Slow listening: boost your vocabulary with Mandarin Corner

You’re at intermediate level and want to improve your listening skills, but you haven’t found the right materials yet? Mandarin Corner is a good option for learners that have entered the intermediate stage: no explaining in English, no dumbing down. And because their podcasts are completely subtitled, they’re ideal for slow listening!

Mandarin Corner for intermediate learning

I already mentioned on this blog that I’m a fan of Mandarin Corner and even listed them first in my top 10 of YouTube channels for learning Mandarin. Why I recommend Mandarin Corner to intermediate learners:

  • They discuss interesting topics that appeal to an international audience
  • They are one of the few channels that mainly produce content suitable for the higher HSK levels (4 – 9)
  • They provide free flowing conversations you can actually understand
  • Their videos are completely subtitled (Hanzi, Pinyin, English)
  • Scripts and audio can be downloaded if you make a one-time donation

Listening modes

You’ve probably heard of different listening modes and developed your own listening strategy. By the way, I distinguish these four listening modes:

  • Passive listening: play Chinese audio while you’re doing the dishes, fixing your bike or working out. You don’t take in every word, every sentence, but enough to grasp the general topic and some keywords.
  • Active listening: You turn your full attention towards whatever you’re listening, trying to understand and retain as much as you can.
  • Slow listening: You listen attentively, playing the audio at a lower speed or stopping the audio from time to time to break down sentences and discover details. You can even pause the audio to study the script.
  • Re-listening: You keep listening to the same content over a period of time to the point you get so familiar with it you know what the person is going to say next.

It’s actually not a bad strategy to apply the different modes above in this particular order, from passive to more active and then repeating the cycle. It’s what I used to do with a new dialogue or chapter from a textbook. I’d just put the track on repeat while doing other stuff, before turning my full attention towards it and studying each and every sentence. It’s kind of like a mental warming-up, making the training itself a little less tough.

Slow listening with Mandarin Corner

I applied these listening techniques while enjoying the Mandarin Corner podcasts. Not because I’m so cool, but because that’s how things “work out”. Finding time (and using that time!) to listen to comprehensive Mandarin audio comes first – that’s a daily struggle. So if I do manage to make that choice for Mandarin, even if it’s just for 10 minutes, I pat myself on the back. That’s why how I listen comes second. Sometimes I do background listening, sometimes I’m able to be fully focused on the audio content.

In this case, I opened my laptop for some slow listening, studying the subtitles and singling out a bunch of keywords and some vocabulary I was less familiar with. While I was at it, I decided to add a little introduction to each of the five videos as well. I hope you enjoy the discussions in the videos. Here we go:

Mandarin Corner: China’s alarming divorce rate

Main questions: Why is China’s divorce rate so alarmingly high? What are the main reasons for people in China to get divorced?

My thoughts: People from my generation (90’s) seem to think you shouldn’t marry before you’re at least 35 of age and have gained “experience”. And even then it’s probably a stupid thing to do, because you’ll never be free again. But does this lead to a lower divorce rate? It doesn’t look like it. So is the Chinese divorce rate really that high? Do we have reliable Chinese and international statistics to make a solid comparison?

The reasons for Chinese marriages not working out are manifold: some are universal, some are more related to Chinese culture and modern Chinese society like the pressure to marry early (25, 26), if need be with the help of a matchmaker (so the soon to be wed hardly know each other). Other reasons mentioned in this podcast include long-distance marriages, the financial pressure on young couples (家庭压力 – jiātíng yālì), conflicts produced by the couple living together with the (grand)parents and last but not least higher expectations towards marriage, especially by financially independent women.

China’s divorce rate has been increasing since 2003; in 2019, more than 4 million couples decided to end their marriages. These numbers are interpreted as a sign of gradually improving gender equality: Women are becoming more financially independent, and the social views on marriage have changed as China became more and more economically developed in the last two decades.

The Diplomat, 03.06.2020

Vocabulary

离婚líhūnto divorce
离婚人数líhūn rénshùnumber of divorced people
离婚率líhūn lǜdivorce rate
出轨chūguǐto cheat / have an affair
家暴jiā bàodomestic violence
感情不和gǎnqíng bù héfeelings don’t match
家丑不外扬jiāchǒu bù wàiyángDon’t hang out the dirty laundry
外遇wàiyùaffair
调查diàochásurvey
异地婚姻yìdì hūnyīnlong-distance marriage
夫妻fūqīcouple
很多夫妻hěnduō fūqīa lot of couples
夫妻关系fūqī guānxìrelations between wife and husband
无性婚姻wúxìng hūnyīnmarriage without sex
独生子女dúshēngzǐnǚonly son / daughter
赡养老人shànyǎng lǎorénsupport the elderly
养儿防老yǎng er fánglǎoto bring up children for the purpose of being looked after in old age
婆媳关系póxí guānxìrelation between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law
妈宝男mā bǎo nánmama’s boy
自我的性格zìwǒ dì xìnggéself-centered character
宠爱chǒng’àito spoil
公主病gōngzhǔ bìngprincess syndrome
闪婚闪离shǎnhūn shǎnlíflash wedding, flash divorce
催婚cuī hūnto be urged to marry soon
妥协tuǒxiéto compromise
相亲结婚xiāngqīn jiéhūnmatchmaker / blind date marriage
对婚姻的观念duì hūnyīn de guānniànviews about marriage
对婚姻的期望duì hūnyīn de qīwàngexpectations towards marriage

