Why Speak Chinese 2022: Meet the Judges

ShuoShuoChinese, aka Shuo, is a self-proclaimed "teaching geek." She has over eight years of experience as a Chinese teacher. 

If you are looking for an in-depth Chinese language course, Shuo teaches eight-week virtual conversation courses. 

But if you want something less intensive, check out her YouTube channel! 

Her videos are mainly grammar and word choice tips or stories in Mandarin to help improve your listening. Don't worry, there's subtitles. 

For example, the video above is her evaluation of the cost of living in Bangkok, where she has lived for nine years. (As a bonus, she also talks about this year's Why Speak Chinese contest in the video.)

She also has helpful playlists split up by HSK level. They are surefire ways to level up. 

You can also find ShuoShuoChinese on Instagram and Facebook.

Chilling Chinese, aka Karen Zhou, is proof that "learning Chinese can be super chill."

Zhou has a plethora of learning resources that make learning Chinese easy. 

Her YouTube channel has videos explaining grammar and word choice that are all under 10 minutes. 

She also has vlogs where she speaks completely in Mandarin (with subtitles) that can help you learn context-specific words. 

For example, Zhou's most recent vlogs are of her lockdown experience in Shenzhen, where she lives. Shenzhen went into lockdown earlier this month due to a rise in COVID-19 cases. 

In part one of her lockdown diary above, Zhou goes for a COVID test and tries to order takeout (外卖, wàimài). 

If you don't have 10 minutes to spare, Zhou's Instagram has videos on how to say single phrases such as "no offense" and "got it" in Chinese. 

If you want something more in-depth, check out her podcast Chillchat. 

The episodes cover how to talk about topics like dating, pets and sports in Chinese. New vocabulary words are listed at the beginning so you can understand the conversation. 

Last but not least, Chinosity is excited to welcome back Blondie in China! 

Blondie in China, aka Amy, previously collaborated with us on the 2021 Lunar New Year cook off.

Originally from Australia, Amy has traveled in China for the past five years. 

She shares videos of her adventures, especially the delicious food, on her YouTube channel. Plus she has some Mandarin study hacks sprinkled in there for fun. 

But with travel restrictions in place, how was she able to experience Chinese culture during the pandemic?

Amy combated her "serious travel withdrawl" by livestreaming virtual tours of China. She connected with friends in various Chinese cities to show her their favorite spots over video chat. 

If you want to visit China but can't right now, you can watch the recordings of these streams on her channel. 

You can also find Blondie in China on Instagram and Weibo.

Want to participate in the Why Speak Chinese contest? Find out all the details here. Submissions are open now!