Hello all! I have used this website: CantoneseClass101 to learn Cantonese extensively and wanted to give everyone a review on what I think this website can do its pros and cons/limitations. Overall, I will conclude by saying who I think this product is for and who I feel can benefit from it.
CantoneseClass101 – how does it work?
So the website operates under a freemium model – meaning that the website is free but unlocks the vast majority of its content you need to subscribe to the website. There are multiple tiers of subscriptions: basic, premium & premium plus.
Basic gives you access to the entire archive of their audio & video lessons. However, it won’t allow you access to their premium tools such as flashcards or line-by-line audio, so I don’t recommend this option at all.
The premium option gives you all the website has to offer – its tools and its entire archive of lessons. This is by far the best option for most people; especially for those who are self-disciplined and already have a habit of learning languages regularly.
The final option is the premium plus plan. This gives you 1-1 access to a teacher. There are however drawbacks to how accessible the teacher is (only available via instant message – not via call or video call). It is recommended for very serious learners and for those who want constant assessment of their output skills (such as speaking and writing).
CantoneseClass101 lessons & pathways:
Each batch of lessons is separated into different “lesson pathways” with a “main” pathway per level which is aligned with certain CEFR levels. All the languages, including CantoneseClass101, have all the levels with many lesson pathways per level from A-C levels including absolute beginner (A1), beginner (A2), intermediate (B1), upper-intermediate (B2) and advanced (C1).
I recommend focusing on the main pathway which aligns with the CEFR level and as many or as few optional pathways alongside that level that you’re interested in. I like to do as many pathways as I can, so I often do all of them per level.
Some of my favourite pathways include the extensive reading books, listening comprehension and the core 800-word series in the beginner / A2 pathway.
The lessons are all in either audio or video format. My recommendation as a premium or above member is to not just listen but also follow along with their audio transcript. Afterwards, I would follow their lesson checklist to make sure you’re getting the most out of each lesson.
Written Chinese vs written Cantonese?
One thing that I’ve noticed with CantoneseClass101 is that the website mainly teaches Cantonese as it is written by and large rather than written Chinese which can be read using Cantonese pronunciation.
This can be good if you’re looking to learn Cantonese the way it’s usually spoken – as a Chinese spoken language the words aren’t often written down directly, rather the written form is how it is in Mandarin Chinese (However, their extensive reading books are good for reading written Chinese).
This is okay if you want to write text messages and blog posts using written Cantonese but often in usual writing, you will want to write written Chinese. In this case, you will have to go elsewhere or learn Mandarin Chinese to understand how to write written Chinese.
Can this website make you fluent?
I have noticed that this website can get you very far. In conjunction with exposure to the language through TV, podcasts, reading etc (using all 4 skills such as reading, listening, writing & speaking) is enough to get you to the advanced level.
However, the trick and the most important thing to remember is that this website is mainly for self-study and you will have to do a lot of the work to get there. If you’re not learning with them regularly it is quite easy to stop studying after a few weeks or months.
This can be a problem, with no aspects of gamification such as streaks and other things there can be a lack of incentive to continue studying with the website when things get hard. So if you know you won’t be distracted and can use this resource regularly I do highly recommend it.
Cantonese learning resources:
Overall, compared to Mandarin Chinese or other languages; there is a lack of resources for Cantonese. CantoneseClass101 is one of the top resources for Cantonese regarding the amount of and breadth of content available.
In general, for the Cantonese language, you don’t have many options in terms of websites etc that can help you learn the language. Out of all the possible resources this website is one of the best.
What is CantoneseClass101.com for?
This website is for people who enjoy self-studying or working with a teacher (in a limited way) to improve their Cantonese skills at whatever level.
Have you ever used this website? Let me know in the comments below.
Leave a Reply