Mandarin Monkey Podcast

Links: Skritter - Learn to write Chinese skritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkey Use promoCode: MANDARINMONKEY for 10% off everything 🐵 Learn Mandarin with us: https://mandarinmonkey.com/ 🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel:    / @monkeyplaysmandarin   🗣️ Want more opportunities to speak Mandarin outside of lessons? Join learners from around the world for fun discussions,...

🔗 Links: Skritter - Learn to write Chinese skritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkey Use promoCode: MANDARINMONKEY for 10% off everything 🐵 Learn Mandarin with us: https://mandarinmonkey.com/ 🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel:    / @monkeyplaysmandarin   🗣️ Want more opportunities to speak Mandarin outside of lessons? Join learners from around the world for fun discussion...

A brief annocunement on our impending heatwave survival and the ongoing health and wellfare of all others. We couldn't record a full episode, it's too hot outside and inside so no way to record without not wearing clothes or being extremely hot. We will be back to normal next week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can AI replace human connection? What do Freemasons actually do? And how can learning Mandarin shape your career and life opportunities? In Episode 470 of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, Tom and Ula explore language learning, artificial intelligence, online education, social media, mental health, and modern life through a relaxed Mandarin and English conversation. In this episode: • A listener from G...

Can a Taiwanese really dislike bubble milk tea? 😱 In this episode, Ula, Tom, and Yating sit down for a relaxed Mandarin-English conversation covering everything from bubble tea and Taiwanese food to relationships, life abroad, and cultural differences. Yating shares what it's like living in Sweden for nearly a decade and reveals a surprising opinion that leaves Ula heartbroken. Tom joins the conv...

🎙️ Listen while you walk, relax, or practise your Mandarin with us. 🐵 Learn Mandarin with us: https://mandarinmonkey.com/ 🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel: https://www.youtube.com/@monkeyplaysmandarin In this episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, we take you on a countryside walk while sharing the story of our recent family camping trip. What started as a relaxing getaway quickly turned in...

In this episode of Meeting Yating , Ula and Yating continue getting to know each other through a series of fun, unexpected, and surprisingly personal questions. How can two Leos be so shy? Why do both teachers give off a "don't talk to me" first impression? And perhaps most shocking of all... how can a Taiwanese person not love stinky tofu? The conversation jumps from personality types and school...

In Episode 466 of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, Ula and Tom dive into the strange world of AI language learning apps, including one that judged Tom’s Mandarin level almost instantly after saying “你好”! We chat about why language confidence matters, how AI should assess learners, and what actually helps people improve their Chinese naturally. We also share exciting updates about the brand-new Manda...

In this episode, Ula sits down with new Mandarin Monkey teacher Yating for a fun first conversation together. They discuss the kinds of questions Taiwanese people always ask when meeting someone new, including where you’re from, your star sign, and whether you’re an I person or a J person. The conversation also explores life abroad, cultural differences between Taiwan, the UK, and Sweden, and the...

We’re back on another Friday walk, this time heading to buy pizza for the kids before their disco. Along the way we talk about rats, squirrels, Dungeons & Dragons, steak names in Mandarin, private and public schools, and the differences between education in Taiwan and the UK. We also discuss how children discover their interests, whether schools should focus more on individual passions, and wh...

In episode 463, we take the podcast outside again for a relaxed walk around our local area. We chat in Mandarin and English about spring weather, birds, nettles, dandelions, dog poo bags, new housing developments, finding a £2 coin, and spotting a rat in the bushes. We also talk about our upcoming camping trip to the Cotswolds, bank holiday weather, funny local pub experiences, and some of our rec...

So we decided to go out for a walk today while doing the podcast. Makes a change to the usual studio based Mandarin and English conversation. Enjoy. www.mandarinmonkey.com Email: chat@mandarinmonkey.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to the Mandarin Monkey Podcast episode 461. This week, we dive into a big idea: what if we hosted a Mandarin Monkey live immersion event in the UK? We talk through what that could look like — a full day of Chinese-speaking activities, games, food, and socialising — designed to feel fun, relaxed, and genuinely immersive, not like a traditional classroom. Along the way, we also chat abo...