Mandarin Corner: Why is getting a wife so expensive for Chinese men?

Main questions: Why is getting a wife so expensive for Chinese men? When it comes to finding the right husband, why do most Chinese value financials over personal qualities? How can China’s young men live up to these high standards (buy a house, car, wedding gift, take care of their parents etc.)? How do they deal with the pressure?

My thoughts: Even though gender roles in Chinese society have changed (with more and more working woman becoming financially independent), the dominating ideas about marriage are still very old-fashioned and materialistic. Parents and grandparents have a lot to say in this. Men are traditionally expected to provide a house, car and other things. For the average Chinese guy these things are not easy to come by, so it’s not that hard to imagine that such expectations put immense financial and psychological pressure on even the strongest marriage.

China’s never been short of people, but under such harsh conditions I do have sympathy for those who decide that it’s better not to marry and have children – or at least not rush into it, just because their parents married when they were 23 and think that’s the only right thing to do. I notice younger generations in the big cities of China having more western, individualistic ideas about marriage and life in general. But in a way these ideas get rolled over by harsh economic realities:

At the same time (2003 – 2019), China’s birth rate fell to the lowest point in seven decades in 2019. While Chinese authorities have attempted several measures in the last decade to ease its one-child policy, established in 1979, including officially announcing an end to the policy in 2015, the country’s birth rate did not see any signs of recovery. The increasingly high cost of raising children, lack of legislation in protecting women’s rights in the workplace, and lack of government-funded family support all contributed to China’s low birth rate and the country’s increasingly imminent issues in taking care of its aging population.

The Diplomat, 03.06.2020

Vocabulary

结婚jiéhūnto marry
嫁个有钱的人jià gè yǒu qián de rénmarry a rich guy
经济要求jīngjì yāoqiúfinancial requirements
彩礼cǎilǐbride price
物质wùzhímaterial things, materialistic
缺乏物质quēfá wùzhílack basic necessities
生存shēngcúnsurvival, to survive
发达你的爱好fādá nǐ de àihàoto ‘develop’ your hobbies
不务正业bùwùzhèngyèto not attend one’s proper duties
内涵nèiháninner qualities
总结一下zǒngjié yīxiàlet’s summarize
赡养父母shànyǎng fùmǔto provide support for one’s parents
单身汉dānshēnhànbachelor / single
配偶pèi’ǒupartner / spouse
剩男shèngnán“leftover men”
原谅yuánliàngto forgive
贫庸pín yōngcommon
哄女人hōng nǚrénto seduce a girl (?)
有潜力yǒu qiánlìshowing potential
容忍对方róngrěn duìfāngto tolerate the other
法律程序fǎlǜ chéngxùjudicial procedures
仇视chóushìto hate, look down upon
看不上kàn bù shàngto look down upon
吸引力xīyǐnlìattractiveness, attractive force

Mandarin Corner: Stereotypes Chinese have of foreigners

Main question: What are some common stereotypes Chinese have about foreigners?

My thoughts: How do Chinese people view “us”? What stunned me: when Chinese people talk about waiguoren, they usually mean “westerners with a white skin”, so they exclude pretty much everyone else, except for white people from America, Canada, Australia, New-Zealand and Europe. Aren’t Koreans and Japanese (to name just a few) foreigners too? Apparently not! Does this mean they’re sort of like China? Or that they are not important enough to be included like Africa? A conversation about stereotypes and ignorance.

Vocabulary

内向的人nèixiàng de rénintroverted people
擅长运动shàncháng yùndòngto be good at sports
跟我的印象不符的地方gēn wǒ de yìnxiàng bùfú de dìfāngaspects that don’t match my impression
对外国人的了解比较少duì wàiguó rén de liǎojiě bǐjiào shǎoknowledge about foreigners is small
刻板印象kèbǎn yìnxiàngstereotypes
单一民族的国家dānyī mínzú de guójiāhomogeneous nation
自然而然zìrán’érránnaturally, automatically
符合中国的传统审美fúhé zhōngguó de chuántǒng shěnměimatch Chinese aesthetic standards
中央帝国zhōngyāng dìguócentral empire
以前留下来的印象yǐqián liú xiàlái de yìnxiàngan impression from the past
促进文化交流cùjìn wénhuà jiāoliúto promote cultural exchange
总体的趋势zǒngtǐ de qūshìoverall trend
开放kāifàngtolerant
保守bǎoshǒuconservative
接受不了jiēshòu bùliǎocan’t accept
道德禁忌dàodé jìnjìmoral taboo
同性恋tóngxìngliànhomosexuality

Mandarin Corner: 6 cultural aspects you must consider when doing business in China

Main question: What intercultural differences do you need to understand when doing business in China?

