Chinese Uncovered (StoryLearning)

If you're learning Chinese, you've probably seen Olly Richards' Chinese Uncovered. Olly Richard's approach starts with a simple Chinese story, and you learn through a "Guided Discovery" method that involves courses with a native Chinese teacher. Over 100 hours of content are available in Chinese Uncovered, ranging from absolute beginner to (CEFR) intermediate. It's an extremely comprehensive Mandarin Chinese course for beginning learners, covering nearly every relevant topic in Chinese.

Olly has developed a unique teaching method based on story comprehension. The basic idea is that you'll work your way through a simplified short story in Chinese, learning various grammar themes along the way, and by the end of the course, you'll have read a full story in Chinese. Not only will Olly guide you through the course, but there will also be video lessons from a professional Mandarin Chinese teacher.

This course style will fit folks who appreciate a literacy, grammar-heavy approach (it is quite comprehensive with its explanations), but it might not be suitable if you don't. Many students want to learn through interaction and application, which this course regrettably does not provide.

Overall, Chinese Uncovered is a great bargain, it offers a fun and innovative method to learn a language, despite being a little pricey.

• Rating: 4.5/5 stars
• Cost: One-time purchase of $297.
• Pros:
  • A novel story-based approach
  • Lots of practice and clear directions
• Cons:
  • For new students, it may appear overwhelming
  • Grammar points that appear to be unrelatedly are placed into the lesson
  • Expensive
• Enroll here: https://learn.storylearning.com/