Chinese Uncovered Review (StoryLearning): Really Good Course

  • Zoe Mei
    Written byZoe Mei
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A comprehensive Mandarin Chinese course that uses a unique story-based method for building language comprehension.
Chinese Uncovered Review (StoryLearning): Really Good Course

Chinese Uncovered (StoryLearning)
Chinese Uncovered (StoryLearning)
Pricing: $297 up front or 3 x $99 monthly installments
Positives
  • Very comprehensive course content
  • 100+ guaranteed hours of material
  • Detailed grammar explanations
  • Unique and innovative approach
Negatives
  • Teachable platform
  • Primarily a literacy-based course
  • Expensive

Summary

The Chinese Uncovered course extends on the extremely popular StoryLearning method by Olly Richards, applying a story-based teaching methodology that comprehensively covers Mandarin up to an intermediate level. The course is ideal for those who enjoy a literacy and grammar-heavy approach, but may not be as enjoyable for other types of learners.

Overall, Chinese Uncovered is pricey but it offers great value.

Depth
DepthThis is 'content' richness. How comprehensive is Chinese Uncovered (StoryLearning) and does it take you far in terms of levels, or is it more suited to low level/tourist learners?
Uniqueness
UniquenessIs Chinese Uncovered (StoryLearning) innovative or is it just an imitation? Does it have a unique selling proposition (USP) that makes it stand out among competitors?
Quality
QualityOverall product quality indicator that covers everything from video/dialogue clarity, authenticity, explanations, and effectiveness.
Cost
CostIs Chinese Uncovered (StoryLearning) acceptably priced and how does its pricing compare to market competition?

If you’re learning Chinese, you may have already seen Chinese Uncovered by Olly Richards (of I Will Teach You A Language/StoryLearning).

This is a course I’ve wanted to review since I heard about it being developed.

Chinese Uncovered offers over 100 hours of content from absolute beginner up to (CEFR) intermediate. It’s an impressively comprehensive Mandarin Chinese course, covering pretty much every pertinent topic of Chinese for new learners.

Olly’s taken a very unique approach to teaching based on story comprehension. The gist is that you’ll work through a simplified short story in Chinese, covering various grammatical topics as you go, with the end result being that you’ll have read an entire story in Chinese by the end of the course.

Not only does Olly guide you through the course, but there are also video lessons by an experienced Mandarin Chinese teacher.

Frank opinion: This course style will suit people who enjoy a literacy, grammar-heavy approach (it’s very thorough with its explanations), but it may not be ideal if that’s not something you enjoy.

Many learners (myself included) prefer to learn through conversation/use, which this course unfortunately lacks.

The only other aspect of Chinese Uncovered that bothers me is the Teachable platform, but that’s a largely aesthetic issue.

Overall, Chinese Uncovered is excellent value - a little pricey, but it’s a one-time payment ($297) rather than a recurring subscription (there’s also the option of 3 x monthly installments).

There are alternative online Chinese courses available too worth checking out.

Chinese Uncovered (StoryLearning)
Pricing: $297 up front or 3 x $99 monthly installments

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SHANKARANAND JHA

SHANKARANAND JHA

Does it really take the learners to B1 level. I saw on their website that it covers HSK 1 syllabus and that it makes us ready for HSK 2

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