My thoughts: I love discussing cultural concepts like guanxi and mianzi! You can talk about them endlessly. To me they are key concepts to understand Chinese culture. A key phrase in this podcast: “Understanding them is one thing, accepting them is another”. Yes, that’s the hard part! Imagine your lazy co-worker getting promoted for maintaining the better guanxi with the top-level management, while you, the hard-working fellow, come out empty-handed. This can happen in a Chinese company. How do you adopt? Are you willing to adopt? Anyway, watch and learn.

Vocabulary

认可rènkěto approve, approval
自身zìshēnoneself
泼冷水pōlěngshuǐto dampen one’s enthusiasm
kuāto praise (to boast)
途径tújìngway, channel
资源zīyuánresource
评价píngjiàto evaluate, assess
虚荣心xūróng xīnvanity
摆设bǎishèto arrange, decorate (decoration)
当面拒绝dāngmiàn jùjuéreject somebody face to face
错失机会cuòshī jīhuìto miss an opportunity
产生误解chǎnshēng wùjiěto lead to / produce misunderstandings
表示尊称biǎoshì zūnchēngto express respect by referring to somebody’s title
级别jíbiérank, level
职称zhíchēngjob title
职场中zhíchǎng zhōngin the workplace
通过别的方式tōngguò bié de fāngshìby other means
给我发难gěi wǒ fànángive me trouble
得罪我了dézuì wǒ leoffended me
关系guānxìrelations
虚拟社交货币xūnǐ shèjiāo huòbìvirtual social currency
一个网络yīgè wǎngluòa network
关系网guānxì wǎngnetwork of relations
建立关系jiànlì guānxìestablish a relation

Mandarin Corner: the 996 work culture

Main question: Are Chinese workaholics?

My thoughts: Yes, people in China work long hours without complaining. It’s funny, like mentioned in this podcast, that only after some computer programmers (highly qualified workers) started “bitching” about their long working hours, 996 work culture suddenly became an intensely debated topic. (As if the local laoban selling vegetables doesn’t work 72 hours a week!). I remember working with a Chinese IT-team stationed in Beijing that our side, the European team, would stick to the eight hour working day and complain about any overtime work, while the Beijing people would show up an hour early and even spend their free evenings working in the office. Well, yes “working”, nobody can be productive the whole day. But it was obvious, that we were dealing with completely different work cultures. We’d still have life outside of work, where as our Chinese colleagues practically dedicated all their time to their company jobs. Did they feel “996” is a privilege for young people like Jack Ma said? Are they thankful to have this opportunity? I doubt they have much time to ponder this question…

Vocabulary

996
jiǔjiǔliùwork from nine to nine, six days a week
加班文化jiābān wénhuàworking overtime culture
工作制度gōngzuò zhìdùwork culture
争议点zhēngyì diǎncontroversial point
邪恶资本家xié’è zīběnjiāevil capitalist
巨大的福气jùdà de fúqia major blessing
拼搏pīnbóto struggle,
朝九晚五cháo jiǔ wǎn wǔwork normal office hours (09:00-17:00)
不满的情绪bùmǎn de qíngxùdissatisfied state of mind
高新的职业gāoxīn de zhíyèhigh-paying profession
潜规则qián guīzéunspoken rules
常态chángtàinormal state
理所当然的事情lǐsuǒdāngrán de shìqínga thing that is regarded as normal
道德谴责dàodé qiǎnzémoral condemnation
通宵加班tōngxiāo jiābānwork (overtime) throughout the night
重复性的工作chóngfù xìng de gōngzuòrepetitive work
往大了一点说wǎng dàle yīdiǎn shuōto speak more generally
经济压力jīngjì yālìeconomic pressure
生活状态shēnghuó zhuàngtàiliving conditions
紧张的状态jǐnzhāng de zhuàngtàitense, strained state / condition
线上加班xiàn shàng jiābānwork overtime online

That’s it! I hope my notes are not too bad. By the way, if you want better quality notes: the scripts for each podcast can be downloaded if you make a one-time donation to Mandarin Corner. I want to thank Mandarin Corner for creating these great videos and hope that more content will follow in the years to come.

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