Switched from pure Mandarin apps to a language partner in Chengdu

I was dead set on using apps like Duolingo and HelloChinese for 6 months to learn Mandarin, but I kept hitting a wall with tones and real conversation. My cousin who teaches in Chengdu finally convinced me to try a paid language partner on iTalki, about $12 an hour, and within 3 sessions I realized the app never taught me how people actually drop particles and speak fast. Now I split my time between the app for vocab and the partner for speaking, and it's night and day. Has anyone else found that apps alone just don't cut it for Chinese? What worked for you?

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1 Comment

black.amy19d ago

Funny, the app got me talking to people fine, guess it depends on the person.