In this first installment of the Conquering Chinese series, Dr. Fan shares two foundational insights from over a decade of teaching, researching and thinking: how your native language can become your learning superpower — and why choosing the right method makes all the difference.

Chinese pedagogy often mirrors methods for alphabetic languages—an approach that fails to harness Mandarin’s unique linguistic nature. This essay shows how rhythm, rhyme, and tonal groupings tap into natural auditory learning to help learners internalize Mandarin sound more effectively.