Expert interviews, proven language hacks, and real talk about mastering Chinese as a busy professional. New posts and podcast episodes from Mischa Wilmers.https://imlearningmandarin.com/en-gbhttps://imlearningmandarin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ilm_logo.webphttps://imlearningmandarin.comhttps://imlearningmandarin.com/chris-foleys-mandarin-speaking-journey-mission-accomplished/https://imlearningmandarin.com/chris-foleys-mandarin-speaking-journey-mission-accomplished/One year ago, Chris Foley set himself a challenge to transform his Mandarin and achieve a standard Mandarin accent in time for his Chinese wedding…Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTchrisfoley017https://imlearningmandarin.com/can-a-busy-dad-learn-mandarin-in-just-one-year/https://imlearningmandarin.com/can-a-busy-dad-learn-mandarin-in-just-one-year/Over the last 12 months, busy Welsh accountant and father to a young daughter, Lewys Thomas, has been working to improve his Mandarin speaking skills with…Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTLewys Thomas (小鹿）https://imlearningmandarin.com/chriss-diary-month-8-9-untangling-the-tongue-twisters/https://imlearningmandarin.com/chriss-diary-month-8-9-untangling-the-tongue-twisters/Chris Foley has set himself a challenge to improve his tone pronunciation, and achieve a standard Mandarin accent in time for his Chinese wedding…Thu, 04 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTchrisfoley017https://imlearningmandarin.com/ltl-school/https://imlearningmandarin.com/ltl-school/At LTL School, just like Mandarin Retreat, we believe Mandarin isn’t just learned in a classroom. It’s absorbed, lived, and spoken until it becomes second…Sun, 31 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/chriss-diary-month-7-dialing-in-the-tones-and-preparing-for-new-challenges/https://imlearningmandarin.com/chriss-diary-month-7-dialing-in-the-tones-and-preparing-for-new-challenges/Chris Foley has set himself a challenge to improve his pronunciation and achieve a standard Mandarin accent in time for his Chinese wedding ceremony. To…Thu, 10 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMTchrisfoley017https://imlearningmandarin.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-mandarin-language-exchange/https://imlearningmandarin.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-mandarin-language-exchange/If you’re not in the server, click the 'Discord' tab at the top of this blog. I definitely recommend checking it out. It’s a community of nearly 400…Mon, 23 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/getting-smart-about-mandarin-listening/https://imlearningmandarin.com/getting-smart-about-mandarin-listening/I chose this topic because listening is probably one of the areas that frustrates Mandarin learners more than any other. First, I want to talk about the…Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/generate-mandarin-podcasts-on-any-topic-with-mindblowing-ai-tool/https://imlearningmandarin.com/generate-mandarin-podcasts-on-any-topic-with-mindblowing-ai-tool/It’s called Notebook LM, and it’s a website run by Google. Here’s what makes it so powerful: you can feed it any content: websites, text, even audio, and…Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/chriss-mandarin-diary-month-6-my-first-chinese-interview-video/https://imlearningmandarin.com/chriss-mandarin-diary-month-6-my-first-chinese-interview-video/Chris Foley has set himself a challenge to improve his tone pronunciation and achieve a standard Mandarin accent in time for his Chinese wedding ceremony…Wed, 21 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTchrisfoley017https://imlearningmandarin.com/is-taiwan-a-good-place-to-study-mandarin/https://imlearningmandarin.com/is-taiwan-a-good-place-to-study-mandarin/In this week's episode, I delve deeper into the experience of studying and living in Taiwan, specifically asking the question: Is Taiwan a good place to…Mon, 12 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/using-ai-to-nail-daily-interactions-in-mandarin/https://imlearningmandarin.com/using-ai-to-nail-daily-interactions-in-mandarin/Even with relatively fluent Mandarin, it can be easy to stumble in seemingly simple situations, buying train tickets, ordering coffee, or understanding a…Mon, 05 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/how-to-generate-personalised-mandarin-tongue-twisters-with-ai/https://imlearningmandarin.com/how-to-generate-personalised-mandarin-tongue-twisters-with-ai/Continuing this theme in this week's episode, I outline a really simple method that you can use to use AI to generate your very own Mandarin tongue…Mon, 21 