Welcome back to the Mandarin Monkey Podcast episode 460. In this episode, we talk about the reaction to our “goodbye” joke and the unexpected wave of love that came from it. It was a warm reminder that even when content feels lonely to make, there are real people out there listening. We also get into: why long-form content still matters to us how short-form is changing attention spans ideas for fu...

We are finally saying goodbye to the podcast. We have been doing this since 2018! Made so many awesome friends along the way and had so much fun. But now its time we call it a day. We started with a microphone on a bedside table in our bedroom and ended up in a full studio, its been a long and arduous journey. We want to say thank you to everyone who made this possible. The community will continue...

So this is it. The final mailbag episode. It was fun while it lasted. If you have any interesting stories or emails, email them in to: chat@mandarinmonkey.com and we will read them out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We started planning a simple trip to Lapland… and somehow ended up booking reindeer rides, elf school, glass igloos, and possibly bankruptcy. In this episode, we talk (and argue) through planning a family trip to Lapland, what we actually want to do vs what we can afford, and how quickly “just a few activities” turns into chaos. Along the way, you’ll hear natural Mandarin and English conversation,...

Welcome back to Mandarin Monkey Podcast Episode 456. This one’s a proper listener mailbag episode. We read your emails and end up talking about all sorts: learning Mandarin on a tractor in rural Iowa, a workplace misunderstanding about saving face, the chaos of Taiwan Ghost Month, whether the third tone is designed to ruin lives, typing Chinese on a Mac, and one very wholesome story about using Ma...

This episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast takes a strange turn. We somehow ended up playing a “tiny acting” game we found online… which is great for YouTube and absolutely terrible for podcast listeners. Expect awkward silence, ridiculous acting challenges, and one very questionable scenario involving a dog in a waiting room. Along the way we also talk about: • why words start to feel strange wh...

Can you really learn Mandarin while doing the dishes? What about while running, driving, or just surviving family life on broken sleep? In this Mandarin Monkey mailbag episode, we dive into real listener stories and questions about learning Chinese in the middle of normal life. From passive listening and bilingual parenting to sleep deprivation, kids climbing into bed sideways, and the never-endin...

We just spent 36 hours in Zurich, Switzerland filming an event at the FIFA Museum… and somehow turned it into a mini travel adventure. In this episode we talk about: • flying to Switzerland with camera gear • our first taste of real Swiss chocolate • accidentally spending £50 on chocolate • riding electric scooters around Zurich • trying kangaroo steak in an Australian restaurant • discovering how...

We just recorded 40 minutes of podcast… and realised we never pressed record. So here we are doing it again. In this episode we talk about: • Our first corporate filming job in London • Why we're suddenly flying to Zurich next week • The launch of our new gaming channel Monkey Plays • Whether language exchange apps actually work • Why Pleco is amazing (but not perfect) • Why people in Taiwan don’t...

This week’s mailbag episode is… painful. • A freelance translator loses a business contract because he didn’t understand 面子 (miànzi). • Someone tries to compliment their manager… and accidentally calls him a bastard. • Another listener’s Chinese name sounds dangerously close to “horse sh*t.” We talk about cultural competence in business Mandarin, tone disasters, gaming as a language-learning met...

Episode 450 is here! 🎉 In this fun and chaotic bilingual episode, we chat about life getting back to normal after the holidays, the challenges of new projects, and a possible Mandarin retreat idea… before things take a very British turn 😅 We dive into one tiny English word — “piss” — and explore the MANY ways British people actually use it in real life. If you’ve ever been confused by British sl...

This week on the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, we read three powerful emails from listeners whose Mandarin journeys couldn’t be more different — yet share the same courage. From feeling fluent for the first time , to reconnecting with family and heritage, to quitting a job and moving to Taiwan for love and language… These are real stories from real learners navigating confidence, shame, identity, relat...