30-Day Challenge
Don't let your Mandarin go to waste! Join our 30-day RTM challenge, practice writing (and thinking) in Chinese for 10 minutes every day, form a daily habit, maintain and improve your Mandarin, and connect with our community
One of my biggest challenges after learning Mandarin for more than 20 years is… Motivation:
How do I stay engaged with so many other competing priorities in life?
Why does my language level seem to get worse, not better?
Where do I find inspiration and motivation to keep going?
None of these problems can be solved by will power and discipline alone.
Building a learning habit is the only way that’s worked for me. I guess it’s the same for you too.
A learning habit helps you remove friction, and create momentum.
And that’s the aim of this RTM 30-day challenge.
There is nothing like committing to a 30-day challenge to focus your mind on improving one skill.
Especially going into the summer holidays when the last thing on your mind is practising your Mandarin!
The RTM 30-day challenge will help you do just that: practising your language skills for 5-10 minutes every day by responding to one short question in Chinese in our community Chat channel.
Participating in the challenge will help you:
📖 Enhance language skills:
Immersing yourself daily in Mandarin will help you dramatically improve your Chinese reading, writing, and thinking skills.
🔄 Form a daily habit:
Practising a small, manageable dose of Chinese every single day will help you build a daily learning habit, no matter how busy you are.
🔥Get up to date:
Reading, thinking and expressing yourself in Mandarin about what’s happening in China right now, will help you get back up to date with your Mandarin skills and China knowledge.
🤝 Build connections:
Connecting with like-minded learners will help you realise that we all have the same problems, frustrations, and insecurities on our learning journey.
How does the challenge work?
The 30-day challenge will be run by our editor, Zoe Qian, on our RTM+ member Chat channel.
Zoe is in China over the summer so you'll get "on the ground" engagement and insights from the comfort of wherever you are this summer.
The 30-day challenge starts this Thursday, 1 August, and ends on 30 August, 2024.
Here’s how it will work:
👋 Introduce yourself:
When you join you'll be invited to introduce yourself under the "self intros" post. It's a great way to get warmed up, and connect with our global community of Mandarin learners and China watchers. They are a really interesting bunch!
🤔 Question of the Day:
Zoe will post one question in Chinese in the 30-day challenge channel. Questions will cover general topics, current affairs, life in China, and stories discussed in the newsletter.
💬 Reply in Chinese:
In response, share your thoughts, experiences, and insights with the community in Simplified or Traditional Chinese text.
🌟 Get feedback:
We'll actively engage, provide feedback, and respond to your answers with text or audio.
🤝 Engage with the community:
We encourage you to respond to at least one other post every day, sharing your thoughts or tips, and connecting with other members of the community.
I’ll also be in the 30-day challenge too, trying desperately to salvage my rusty Chinese.
So let’s get stuck in together!
How to join the challenge
All you need to do to join the challenge is become a member of RTM+!
When you become a member you'll get an invite to access our member Chat channel.
On 1 August, Zoe will send the Day 1 Question of the Day. You'll get a notification via the app and on email.
Click on the link, and respond to the question!
It's that simple.
All you need to do is become a member of the RTM+ community and we'll take care of the rest.
The investment required to join the RTM+ community is just $180/year (or $25/month).
At the price of less than one coffee per week, it really is a no brainer.
What people are saying about the 30-day challenge
This is the second 30-day challenge we've run.
The first challenge was in February this year. 27 people joined and drastically improved their Mandarin because of it.
This is what members of the community said about their experience:
“I would subscribe to RealTime Mandarin just for the 30-day challenges alone.” (Cassandra H.)
“Well-pitched material, a wide range of real-world topics, a wealth of content, and a friendly, supportive community so that you don't feel alone grappling with this maddening, wonderful language.” (Will B.)
“This challenge rekindled my enthusiasm for learning Chinese, and I feel that my Chinese has really improved.” (Sandy H.)
“This thirty-day challenge has helped me a lot in my Chinese ability. The most important aspect was giving me the opportunity to practice the language every day!” (Jim)
“The variety of weekly stories, associated grammar points, vocab and explanation has refreshed my interest in the language and has encouraged me to dip my toe into trying to read news reports. Every week is different, every week is interesting!” (Peter S.)
“After many of years of suffering through uninspiring mandarin text books I was so happy to stumble upon RealTime Mandarin. The content is super interesting, relevant and pitched at an adult learner. I loved taking part in the 30 day challenge which not only made me commit to a regular routine but also allowed me to learn in a completely organic and supportive environment.” (Nic)
Who the 30-day challenge is for
The 30-day challenge is for any learner of Mandarin with a decent level of language ability.