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/chris-foleys-mandarin-speaking-journey-months-4-5/https://imlearningmandarin.com/chris-foleys-mandarin-speaking-journey-months-4-5/Chris Foley has set himself a challenge to improve his tone pronunciation, and achieve a standard Mandarin accent in time for his Chinese wedding ceremony…Sun, 13 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTchrisfoley017https://imlearningmandarin.com/my-full-asiaglot-speech-the-inconvenient-truth-about-mandarin-learning-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/my-full-asiaglot-speech-the-inconvenient-truth-about-mandarin-learning-podcast/On today's episode, I'm going to play my speech, which I recently made at the Asiaglot conference in Taipei. The speech was called The Inconvenient Truth…Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/why-deepseek-is-the-biggest-mandarin-learning-game-changer-of-2025/https://imlearningmandarin.com/why-deepseek-is-the-biggest-mandarin-learning-game-changer-of-2025/This week on the I'm Learning Mandarin podcast, I discuss how you can use Deepseek as a game changing tool to become fluent in Chinese. As we've…Wed, 02 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/my-experience-at-asiaglot-asias-hottest-multilingual-conference/https://imlearningmandarin.com/my-experience-at-asiaglot-asias-hottest-multilingual-conference/Last week I participated in Asiaglot, a new multilingual conference in Taipei. I first heard about Asiaglot a few months ago when Philipp Marxen, a…Sun, 30 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/lewyss-6-month-transformation-to-conversational-mandarin-video/https://imlearningmandarin.com/lewyss-6-month-transformation-to-conversational-mandarin-video/Over the last six months, Welsh accountant and father Lewys Thomas has been working to improve his Mandarin speaking skills with I'm Learning Mandarin…Wed, 12 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTLewys Thomas (小鹿）https://imlearningmandarin.com/prof-clare-wright-why-some-learners-succeed-while-others-lag-behind-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/prof-clare-wright-why-some-learners-succeed-while-others-lag-behind-podcast/Professor Clare Wright has pioneered research into second language pedagogy with a particular focus on Mandarin. She is particularly interested in…Wed, 05 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/how-my-student-founded-asias-hottest-languages-conference-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/how-my-student-founded-asias-hottest-languages-conference-podcast/Shortly after that Philipp signed up to my coaching programme to improve his Mandarin speaking. And since graduating from the programme, he's moved to…Fri, 28 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/my-four-coolest-mandarin-learning-moments-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/my-four-coolest-mandarin-learning-moments-podcast/But staying the course and persevering through the hard times has enabled me to have all sorts of life experiences that I would otherwise never have had.…Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/chris-foleys-mandarin-speaking-diary-my-immersive-trip-to-china-month-3/https://imlearningmandarin.com/chris-foleys-mandarin-speaking-diary-my-immersive-trip-to-china-month-3/Chris Foley has set himself a challenge to improve his tone pronunciation, and achieve a standard Mandarin accent in time for his Chinese wedding ceremony…Mon, 17 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTchrisfoley017https://imlearningmandarin.com/four-attitudes-shifts-you-need-to-master-mandarin-speaking/https://imlearningmandarin.com/four-attitudes-shifts-you-need-to-master-mandarin-speaking/Over the past few weeks, I've been interviewing lots of fascinating guests providing great solutions to commonly faced Mandarin learning problems. Guests…Thu, 13 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/how-jake-gill-from-skritter-learned-chinese/https://imlearningmandarin.com/how-jake-gill-from-skritter-learned-chinese/Skritter has been around for years, helping learners improve their handwriting and character recognition through a unique combination of spaced repetition…Thu, 06 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/battle-of-the-apps-lingq-premium-vs-duolingo/https://imlearningmandarin.com/battle-of-the-apps-lingq-premium-vs-duolingo/Over the years I’ve used a number of Mandarin Chinese learning apps with mixed results. Some of them, I credit with playing a significant role in enabling…Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/jared-turner-on-how-he-created-mandarin-companion-graded-readers/https://imlearningmandarin.com/jared-turner-on-how-he-created-mandarin-companion-graded-readers/If