Feldman Lawrence E. (李夏天） Mastering Mandarin: Expert Hacks for Expats or Anyone to Fly from Zero to Fluency with Maximum Efficiency

Independently Published, 2020. — 130 p. — ISBN: 979-8626869095 (paperback).There are many books for learning Chinese. There are books that can teach you survival phrases or the first 300 characters, but I have yet to come across a book that teaches you everything you need to know to master the language through self-study. I know this because I bought so many Chinese learning books years ago, and while some were a bit helpful for starting out, none of them taught me step by step what I needed to do to truly master the language. The HSK books by the Confucius Institute are phenomonal and I am a big fan of them, but even they do not tell you HOW to study...Many expats living here in China for more than ten years are still struggling to get by with their beginner Chinese. Quite a few have gotten slightly beyond the beginner level but unfortunately are just stuck in a state of complacency because they believe that they do not have the time or energy to take Chinese seriously. They seem to be willing to spend the rest of their time here with just whatever they have picked up along time way. Expats from both of these groups often become extremely sensitive when the topic of Mandarin is brought up, because almost all of them secretly wish they had taken their studies more seriously and are thinking about getting back on the horse and learning for real this time. If this describes you, then congratulations, because this book will help you tremendously and save you so much time and energy! I have strived and learned so much in such a short period of time; however, I must admit there are some truly remarkable expats that I have come across who have lived here for many years and have a much better handle on Chinese than I do. They are some of the most awe-inspiring people I have ever met! I am not the expat with the best Chinese in all of China, heck I'm not even in the top three in Sichuan Province... but I did go from zero to fluency in an incredibly short period of time, and I want to save you a ton of frustration and time as I share my secrets with you.