30-Day Challenge
Don't let your Mandarin go to waste! Join the RTM 30-day challenge, practice your Chinese for 5 minutes every day, build a routine, improve your Mandarin, and get your confidence back!
If you’re an intermediate to advanced learner of Mandarin, what’s the biggest thing standing in your way in making real progress in 2025?
Is it lack of one (or all!) of these?
Time
Routine
Motivation
The problem with being stuck here is the longer it goes on, the harder it is to get unstuck.
But there is a solution!
The only way to overcome that sinking feeling of having no time, routine, or motivation in your Mandarin learning journey is to: build a learning habit!
A learning habit helps you remove friction, and create momentum.
And that’s the aim of this RTM 30-day challenge.
The RTM 30-day challenge will help you do just that: practising your language skills for 5-10 minutes every day.
Participating in the challenge will help you:
Form a daily habit
Enhance language skills
Communicate with confidence
“I would subscribe to RealTime Mandarin just for the 30-day challenges alone.”
How does the challenge work?
The 30-day challenge will be run on our RTM+ member Chat channel and starts this Tuesday, 7 January, and ends on 6 February, 2025.
Every day, RTM editor, Zoe Qian, will share a short post in Chinese linking to one newsletter in the archive, highlighting one word or phrase, asking you one question about it, and inviting you to respond in Chinese.
You then take 5 minutes to do the following:
Read: consume the post in Chinese to get your Mandarin juices flowing
Receive: listen to the audio of the word and example sentence in the podcast
Repeat: say the word and example sentence out loud
Reply: create your own sentence using the vocab and post in the Chat
There you go!
In just 5 minutes per day, you have practiced all the key language skills, and moved towards reigniting your Mandarin learning for 2025!!
This challenge rekindled my enthusiasm for learning Chinese!
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 7th January, Zoe will send the Day 1 Post 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.
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
What people are saying about RTM 30-day challenges
This is the third 30-day challenge we've run.
This is what members of the community said about their experiences:
“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)
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.
Q: I’m not in UK timezone, will I miss the challenge?
No, the challenge is asynchronous.
We 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!