Practice listening with Chinese podcasts

The hardest part of learning a language might be listening. Listening is basically different from writing, speaking, and reading because listening is often in the spur of the moment. When you are speaking to folks, you cannot expect them to repeat things twice or thrice and more because to understand what they say.
 

Chinese language podcasts may be a great source to polish your Mandarin listening skills. With a different podcast on the internet, it is awesome that you can learn some specific topic vocabulary while learning something interesting about Chinese culture. Instead of spending time on the usual suspects such as Popup Chinese and Chinesepod, we are going to introduce other options for Mandarin podcasts you might not hear of. If you are looking to get to the next level in your Chinese fluency, then these native language podcasts might be perfect for you.

What Makes a Great Chinese Podcast?

The Podcast has to be suitable for your level

It goes without saying that the Podcast you chose must be suitable for your level. In case the Podcast is very technical and riddled with obscure words nobody thinks about using, it might not be attractive to you. Instead, you should search for Chinese podcasts that are suitable for your Chinese level. Usually, the best Podcast designed and divided lessons by level.

It should not have too much local dialect or slang it

This is another biggie; usually, slangs are difficult and irrelevant when learning another language. Ironically, many people think Mandarin is a difficult language to learn, but surprisingly, it does not have many slangs that finds its way into the Mandarin as with the colorful expressions you often hear in English.

Avoid Mandarin podcasts that are heavily accented

China is a big place, and the Chinese language has lots of variation in the accent that makes it hard to listen and understand. For instance, a heavy Guangdong accent may make Chinese sound like Cantonese, and someone who is local Taiwan or who speaks the MinNan dialect often likes to throw in a couple of phrases here and there in the local dialect. I would recommend these ones.

Great Chinese podcasts should have subtitles and transcript to go with it

If you are a beginner in Chinese, transcripts, subtitles, and learning materials are always welcome. Between two podcasts that have good content and mediocre content, I tend to be a bit biased, but I would choose the one with the mediocre content but with great learning materials.

Great Chinese Podcast should discuss interesting topics

Nothing beats podcasts that are about news or overly political. Great Podcast discusses niche stuff, or podcasts that are more casual (such as the podcasts that sound like a recording taken out of a Chinese textbook), but the important thing is that it should be fascinating. Otherwise, you may find your vocabulary retention rates drop after a while.

Famous Chinese podcasts should be updated regularly

In a sense, you can look at it as a vanity indicator, but the more famous the Chinese learning podcasts, the more often it should be updated. Also, it is great to choose a podcast you can stick to for a long time. Below are some of the awesome podcasts that you might want to check out.

This Podcast is for Beginner and Intermediate level. The example of Chinese lessons includes; talking with Ms. Wong, Youth reading club, the youth king of wisdom. This Podcast is best to use for learning basic vocabulary, and the main theme of this Podcast is Daily life issues. Some people love Taiwan talk shows because they are relaxing, and it almost seems like dropping in on a conversation between friends, so it always gives you a homely feel. It is great for a weekend listening session to learn Mandarin through podcasts and relax.

Typical of Taiwan talk show hosts, this Podcast is brought to audiences in a very conversational tone. It is also targeted at a younger audience, so the dialogue is a lot less formal and easier to listen to. This show is famous in Taiwan, which was started by two college students, and it basically speaks about life issues from the eyes of younger people, so you can see how people live their daily lives, their cultural values, beliefs, and such. So if you want to see Taiwan from the eyes of youngsters, this is the show to watch.

Slow Chinese (慢速中文)

This Podcast is for Intermediate and Advanced level learners. The main theme of this Podcast is daily life in China. Example Chinese podcast lessons include; the voice of China, China on the tip of the tongue, Soya bean milk and fried bread dough, Escape Plan, and longevity noodles.

Slow Chinese is a relatively new show; also, it is unique. It is created by Chinese university students, and these students speak about a snippet of what it is like to live in China. The unique aspect of this Podcast is that it is designed to be spoken out loud slowly, so if the content is advanced than you are used to, it is easier to make out the individual words because of the slow speed.

