Speak Cantonese Like A Local In 30 Minutes A Day
An extensive library of Cantonese listening material, created by learners, for learners
"Getting me over a sticking point in achieving fluency!"
The speakers talk about interesting topics and the accompanying jyutping romanisation transcriptions are most helpful. I feel Cantonese Conversations is getting me over a sticking point in achieving fluency.
A great learning resource and very good value!
- Neil Murray, Phillip Island, Australia
Mastering Cantonese Not As Easy As You Hoped?
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It doesn’t matter if you’ve become frustrated with learning Cantonese after trying for years
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Or if you still struggle to understand spoken Cantonese, no matter how hard you study
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Maybe learning Cantonese vocabulary seems like a never-ending task
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Or you’re frustrated with poor study materials that mix written and spoken language, without telling you which is which
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In fact, you might feel at a loss to know how to study Cantonese, resorting instead to watching Cantonese TV series out of desperation (with English subtitles, of course)
Whatever your experience learning Cantonese... with the right material you can learn to understand native speakers, grow a huge vocabulary of natural words and phrases, and start speaking more fluently right away...
你好!
I’m Olly Richards, founder of the popular language learning website StoryLearning. I’m a language consultant, coach, author, and, of course... learner!
In my opinion, Cantonese is the most fun language in the world! In fact, Cantonese was my 6th foreign language...
But, I’ll be honest…
I found it tough to learn.
Unlike more popular languages like Mandarin or Japanese, there is a huge lack of material for Cantonese learners, especially if you live abroad.
As a learner, I have used virtually every single commercially available book, and eventually I said…
Enough is enough!
And that’s why I created...
Consultant, Open University
Contributing Author, Huffington Post
International Bestselling Author, Amazon.com
Why Do Some People Master Cantonese Quickly, While You Still Struggle To Understand What's Going On?
Have you ever wondered what accounts for the difference between people who learn to speak Cantonese easily, and those who, like me, seem to get lost and frustrated?
It’s quite simple…
Immersion
Cantonese is a playful, dynamic language that exists on the tip of the tongue, not in the pages of a book.
Those who learn Cantonese quickly, do one thing above all else: Use Cantonese day in, day out.
They spend huge amounts of time interacting with local Cantonese-speaking people, at university, work, or at home.
Thanks to hours and hours spent listening, their listening comprehension quickly improves.
As their listening comprehension improves, and they understand more, their spoken fluency quickly follows.
That’s how certain people are able to learn Cantonese quickly. It’s quite simple really. But I’m sure you’ve spotted the problem..
Most Of Us Can't Do That!
And let’s be honest, even if you do live in a Cantonese speaking environment, you probably find that getting to grips with real Cantonese is easier said than done, and the amount of English casually spoken can you feel like you’re not listening to much Cantonese at all!
That’s right…
Unless you’re lucky enough to have a strict Cantonese speaking environment around you, you have to resort to more formal study.
And That's Where The Problems Begin...
Once you’ve finished your beginner's textbook, what do you do next?
Apart from the fact there’s a huge lack of resources for Cantonese in general (especially if you live abroad), the books that do exist have a number of big problems:
• They tend to teach unnatural language that’s written for textbooks
• They are mostly either for complete beginners (i.e. foreigners) or advanced (i.e. native Chinese speakers)
• Dialogues are boring and far too short… and sometimes don’t even come with audio
• They have an infuriating habit of teaching written language you can’t use when you speak (unless you enjoy being laughed at!), and don’t tell you which is which
• They use a mix of unhelpful romanisation systems, and often don’t teach Chinese characters
Sure, you can watch movies or TV shows, for some extra exposure to Cantonese.
But until you’re more advanced, they’re simply too hard for you to learn anything meaningful from.
In the face of all these challenges, what can you do?
Step1: Listen to real Cantonese with an extensive library of spontaneous conversations between different speakers on interesting topics. You’ll be able to immerse yourself in real, spoken Cantonese from Hong Kong, wherever you live! Available in a combination of audio and video, you’ll feel like you’re there in the room, and be able to listen in the way that suits you.
Step 2: Follow along with the transcript (characters or jyutping) so you improve your listening comprehension. This is the key to becoming a better listener. When you can follow along with every word that’s spoken, you’ll realise you actually know far more than you think! The transcripts allow you to identify words that might be rushed, “swallowed”, or even omitted by the speaker, equipping you to understand the way real Hong Kong’ers actually talk! By listening to the conversations multiple times, and following along with every word in the transcript, you’ve discovered the most natural, holistic way to learn Cantonese.
Step 3: Achieve 100% comprehension of every little detail with full English translations. When you watch TV or listen to podcasts, most of what you hear goes way over your head. With Cantonese Conversations, not only can you go back and listen as many times as you want, but you have a full English translation of everything that’s said, so if you can’t pick up what you need from the transcriptions alone, you can still get the satisfaction of understanding the conversations.
Step 4: Reinforce difficult vocabulary with bilingual word lists. There’s nothing more frustrating than not understanding what a word means. The word lists at the end of every conversation give you a quick-reference way to check the meaning of every difficult word you hear. Just like the transcripts, word lists come with Chinese characters and jyutping romanisation, so you’ll never be stuck, and can learn in the way you prefer. Want to find a word later, without going back through the entire conversation? Maybe you want to sit down and study all the vocabulary on one topic you like? No problem, we’ve done all the hard work and laid it all out for you.
The Cantonese Conversations in this product are recordings of real, spontaneous conversations. This means they are more difficult than the simple, contrived textbook dialogues you might be used to…
But That's The Point!
Beginner
As a beginner, Cantonese Conversations is best used as extensive listening practice.
Whether you’re in the car, in the gym, or relaxing in the evening, the conversations help you get accustomed to the sound of the Cantonese language.
