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Working with Lessons

Lessons provide a structured and comprehensive learning path, much like a chapter in a traditional textbook. They are designed for focused, in-depth study and integrate various components—including new vocabulary, grammar explanations, reading practice, dialogues, and tests—to help you build a solid foundation in Chinese. Due to their comprehensive nature, lessons often require a longer study time compared to other content types like Word Lists or Articles.

Finding Lessons

You can find Lessons by navigating to the Browse section of the application, as detailed in the Browsing Content Guide. Select the "Lessons" category to see the available options.

Anatomy of a Lesson

Each Lesson is carefully structured around a specific theme or topic (like "Introductions" in the example) and typically includes the following sections:

  • Lesson Outline: An overview of the lesson's content, learning objectives, title, description, relevant tags, estimated HSK level, and the average study session time (based on user data). Lesson Outline view showing title, description, tags, stats, and export button

  • Vocabulary: A focused list introducing the key new words for the lesson (typically between 10 and 16 words).

  • Grammar: This section presents detailed explanations of grammar rules and structures relevant to the current lesson. The content displayed here uses the Language Points format, embedding the full explanation, structural formulas, and examples (both correct and incorrect) directly within this tab for convenient study. Only Language Points pertinent to the lesson topic are included here.

  • Example Sentences: Contextual examples demonstrating how to use each new vocabulary word. There will be at least three example sentences provided for every new word.

  • Text Blocks: Reading practice passages related to the lesson's theme. Lessons usually contain three text blocks, with lengths varying based on the lesson's difficulty level.

  • Dialogue: Conversational exchanges that incorporate the lesson's vocabulary and grammar in a practical context.

  • Testing: A section to assess your understanding of the lesson material. Tests are often randomized and can include various question types, such as selecting correct definitions, matching words, or sentence building exercises.

When viewing a Lesson, you'll find a dedicated Lesson Sections navigation panel, located on the left side of the screen.

Lesson Sections navigation panel showing links for Outline, Vocabulary, Grammar, etc.

Simply click on any item in this panel (e.g., "Vocabulary", "Dialogue", "Testing") to jump directly to that specific part of the lesson. This allows for easy movement between different learning activities within the same lesson unit.

Key Features

  • Export Lesson PDF: As seen in the Lesson Outline, lessons include an Export Lesson PDF button. This allows you to download the content of the lesson (vocabulary, grammar, texts, dialogues, tests) as a PDF document for offline review, printing, or use on other devices.

  • Interaction: Depending on the specific section (e.g., Text Blocks, Dialogue), standard interaction tools like the Interaction Bar may be available to toggle Pinyin, translations, or character details.