you’re learning Chinese, you’ve probably heard of Mandarin Companion’s graded readers, which make it possible to read Mandarin from an elementary…Wed, 29 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/gamify-your-chinese-learning-with-ninchanese-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/gamify-your-chinese-learning-with-ninchanese-podcast/I found Ninchanese particularly effective when transitioning between elementary and intermediate levels. The gamified elements, progressing through…Thu, 23 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/learning-mandarin-with-dong-chinese-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/learning-mandarin-with-dong-chinese-podcast/Dong Chinese is an all-in-one Chinese learning app that enables learners to learn sentences in context using spaced repetition. In the episode, we discuss…Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/chris-foleys-mandarin-speaking-journey-month-2/https://imlearningmandarin.com/chris-foleys-mandarin-speaking-journey-month-2/Chris Foley has set himself a challenge to improve his tone pronunciation, and achieve a standard Mandarin accent in time for his Chinese wedding ceremony…Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTchrisfoley017https://imlearningmandarin.com/former-nasa-employee-applies-engineering-approach-to-mandarin-learning-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/former-nasa-employee-applies-engineering-approach-to-mandarin-learning-podcast/Outlier specialise in facilitating the language learning process by breaking down the complexities of the language, including Chinese characters. And Ash…Wed, 08 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/interview-with-karen-cheuk-from-happy-mandarin/https://imlearningmandarin.com/interview-with-karen-cheuk-from-happy-mandarin/Karen was born and raised in Hong Kong and went on to study at Cambridge University on a scholarship. After graduating and having a daughter, she was…Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/interview-with-michael-campbell-from-glossika-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/interview-with-michael-campbell-from-glossika-podcast/Michael has dedicated a significant portion of his life to understanding and mastering languages, having lived in Taiwan for most of his life and become…Wed, 11 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/can-i-become-fluent-in-chinese-in-time-for-my-wedding-next-year/https://imlearningmandarin.com/can-i-become-fluent-in-chinese-in-time-for-my-wedding-next-year/Chris Foley has set himself a challenge to improve his tone pronunciation, and achieve a standard Mandarin accent in time for his Chinese wedding ceremony…Mon, 09 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTchrisfoley017https://imlearningmandarin.com/interview-with-phil-from-mandarin-blueprint-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/interview-with-phil-from-mandarin-blueprint-podcast/Phil is one of the two minds behind Mandarin Blueprint, a Mandarin learning course with over 4000 videos taking learners step-by-step all the way to…Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/learning-chinese-with-amanda-miss-panda/https://imlearningmandarin.com/learning-chinese-with-amanda-miss-panda/Amanda boasts over 30 years of experience teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and Mandarin Chinese. She's also a published author, consultant, and…Wed, 27 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/how-to-learn-mandarin-with-chinese-netflix-shows/https://imlearningmandarin.com/how-to-learn-mandarin-with-chinese-netflix-shows/There are literally dozens of Chinese TV shows to learn Chinese on Netflix. And making use of these has had a huge impact on my ability to go from…Fri, 22 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/maintaining-your-mandarin-skills-outside-china-interview-with-jorrit/https://imlearningmandarin.com/maintaining-your-mandarin-skills-outside-china-interview-with-jorrit/Jorrit opens up about learning the language, living in China, and the challenges of maintaining his abilities after returning to a non-Chinese-speaking…Wed, 20 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/special-live-qa-ask-me-anything-with-will-hart/https://imlearningmandarin.com/special-live-qa-ask-me-anything-with-will-hart/Will should need no introduction to readers of this blog. Two years ago he burst on the Mandarin learning scene when videos of him speaking flawless…Wed, 06 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/75-of-learners-make-these-chinese-tones-mistakes/https://imlearningmandarin.com/75-of-learners-make-these-chinese-tones-mistakes/I’ll