Much like watching TV or listening to podcasts, you will find the material challenging as a beginning. Where Cantonese Conversations comes into its own, though, is that you have the option to read the transcript and translations at any stage.
Unlike TV shows, where you have no way to repeat things, or look words up, Cantonese Conversations gives you the option of listening again and again, following along with the transcript, and using the English translation to figure out what’s going on.
Intermediate
For intermediate learners, Cantonese Conversations is the ultimate resource.
With native-level material, like TV shows, still being slightly out of your reach, Conversations finally allows you to begin to access native-speaker Cantonese, by providing both a library of listening material, but comprehensive transcripts, translations and word lists to help you understand.
By listening to the conversations and reading along with the transcripts every day, you will quickly increase your listening comprehension, grow your vocabulary, and notice a fast improvement in your ability to speak Cantonese fluently.
Advanced
As an advanced Cantonese learner, your goal is to learn to read and to master the spoken language.
However, the nature of Cantonese means it can be difficult to find interesting material that comes with resources such as transcriptions of the spoken Cantonese itself.
Cantonese Conversations will help you master the final stages of the language by giving you the ability to listen to engaging material, learn more precise vocabulary and expressions, and read along with everything in Chinese character transcriptions
Cantonese Conversations is the result of months of planning, coordination, recording, filming, transcribing, translation, and international travel!
It’s a passion project in every sense, and I’m thrilled to be releasing it into the world. When you purchase today, you will receive full lifetime access, including ongoing free updates of all improvements, and additional material that is added in the future.
You’ll also join a community of other Cantonese learners around the world who you can ask questions and learn from.
So, How Much Does Cantonese Conversations Cost?
First, let’s look at some of the alternatives…
• A subscription to one of the few online Cantonese learning products can cost up to $549.
• A package of lessons with a Cantonese teacher from Hong Kong can easily cost over $300-$400… and you’ll soon need to cough up again once that runs out.
• And if you’re thinking about travelling to Hong Kong to improve your Cantonese, well… as I've found out myself… you won’t get much change out of $3,000, and that’s just for a 1-week trip!
In reality, you don’t need to invest large amounts of money in tuition in order to get closer to your dream of speaking fluent Cantonese.
With Cantonese Conversations, you will be immersed in real Cantonese, for a fraction of the cost of the alternative, and for an affordable one-off payment.
The true cost, however, is time.
You began learning Cantonese for a reason, and I’m guessing you’d like to get there sooner rather than later. If you can save all this time and money, what’s it worth to you?
Bonus:
Vocabulary Flashcard Decks
Start Learning Today!
Sign up today to get instant access to Cantonese Conversations
Here's what you'll get:
Cantonese Conversations
$
97
One-time payment (US $)
- • 29 extended conversations (combination of audio and video) - so you can immerse yourself in Cantonese from Hong Kong
- • Chinese character transcripts - so you can learn to recognise Chinese characters naturally
- • Jyupting romanisation transcripts - so you can check the pronunciation of everything you hear and improve your listening comprehension, using the most widely used romanization standard
- • English translations - so you fully understand what is said
- • Word lists - so you can learn new vocabulary in a targeted way
- • Downloads of everything - so you can learn at any time, any place
- • Full lifetime access - so you can keep learning as often as you want
- • BONUS: Anki flashcard decks of all vocabulary from the conversations ($47 value) - so you can easily commit new vocabulary to memory and start speaking Cantonese more fluently
Oh, and you'll also join our Facebook community of passionate Cantonese learners, so you can meet others around the world who share the same interests.
In short, you won't be alone, and will have as much access to help, support and advice as you need!
What Others Are Saying...
- Luke Truman, UK
- Matt Born, in our Facebook community
Donal
Hong Kong
"Natural, authentic Cantonese material that is compelling to listen to! You'll get a great insight into Hong Kong culture and the mentality of the locals!"
Megan Tong
Hi Olly, I wanted to say thank you to you and your team for producing such great work!
Thanks to your materials, I've managed to stay motivated. You're so encouraging, I feel sure that I'm taking the right steps, instead of just doing stuff and having no system in place.
I'm now able to hold simple conversations and to understand a lot of things people say in Cantonese, whereas before, I couldn't speak at all and I couldn't understand anything that didn't have to do with either food or going to the washroom!
Huge breakthroughs!!!
Thank you for all that you do Olly and team! It's made a BIG difference for me! :D
Want To Take A Look Inside?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a Cantonese course?
No, this is not a structured Cantonese course. Cantonese conversations provides what is currently unavailable anywhere on the web - an extensive library of authentic conversations between Hong Kong'ers, fully transcribed and translated. Using this material every day will help you quickly improve your listening comprehension, which, in turn, will help you speak Cantonese more fluently.
Is this suitable for me as a beginner / intermediate / advanced learner?
Yes, absolutely. However, you will use Cantonese Conversations in different ways at different levels. Please scroll up to see my explanation of how to use this at different levels.
How will I know how to use it?
Included in Cantonese Conversations is a video lesson from me, where I show you how to study with the product to get the most benefit from it. Additionally, if you ever have any questions about learning Cantonese, you can send me an email any time, or ask a question in our members' Facebook group. You won't be alone!
I live in Hong Kong. Is this for me?
Many people find they can live in Hong Kong for years and not get much exposure to Cantonese. After all, English is so widely spoken! However, even if you do get lots of exposure to Cantonese, you might find it is difficult to "slow things down" and learn from them! The true benefit of Cantonese Conversations is that you can listen to real Cantonese in great detail. Stop and start the recordings, repeat the dialogues as often as you like, but above all, read along with everything you hear with full transcriptions, translations and word lists. You'll be able to discover this beautiful language in much more depth than ever before thanks to all the learning resources included, and notice a quick improvement in your abilities.