In terms of learning material, Slow Chinese is not well equipped, but in terms of podcast material, it can be fascinating. These are genuine snippets of what life is like through the eyes of students, so you can count on it that you are not just going to learn new vocabulary, but also going to hear new stuff about Chinese culture from a native perspective. The content of Slow Chinese Podcast is not exhaustive, but you can get a glimpse into China through Slow Chinese, and it is highly recommended for people who are at an intermediate level to polish their listening skills.

Sina Podcast (新浪视频)

This Podcast is for Advanced level learners. The example of Chinese podcast lessons; fake female ID to marry a man and live with him, A man takes hostages, a special officer takes him down with a single shot, 92 girls jump with parachutes at the same time, and the reporter is tied and beaten by workers.

Sina is best for learning vocabulary to do with politics and current affairs, and the main theme is Chinese vocabulary to do with politics and current affairs. Sina is one of the biggest websites, and also it is within the top 25 most visited websites in the world. Think of it as the Chinese NYT, except its operations cover a whole lot more than just news. But if you are looking for more news and current affairs podcasts, this is the way to go.

Sina podcast covers a lot of topics, daily almost 20 clips added there. However, be forewarned, this is not the easy Chinese Podcast to listen. Because it is a native Chinese show, it is not designed to be used as Chinese learning material, so what is said on screen is what native Chinese folks hear, which does not sound tough, but add on the non-Beijing accents used by some TV anchors, it can be a real challenge. So that means you will have to slowly attune yourself to listen to a wide variety of accents, even from reporters.

鬼话连篇糗事百科

This Podcast is for Advanced and intermediate level learners. Example Chinese podcast lessons include; a Super daring mission to experiment with a haunted ghost factory, looking back at telekinesis, super daring audience mission-exploring the village house, and female ghost in an empty house.

This is a famous TV show in China-based around a fairly unusual theme- supernatural stuff. If you love supernatural things, this is something you want to check out. Based on a reality TV show format, it shows episodes of audiences visiting places rumored to be haunted.

And their reactions are filmed on screen, and since many of them are not staged, you are more than likely to hear a good scream permeating the set-sending shivers down your spine. Subtitles are available, and if you are a supernatural fan, this maybe an interesting show to catch.

Eight Minutes Reading (开卷八分钟)

It is recommended for Advanced and upper-intermediate learners. Example Chinese podcast lessons include; the South African Revelation and Le Spectator Engage-The bystander engages, Raymond Aron. It can be best used for practicing listening skills and discovering new books to read.

This is another niche type of Chinese language podcast. It is a show broadcasted in a major The Chinese TV network and it is basically a show where the host speaks about book recommendations in a short eight minutes snippets. The host speaks his thoughts about the book, summarizes it, and talks about why he recommends reading this.

If you are an avid reader and would love to expand your book selection to Chinese work, this is a good way to get close up with Chinese books in a more relaxing way and get good book recommendations to read in the meanwhile.

FluentU

FluentU is for beginner to native speaker level. This is not a Chinese podcast or a TV show like a Chinese podcast. It is a learning platform where you can learn vocabulary through videos and audio dialogues. FluentU naturally eases you into learning Mandarin. Native Chinese content comes within reach, and you will learn Chinese as it is spoken in real life. FluentU has lots of videos, like TV shows, dramas, commercials, and music videos. FluentU learns Mode turns each video into a language learning lesson.

You can always swipe right or left to see more examples of the word you are learning. The best thing about FluentU is that it tracks your vocabulary. It recommends content and examples based on the words you are learning. You can download the FluentU app from the Google Play store, and you can also use it on the website with your computer or tablet.

Summing Up

Mandarin language podcasts are a good way to learn Chinese, especially to improve your listening skills. If you are searching for Chinese podcasts to improve your vocabulary and listening skills, then FluentU maybe the way to go. If you are looking for more niche type podcasts, you may want to check鬼话连篇糗事百科 and 开卷八分钟.

If you are searching for news category Chinese podcasts, then Sina podcasts maybe the thing for you. I hope you have found this article helpful, and that it made you consider adding podcasts to your Mandarin learning approach in the future.