It's for you if you describe yourself in one or more of the following ways:
✅ You've studied Chinese for at least 4 years
✅ You work with Chinese as part of your job or research
✅ You have HSK4 to HSK6 proficiency or a Chinese language degree
✅ You're describe yourself as an "intermediate" or "advanced" learner
✅ You've studied Chinese on-and-off for years, but haven’t improved for ages
✅ You want to improve your language but lack motivation, discipline, and routine to make it happen
Here's how people described their objectives of joining the last 30-day challenge:
“This is so helpful for accountability, & introducing news & new phrasing.”
“I have a long and messy history when it comes to Chinese learning, and currently am working towards HSK5 (I like to think I'm half-way there). I want to keep engaged, above all!”
“I want to keep up with Chinese news. And move from my current good-enough Chinese — with all the associated butchery of grammar and weird circumlocution to get my point across — to something that feels a lot more natural.”
“This year, I am working on my Mandarin to get it past HSK 5, especially on the reading front. Slow Chinese is just an immensely useful resource and I'm very excited to be part of this community!”
“I've been a terrible student these past few years…. I know my level could be much higher, and I think my experience here would be greatly improved by really focusing on the language.”
“I want to refresh my Chinese and improve those skills where I'm lacking while confronting interesting readings and engaging with the community. More practically, I'm planning on reaching HSK 5 this year.”
“Over the last 20 years or so, I stopped and started again learning Mandarin a few times but never really progressed beyond an intermediate level for speaking… I decided that I really should make an effort to improve my spoken Chinese… I'm hopeful that I can comprehend more when out and about!”
Does one of these sound a bit like the voice in your head?
Maybe they all do?!
So, do you want to finally commit to improving your Mandarin skills, and getting back up to date?
Well, there’s nothing like committing to a 30-day challenge with a community of people just like you to focus your mind on improving that one thing!
How to set yourself up for success
When you join the challenge you are making a commitment to practise your Mandarin for 5-10 minutes every day.
It's not a big commitment. It's manageable even for busy people.
But life can quickly take over. Especially during the summer.
So to make the most of your participation in the 30-day challenge, this is how you set yourself up for success:
✅ Put it in your calendar! I’ve done lots of 30-day challenges. Some were amazing, others flopped. The key is to commit to a specific time each day and set a reminder. For me, I make it the first thing I do in the morning.
✅ Commit in public. There’s nothing like telling the world you are doing a 30-day challenge to keep you accountable and motivated. Share on your social media channels that you are doing it.
✅ Reward yourself. Part of forming a habit is using the “cue - habit - reward” loop to help you get through the first few days. Integrate your 15 minutes-per-day Mandarin task into your daily routine. Each time reward yourself with a planned dopamine hit - like a coffee, cake, or both!
✅ Link it with another habit. Do your 30-day learning task while engaging in, or linked to, another established habit, such as exercise. Connecting your learning to these “keystone habits” has a huge impact.
FAQs: Your questions answered
Q: How do I join and how much does it cost?
All you need to do is become a member of the RTM+ community, and you can join the 30-day challenge.
Annual membership costs $180. Monthly membership, if you just want to commit to one month to begin with, costs $25/month.
Q: Can I get a refund if I try it and don't like it?
Yes. We offer a full refund on your membership if you try the 30-day challenge and don't feel like it's for you.
Just write to us and let us know within the first week, and we'll refund you.
Q: What if I miss a day?
No worries! Life happens, and if you miss a day, you can always come back and catch up on previous questions. They will be tagged in threads numbered by day so it will be easy to keep track.
The goal is progress, not perfection.
Q: Will you provide feedback?
Yes, the idea is for Zoe and I (and others in the community) to engage with answers in text and audio.
Q: I’m not in UK timezone, will I miss the challenge?
No, the challenge is asynchronous.
Zoe is in China and will aim to publish the question of the day at roughly the same time.
You can engage at a time that suits you.
Q: I don’t feel confident about my level of Chinese. What if I make loads of mistakes?
There are no wrong answers to the questions, and the idea is to make mistakes so we can improve! In fact, the only wrong answer is to not show up. Also, you can respond to questions based on your level so you can always stick to what you feel comfortable with, while challenging yourself a little bit each day.
Q: I’m really busy over the next month. What if I don’t have the time?
We are only asking you to put aside 5-10 minutes each day.
Just commit, and make it the first thing you do every day. Set a reminder and make it happen!
So, what are you waiting for?