walk you through four of the most commonly mispronounced tone combinations and explain how to get them right. Join us Live This Sunday This Sunday…Thu, 31 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/live-qa-how-to-fix-your-chinese-tones-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/live-qa-how-to-fix-your-chinese-tones-podcast/If you're looking to improve your tones but aren't sure how, this discussion is packed with insights from me, as well as server moderator, Jered. Tune in…Wed, 23 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/do-you-have-to-memorise-the-tones-for-all-your-chinese-vocab-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/do-you-have-to-memorise-the-tones-for-all-your-chinese-vocab-podcast/In this episode, I dive into one of the most common questions Mandarin learners face: Do you really need to memorise the tones for every new word you…Thu, 17 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/live-qa-how-to-practice-mandarin-speaking-early-on-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/live-qa-how-to-practice-mandarin-speaking-early-on-podcast/In just over a week we’ve seen the server grow into a thriving hub with nearly 200 learners supporting each other to ace their Mandarin-speaking goals.…Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/how-to-say-hello-in-chinese/https://imlearningmandarin.com/how-to-say-hello-in-chinese/In this guest post, Chinese learner Lewys Thomas takes some of the most common examples of textbook Mandarin phrases all learners get taught and offers…Sun, 06 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTLewys Thomas (小鹿）https://imlearningmandarin.com/how-i-accurately-mimic-full-speed-mandarin-in-four-simple-steps/https://imlearningmandarin.com/how-i-accurately-mimic-full-speed-mandarin-in-four-simple-steps/The sentence was: 这么复杂的东西怎么学得会啊不可能的嘛对吧。Zhème fùzá de dōngxī zěnme xué de huì a bù kěnéng de ma duì ba. Something this complicated, how could I possibly…Wed, 02 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/how-joshua-lykes-is-learning-chinese-through-ai-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/how-joshua-lykes-is-learning-chinese-through-ai-podcast/Joshua recently posted an hour-long video documenting in detail his first year of Mandarin learning. And one of the things that stood out to me about that…Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/join-our-new-discord-community-for-mandarin-learners/https://imlearningmandarin.com/join-our-new-discord-community-for-mandarin-learners/Over the past few months, I’ve been coaching Chinese learners from around the world whose goal is to improve their conversational skills in the language.…Wed, 18 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/its-never-too-late-to-learn-chinese-tones-heres-how/https://imlearningmandarin.com/its-never-too-late-to-learn-chinese-tones-heres-how/The tones of the Chinese language are often considered to be extremely difficult for non-native speakers to grasp. In this post I explain how I learned to…Mon, 16 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/reality-check-can-you-actually-master-mandarin-in-six-months/https://imlearningmandarin.com/reality-check-can-you-actually-master-mandarin-in-six-months/A number of influencers claim to have mastered Mandarin within just six months. But is this really possible? And just how long does it actually take to…Mon, 09 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/have-you-had-a-chinese-learning-wet-fish-moment/https://imlearningmandarin.com/have-you-had-a-chinese-learning-wet-fish-moment/This might take the form of a direct comment from a native speaker who is less polite than normal. Or it might be an embarrassing failed attempt to…Thu, 29 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/launching-new-sentence-mining-app-mandarin-mosaic-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/launching-new-sentence-mining-app-mandarin-mosaic-podcast/Karl Baker, recently launched his new Mandarin learning app, Mandarin Mosaic. The App seeks to make sentence mining accessible. Like Anki, but easier to…Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmershttps://imlearningmandarin.com/reflecting-on-five-days-of-pure-mandarin-immersion-with-will-hart-podcast/https://imlearningmandarin.com/reflecting-on-five-days-of-pure-mandarin-immersion-with-will-hart-podcast/A group of 14 of us, including learners, organisers volunteers, and native tutors got together in Cheddar, in the south-west of England, and spoke nothing…Wed, 07 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMTMischa Wilmers