Fluency Now with Marko Jovanovic: No Classes, Just Progress

Ever feel confident speaking Chinese with your teacher or tutor, only to find yourself completely lost when you're with a group of native speakers? Why does your Chinese suddenly seem to fall apart? In this episode, Jared and John explore why group conversations present such a unique challenge for Chinese learners, even those with strong conversational skills. They uncover the "invisible help" that tutors provide, the hidden complexities of group dynamics, and why understanding individual speakers doesn't necessarily mean you’ll be able to follow a group discussion. Drawing from their own experiences, you’ll learn practical strategies for preparing for real-world conversations, including how to adapt your learning, take a more active role in discussions, and gradually build confidence in group settings. Whether you're preparing for your first dinner with Chinese friends or have spent years struggling to keep up at the table, this episode will help you bridge the gap between classroom Chinese and real-world conversation. Links from the episode: Mandarin Companion Graded Readers

Sharing a heater with the family dog during Chinese New Year. Sitting in the front seat of taxis to practice Chinese with the drivers. Rehearsing a speech in Chinese to thank her team at a store opening in Shenzhen. For Cassandre Egolf, learning Chinese has become inseparable from her life in China. Growing up in France, Cassandre heard plenty about China from her mother, an Air France flight attendant who had studied Chinese herself. Cassandre wasn't particularly interested. Years later, stranded in Sri Lanka during COVID and considering a job in Shanghai, she started using apps to learn Mandarin on her own. What began as something to give her routine and direction turned into a much bigger adventure. Cassandre kept studying through a year-long wait for her visa, eventually moved to Shanghai, worked on a major project in Shenzhen, and began using Chinese with coworkers, neighbors, taxi drivers, and people she met while traveling around the country. In this episode, Cassandre shares what it was like to take Chinese from an app into the real world, why imperfect Chinese can still change how people connect with you, and how living and traveling in China has continually given her new reasons to keep learning. Now, after five years in China, Cassandre is starting a new chapter as an entrepreneur while continuing to share the places, people, and experiences that have made the country feel like home. Links from the episode: Cassandre Egolf on Instagram | @thecurator_shanghai

In celebration of Teachers’ Day in China, Jared and John reflect on the teachers who have shaped their language-learning journeys and what actually makes a great teacher. They share stories of teachers who were hilarious, inspiring, technically brilliant, and sometimes simply there with the right advice at exactly the right moment. They also discuss the different strengths of native and non-native language teachers, why experience and expertise can make such a difference, and an important truth about learning: ultimately, the student has to do the learning. A great teacher can’t simply pour vocabulary and grammar into your head, but they can give you confidence, direction, and a reason to keep going. As the saying goes, “Education is not the filling of a pot, but the lighting of a fire.” Sometimes the greatest thing a teacher can do is help you find that fire for yourself. Links from the episode: Mandarin Companion Graded Readers

In a mildly confusing bit of podcast naming, Jared Turner sits down with comedian Turner Sparks. Turner moved to China in 2004 to teach English, planning to stay for just one year. He ended up staying for twelve. In this episode of You Can Learn Chinese, Turner talks about learning Chinese out of necessity, from struggling through everyday conversations with almost no shared language to using Chinese while building and running a business across China. Turner shares stories from his years in Suzhou and Shanghai, including launching Mr. Softee ice cream trucks in China, navigating local government and business culture, whitewater rafting with Chinese officials, and stumbling into stand-up comedy when a local bar owner built him a stage and told him he had a month to prepare. That hobby eventually became a career. After performing around Asia, Turner moved to New York City to pursue comedy full time, where his years in China, his Chinese-speaking wife and family, and the Chinese language itself continue to shape his comedy. Turner’s path from English teacher to ice cream entrepreneur to full-time comedian is not exactly the standard Chinese-learning story. Join us for a funny and unpredictable conversation about China, Chinese, business, comedy, and the strange places learning a language can take you. Links from the episode: Turner Sparks | Website & Tour Dates

Jared and John discuss the frustrations faced by a learner who came to John for help—particularly with pinyin and distinguishing similar sounds in Chinese. They explore why learners often misapply English pronunciation rules to pinyin and how comprehensible input can help ease the learning curve. This episode serves as both a deep dive into the phonetic and perceptual challenges of learning Chinese and a reassuring reminder that, while the path to fluency can be frustrating, personalized strategies and persistent effort can lead to real progress. Links from the episode: Mandarin Companion graded readers