Hello!
This is our monthly member update for January 2023.
It’s also a quick look back on 2022, and an update on three new features we are rolling out in the membership in the next two months.
In this note we cover:
Thoughts on 2022
New features coming in 2023
Summary of last month’s newsletters
1. Thoughts on 2022
First, a massive thank you for supporting me and this creative project over the last year. It means such much to me.
Your time, attention, and money, are valuable assets. And I don’t take your investment of those things in this product for granted.
My mission is to create the best learning resource for advanced and aspiring learners of Mandarin out there.
Because of that we are always in “beta mode”, looking for new ways to improve the product and experience.
Since we launched the Slow Chinese membership a year ago it’s evolved a lot.
Some of my favourite features we’ve added are thanks to suggestions from readers, including:
Podcast:
Native audio in the podcast (It’s now c 80% native Chinese audio)
Chinese transcript along with the podcast (added just last week)
Resources:
Pleco download links, which are now in the emails
Example sentences downloads with pinyin and English, also in the email
Community:
Monthly live meet-ups
20 minute 1-1 onboarding welcome calls for new members
With your help we are building a unique learning resource.
But there’s much more to come…
2. New Features in 2023
We’re rolling out three new additions to the membership: all about driving more community engagement!
1. Member Dinners
Objective: Bringing together 8-10 people for great Chinese food, to meet like-minded Chinese language learners, and have an opportunity to practice Chinese with fellow learners, and native speakers.
Summary:
Our first dinner will be on Thursday 16 March at a fantastic hot pot restaurant in central London.
We also have interest in doing dinners in other cities: Paris, New York, Seattle, Barcelona, Singapore, Toronto.
Action:
If you’re based in one of these cities and you’d like to join, or you’d like to host a dinner where you are, please take 30 secs to fill out this form and I’ll be in touch.
I’m doing a Zoom call this evening (2 Feb) at 7pm UK time to brainstorm this idea more. Hit reply to this email if you want to join and I’ll share a link.
2. Accountability Partnerships
Objective: Connecting individuals within the membership to meet other language learning “accountability parters”.
Summary:
Fill out a short form describing your level, and what you want to get out of a language partnership.
We’ll do our best to match people within the membership for online or offline meet-ups.
Action: Fill out this form and find an accountability partner!
3. Monthly Deep Dives
Objective: Bi-monthly live sessions focussing on one particular topic to help overcome learning challenges.
Summary:
Every other “monthly meet-up” will be a one-hour video presentation in which I share simple systems you can follow to overcome specific challenges as an advanced learner of Mandarin. Each one includes specific actions and strategies you can apply to your learning process.
You get to vote on upcoming session topics, attend live recordings, and get personalised help by asking questions live.
Action:
Join our first Deep Dive this month: Chinese Media Masterclass - Where to find great Chinese news content.
Date: Wednesday 15th February
Time: 7-8pm UK time (Zoom details will be sent out closer to time)
3. Review of January Newsletters
Finally, here’s a list of our newsletter content from this last month for you to catch up on:
Chinese Zodiac Red-Eyed Devil Bunny Makes A Comeback (21 Jan)
What is China's "Hot Coffee" Craze? (14 Jan)
Can Li Ziqi make a comeback? (7 Jan)
Dig into the archive and don’t forget to make use of the all the extra resources you get in the email!
…Ask me a question…
This monthly memo is also an opportunity to feedback directly and ask any questions.
There’s a lot in this email so if you have any questions or comments please just reach out in the comments section.
Thanks and hopefully see you on 15 February!
Andrew
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Ps - Would you mind giving me a testimonial? This will really help me as we grow the membership with all these amazing new features! Please take 1 minute to share your thoughts in this form.