- The Chinese News Bootcamp is an intensive 5-week course which helps intermediate students of Chinese take the leap from graded readers into "real life" news articles in Chinese. Over five live modules, and five Q&A sessions, you'll learn the basics of how to read the news in Chinese.
In this course, you will learn:
1. Unique challenges: Why learning to read the news in Chinese is so important, and uniquely difficult.
2. News architecture: The structure of Chinese language news, how it differs from English news, and how to identify the different types of articles.
3. Chinese newspeak: An overview of headlines, styles, and language used in Chinese language news.
4. Grammar and language: Common language structures and grammar used in the news, and how to read them efficiently.
5. Examples: Lots of real-life examples from business, politics, including state-media and non-state media content.
The course starts on 9 January 2024, so don't miss out!
Chinese News Bootcamp
An introductory course on how to read the news in Chinese
Online Course with 10+ hours of video lessons and Q&A sessions, just $299 $199 using discount code 'chinesenews' at checkout!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Rated 4.8/5 by 1000's of Chinese learners
Student Testimonials (from our other courses)
Jim
USA
Margreet
Netherlands (living in NZ)
Susan
Taiwan (living in Australia)
Randy
USA (living in China)
Chris
USA (living in Finland)
Anand
India
Practical
Andrew Methven has spent years reading the news in Chinese and teaching other people how to do so. He's developed a system specifically for nonnative speakers to get "up and running" with the news as quickly as possible—including techniques to help you choose level-appropriate news articles, and even to skim!
Intensive
This is an intensive 5-week "crash course." Each week will focus on a different topic or aspect of reading the news in Chinese, and will include several reading assignments to help you put your new knowledge into practice.
Lifetime Access
Lessons will take place over a 5-week period, but like all of our courses, you'll be able to access all of the materials after it's finished. No need to stress about keeping up—you'll be able to go at a slower pace if you want!
- Curriculum
- About this course
- FAQs
Module 1: Introduction (Tue 9 Jan)
Course kick-off and introduction
Why reading the news is important
Unique challenges of reading the news in Chinese
Module 2: Architecture of Chinese language news (Tue 16 Jan)
Differences with English language news
Overall structure of Chinese language news articles
Different types of articles and media outlets
Module 3: Introduction to Chinese newspeak (Tue 23 Jan)
How to read titles and subheadings
Understanding punctuation
Important “newsy” characters
Naming and proper nouns
Module 4: Introduction to news language structures (Tue 30 Jan)
Important grammar structures
Common sentence structures
Long sentences
Module 5: Examples of real-life news articles (Tue 6 Feb)
Types:
State media
Non-state media
Themes:
Politics
Business
Society
Q&A sessions will be held every Friday during the course:
12 Jan
19 Jan
26 Jan
2 Feb
9 Feb
The format of these live sessions will be discussing pre-submitted questions, live workshopping of news articles.
This course will be taught live, as a combination of lectures and Q&A (though if you can't make it to the live sessions you can watch the recordings later). We'll also hold weekly office hours via Zoom. An exam will be given at the end of the course, and a passing score at the end earns you a Certificate of Completion!
This is a 5-week crash course. It helps intermediate students of Chinese take the leap from graded readers into "real life" news articles in Chinese. Over five live modules, and five Q&A sessions, you'll learn the basics of how to read the news in Chinese.
In each lesson, you'll be assigned a few news selections to read to help you put your new knowledge into practice. Andrew will give explanations of any grammar and vocabulary items you may be unfamiliar with. You'll also learn about the various "types" of news writing, as well as how to pick articles to read that are both interesting and appropriate for your level. By the end of the course, you'll have the skills and knowledge to continue reading the news on your own!
Can I go at my own pace? Will I be able to access the course once it's finished?
Yes! We'll do one lesson per week taught live, but once the course is finished, we'll keep everything available online so that you can go through it at your own pace.
How much Chinese do I need to know to take this course?
This course is for intermediate-level learners and above. If you know 800 characters or so, or if you feel like newspaper articles are frustrating but just within reach, this course is for you.
How long does the course take to complete?
There are 5 lessons, and we'll be doing one lesson per week. The course begins on 9 January and ends on 9 February, 2024.
How much time will it require per lesson?
There will be one lectures each week (you can attend live or watch the recording), and each will be about an hour. You'll also need to devote some time each day to reading the news articles assigned for that week.
We'll also do a live "office hour" session once a week on Zoom, so you can pop in and ask questions if you'd like. There will also be a discussion forum, so if you can't make it to the office hours, you can still get your questions answered.
Will I need anything (apps, etc.) in order to take the course?
All materials will be provided—there's no textbook or anything that you need to buy in order to take this course.
What time will the live lessons be?
The weekly lesson will be on Tuesdays at 7pm GMT, and the Q&A session will be on Fridays at 7pm GMT. You can watch either (or both) live, or watch the recordings later.
Can I study at my own pace or do I have to take the course live?
Either way. It's a live course, but you don't need to feel pressured to keep pace!
Keep in mind that if you can't show up to the live session, you'll be able to watch the replay at any time. Many people don't show up for the live session, but just watch the replay at their own pace. That's totally fine! You'll get lifetime access to the course, so that's no problem.
What does "lifetime access" mean?
In practical terms, it means the course materials will be available online for as long as Outlier is in business. If we do ever go out of business or otherwise need to remove the course for any reason, we'll make the material available for you to download for a period of at least 6 months.
Can I get a refund if I decide the course isn't for me?
Yes! Our usual refund policy is "30 days from purchase," but since the course is only 31 days, the refund date is "14 days from the beginning of the course," or in other words "the 23rd of January." If you decide you don't like the course for whatever reason, just reach out by then and we'll be happy to refund you.
Will there be assignments or homework?
You'll need to set aside time each week to work through several news articles. It's also best to spend some time (probably 10-15 minutes) each day reviewing previous articles.
Can we collaborate with other students or form study groups?
Definitely! Our live courses generally have a lot of people enrolled, so there should be plenty of students of all backgrounds and interests in this course too.
And sure, working together is no problem! We'll have a private online community where you can work together, ask questions, share notes, etc.
Your Instructor
Andrew Methven
Author of Slow Chinese, creator of the Mandarin News Mastery System
Andrew is the founder and author of the Slow Chinese newsletter, a free weekly resource which helps over 7,000 China watchers and language learners keep up to date with the latest language trends in China.
He also runs a paid community around the newsletter with around 400 dedicated language learners taking their Mandarin skills to the next level through multimedia content and on- and off-line meet-ups.
A self-taught learner of Mandarin for more than 20 years, Andrew consumes huge amounts of Chinese language news every day. His Mandarin News Mastery course (a more advanced course than this one) is now in its second year, and has helped over 100 upper-intermediate and advanced Mandarin learners dramatically improve their Chinese news reading skills and reading speed.
Andrew writes a weekly column for The China Project, a New York-based, China-focused news, information, and business services platform. The Phrase of the Week column now boasts over 100 articles in the extensive archive.
Andrew began his Mandarin learning journey backpacking in China for a year in 2002. He then lived and studied in Taiwan for three years. He’s had an extensive career in China-related business as an executive in a China-focussed advisory firm in the UK. He holds a BSc in Planetary Science from UCL, and an MA in Chinese Translation and Linguistics from SOAS.
Sign up now!
Online Course with 10+ hours of video lessons and Q&A sessions, just $299 $199 using discount code 'chinesenews' at checkout!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Rated 4.8/5 by hundreds of Chinese learners