How to go from Beginner to Intermediate Fluency FAST

In previous weeks I’ve talked about how Gabriel Wyner (the author of Fluent Forever) recommends using a flashcard app with an SRS (spaced repetition system) built in, and that you should first focus on learning pronunciation with the help of IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). Today I’ll share what he suggests for the next steps, and how you can apply it to Chinese to reach intermediate fluency.

Island Building

After learning the sounds of Chinese, Gabriel suggests choosing two topics you’re passionate about and starting something he calls “island building.” The idea is simple: you learn a bunch of words and sentences about topics that actually interest you. It’s easier to remember vocabulary that belongs together, and even more so if it’s meaningful to you. You then put these words and sentences into your flashcard app and review them with spaced repetition. This gives you a head start with vocabulary and phrases you can actually use right away in real life, or practice with your Chinese teacher.

The topics you choose are completely up to you. Personally, I’d start with food/restaurant vocabulary and maybe some travel-related words. The best way to find example words and sentences is with the help of AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.). You can type in the words and phrases you’d use in your own language and ask for translations, or make things even easier by asking AI to generate a vocabulary list for your chosen topic, along with the 3–5 most common sentences that use those words. Then just pick the ones you feel you’d actually use.

For the most common and basic sentences, ChatGPT usually does fine, though sometimes it might give you something that isn’t used very often in real life. But honestly, the same thing can happen with textbooks, which often include outdated or overly formal language that you’ll rarely say out loud and may only encounter in novels or newspapers. So don’t worry too much about mistakes. There’s simply no way to learn a language with 100% accuracy on your own as that only comes with time and interaction with native speakers.

Frequency Lists

After building your first two “islands,” Gabriel Wyner recommends moving on to a frequency list for your target language. A frequency list shows the most commonly used words in a language, based on how often they appear. For Chinese, he suggests Richard Xiao’s A Frequency Dictionary of Mandarin Chinese.

This book contains 5,000 words, but if you learn just the first 1,000 words (not characters), you’d already recognize around 60–70% of the words used in spoken Chinese.

But you might wonder: how does this compare to the HSK vocabulary lists? Which one is better to start with?

Here’s my advice:

• If you’re preparing for an HSK exam, or you’ll need to pass one in the future (for example, to study at a Chinese university or because your workplace requires it), then the HSK wordlist is the way to go.

• You should also know that there aren’t many resources yet for practicing frequency lists in Mandarin, as most courses and apps are built around HSK. So if you don’t want to spend time creating your own flashcards, HSK is a practical choice since there are already tons of resources (books, apps, courses) to support you.

• But if your main goal is to reach spoken fluency faster and you don’t mind the lack of ready-made resources, then go with the frequency list. The HSK vocabulary list is useful too, but it isn’t based on frequency and includes quite a few words you probably won’t use much, if at all, in real life.

I did find an Anki deck for Richard Xiao’s frequency list that you can download, but it doesn’t include audio or pictures. If you really want to push for fluency as quickly as possible, it’s best to make these flashcards yourself with audio and images.

Once you’ve decided whether you want to follow the HSK list or a frequency list, aim to learn 600–1,000 words from it using your SRS app.

Learning Grammar

While you’re learning new words, you can also start working on sentences and grammar. You can use Anki for grammar flashcards too. A good way is to take example sentences from a grammar book. Two solid options are the Integrated Chinese series by Yuehua Liu and the HSK Standard Course series. Just go through the grammar parts of each unit and create flashcards for any rules or sentences that feel unfamiliar or tricky to remember.

You can combine this with “island building” as well. For example, pick a topic you’re interested in, ask ChatGPT for common sentences about it, and if you spot unfamiliar grammar, you can either ask ChatGPT for an explanation or look it up in your grammar book.

I should mention that while ChatGPT often gives decent grammar explanations, it can sometimes be off. But that’s true for teachers too; one teacher in southern China might explain something one way, while a teacher in the north might explain it differently. Don’t stress about it too much. The goal is to capture whatever feels new or difficult in flashcards and lock it into your long-term memory with SRS. If you’re ever unsure, cross-check in a grammar book or ask a Chinese teacher.

When to Find a Teacher or a Language Partner

The best time to find a Chinese teacher depends on your budget and goals. A teacher can help you with pronunciation right from the beginning. On the other hand, some people prefer to get started on their own, learning pinyin, pronunciation, and building their first two “islands” before finding a teacher. This way, you can already say a few things, which helps with class dynamics, and the same applies when finding a language partner.

Wherever you find your teacher, the most important thing is that you get along with them. Many teachers offer trial lessons or short video calls, which is a great chance to see if you’d enjoy working with them long term. Getting along well with your teacher is more important than finding the “most professional” teacher. Even if they have decades of experience, if you don’t click or you’re bored in class, there’s a good chance you’ll quit before making real progress.

Of course, it’s also possible to skip a teacher or language partner, especially if you’re living in a Chinese-speaking environment where you can practice actively. In that case, your flashcards, grammar book, and ChatGPT might be enough to get you to intermediate fluency. But a teacher or partner can still speed things up and make the journey smoother.

If you follow the tips I’ve shared here, you’ll reach spoken fluency faster than most learners. If you’re not sure how to set up your flashcards in Anki, I recommend reading Fluent Forever. It walks you through exactly what kinds of flashcards to make and when to use them in your language learning journey.

Next week, I’ll wrap up this book with some advanced tactics for learning Chinese. After that, I’ll switch things up again and start recommending more Chinese language movies and TV shows for you to enjoy.

Happy learning,
Sandy