Specialized · Academic & Research Mandarin
Academic Chinese
Pro PlusMandarin for scholars and researchers — Vocabulary and structures used in academic contexts — lectures, research papers, thesis discussions, and scholarly debates.
What you'll be able to do
Outcomes after completing the 16 lessons in this module — concrete, role-relevant, and cultural in equal parts.
Lecture comprehension
Track 教授 lectures at full speed; recognize signposting, hedges, and field-specific jargon.
Research-paper register
Argue, cite, and critique in the academic register — abstracts, literature reviews, methods sections.
Defend your thesis
Drill viva-style Q&A, conference Q&A etiquette, and how to disagree productively in formal Chinese.
Citation + peer review
Native conventions for citing, paraphrasing, and giving review feedback without breaking face norms.
Voice Cast for Academic Chinese
Each section of every lesson is voiced by a specific persona from the Mandarin Temple cast — a podcast host, a learner co-host, two dialogue partners, and a teacher — chosen to fit the register of academic Chinese.
Every voice on Mandarin Temple is an AI-generated persona. Each speaker has a written biography, a fixed voice model, and a consistent register across lessons — but they are synthesized, not recorded by a human actor. Their bios, accents, and personalities are designed by us; the audio is rendered by a TTS model.
AI"Your guide through every word"
Taipei / Vancouver
AI"Learning it live, with you"
Melbourne / Kunming
AI"Where language meets poetry"
Shanghai
AI"Where ideas run deep"
Nanjing
Topics Covered
The 16 lessons spread across these 6 themes. Each topic gets one or more dedicated lessons with vocabulary, dialogue, grammar, and exercises.
Lessons
16 lessons across 4 units. Each lesson weaves vocabulary, dialogue, grammar, and cultural context into a single guided session — with audio from your cast, microphone speak-back, and a roleplay drill.
Lessons coming soon
This module is being authored now. The 16 lessons will cover the topics above — check back shortly, or request priority access.
Recommended books
Books that pair with Academic Chinese — hand-picked, and the same list you'll find on the Academic Chinese books page.
Chinese Biographies
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Academic Chinese — who it's for, what it expects of you, and how to get the most out of it.
No — it assumes HSK 5 fluency. The register is formal-academic; if you're below HSK 4 the citation conventions and seminar phrasing will fly past you. Build the floor first with Business Chinese or Everyday Conversations.