improve your English while learning about the world; News, opinion, sport, culture and lifestyle sections
CONS: The world is very depressing at the moment; only 20 free articles per month on the app
Website: Write&Improve – Instant feedback from the free Cambridge English writing tool
PROS: Choose your level; instant feedback; entirely free; tracks your progress
CONS: I can’t see any, it’s a really good tool!
1-to-1 Speaking Classes
There are many websites and apps that offer 1-to-1 speaking classes for you to take it to the next level. Preply, iTalki and Cambly just to name a few. Once you have an advanced level of English, you just need to keep practising! Get in touch with me here if you are interested in taking English classes with me.
Podcast: Confident Business English – great podcast for advanced learners wanting to boost their business English