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Audiobooks are Here!

We are pleased to announce all of the Mandarin Companion Level 1 books are now available as audiobooks on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes!

Over the years, we’ve had numerous emails from listeners asking for audio versions of the graded readers. We’ve constantly been focused on other projects at Mandarin Companion (such as our new podcast and Breakthrough Level, for instance), but last year we decided to finally tackle this one. It took longer than we anticipated, but it is done and now available!

Listening to the audio as you are reading a book can be a very helpful tool for learning a second language, especially Chinese! Every Chinese learner knows what it is like to come across a character you don’t know. In English, Spanish, German, Korean, Arabic, or virtually any other language, you could at least sound it out, but not in Chinese! An unknown character is like a black hole. Listening to audio while you are reading can help you to know how to pronounce unknown characters and reinforce the pronunciation of ones you already know or are still learning.

The speed of the narration is recorded at a slower pace of about 120 characters per minute, a target reading speed for second language learners. However, the platforms on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes all have speed controls that allow you to slow down, or even speed up, the speed of the audio to an appropriate rate for you! So if you are beginning reader, no problem! Just drop it down. If you are reading at a good speed and are trying to elevate it further, you can increase it up to as much as 2x! You have control.

Just a note, currently only the Level 1 books are available, but we will be producing the Breakthrough Level and our Level 2 books as audiobooks in the future. Here is a list and links to the audiobook titles available.

Audiobook Links

 

Thanks for listening! And if you are looking for more things to listen to, here is a short plug for our podcast, You Can Learn Chinese, and what one of the listeners had to say.

“So much more than just “talking about learning about” Chinese. Practical, learnable, and copyable advice for all levels of speakers. John and Jared really lay out some fascinating insights, and their guest interviews are fun and equally as interesting. A must-have podcast, I’ve been a subscriber since episode #1!” – by R. Smeith

Or this glowing review from Tanner H (汉天恩)

I have been following Jared Turner and John Pasden through Mandarin Companion – since 2016. Those books raised my reading ability, along with other resources, to a score a perfect reading score on HSK 3 while studying Chinese only part time, working full time in an English-speaking environment in China. Needless to say, I could not be more excited to see these guys collaborating on another platform. This podcast strikes such a helpful balance between practical and technical, educational, and experiential advice and inspiration to learn Chinese, no matter where you live in the world. The most valuable aspect of their perspectives is their combined 20+ years of experience as 2nd language Chinese learners. Give it a listen, and be prepared to be inspired to new heights in your learning!

You can find out all about it here.

Thanks!

About

Jared Turner

Co-Founder, Mandarin Companion
Host, The You Can Learn Chinese Podcast

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