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Title: English for Mandarin Speakers by Simon & Schuster Audio ISBN: 0-7435-0877-7 Publisher: Pimsleur Intl Inc Pub. Date: 01 December, 2001 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 16 List Price(USD): $345.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 (10 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent for the spoken language
Comment: Once again Pimsleur offers an excellent course for the spoken language with relevent conversations and a teaching style that is both automatic and effective. Users should realize that spoken and written Mandarin are different and this course is ONLY for the spoken language. However, it is excellent for listening and speaking. The speakers in the series are clear and easy to understand. My only objection to this course is the lack of written material to accompany it (though the booklet that does come with it is very intersting and informative). Unfortunately, much of Mandarin sounds alike and most 'words' have multiple meanings depending on tone, accompanying words and context. A pinyin or other phonetic guide to the conversations would be very helpful. But for those with a good ear who want to learn by listening and speaking, this course is excellent.
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent tool to facilitate further study
Comment: This was a very solid method of learning that focuses heavily on speaking and conversation. Learning characters at the same time as the speaking language can be very intimidating and most professors would agree that there should be a substantial amount of lag between the spoken and written chinese. (see Chinese Primer Ta-Tuan Ch'En - the books I use for my Georgetown University Chinese classes) The Pimsleur method does not offer character knowledge, but it does allow a student to grasp the tones and sounds which are so vital to the language. I would suggest to anyone who is listening to the audio cds to begin with the cds and then, only when comfortable with pronounciation and tones, to go pick up some character and vocabulary texts. This was definitely money well spent because it really was a great way to begin my intensive Mandarin Chinese course.
Rating: 5
Summary: Makes Mandarin Possible!
Comment: When I first started Pimsleur Mandarin I, about six months ago, I gave up after the fourth lesson thinking it was too difficult. I just couldn't get my head around the tones and the difficult pronunciation. It seemed as though every sentence that I tried to make was too slow or had a wrong tone. Then about a week later, I tried it again and it wasn't quite so hard. I made it to lesson eleven, but then took another week-long break out of frustration. When I picked it up for the third time, it was much easier. I had finally figured out how to position my tongue to create most of the non-english phenomes (pinyin: q, x, j, r, ü, z, c), and the tones were starting to get easier, although I still had trouble when combining two falling-rising tones. After two months, I managed to finish Mandarin I, and then, with a bit more effort and patience, I finished Mandarin II and III. I can now repeat or say any sentence at full speed, and the tones have become almost entirely subconscious, making the language much more reasonable. This is the main strength of the Pimsleur program, it gets your ears accustomed to the sounds, and it forces you to make correct sentences quickly, with good pronunciation. This is especially important for a tonal language such as Mandarin.
Of the three levels, Mandarin I is by far the most difficult and frustrating. This is because the four tones and many of the difficult phenomes are all introduced at once, and it seems almost impossible to master them. I had to listen to the first four lessons about four or five times each. After that, I listened to the remaining twenty-six lessons three times each. When I got to Mandarin III, I only had to listen to each lesson twice, as I had already mastered the tones and phenomes by that point and I only needed to deal with the vocabulary and relatively easy syntax. It gets much, much easier as you progress - trust me. It is also tremendously rewarding. I can carry out basic conversations with Chinese people, which suprises everyone (myself included). However, it doesn't take long before I encounter a word or sentence structure that I'm not familiar with. Oh well, I can't expect to become fluent in six months. As for pronunciation, I've been told that I don't have an accent, which is almost entirely because of Pimsleur.
I highly recommend getting this course if you are serious about Mandarin. It is much more efficient than a tutor, and you'll see results. As for the cost, I'm only reviewing the qualilty of the product and not the cost/quality ratio. However, you should realize that there are other ways of obtaining this course. It is possible to buy it used, or rent it, and some libraries even carry Pimsleur programs. Keep this in mind...
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Title: Chinese (Mandarin) II by Pimsleur ISBN: 0743506618 Publisher: Pimsleur Intl Inc Pub. Date: 01 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $345.00 |
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Title: Chinese (Mandarin) III (Compr.) [CD] by Pimsleur Language Programs ISBN: 0743525469 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $345.00 |
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Title: Reading and Writing Chinese: A Guide to the Chinese Writing System by William McNaughton, Li Ying ISBN: 0804832064 Publisher: Charles E Tuttle Co Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Pimsleur Instant Conversation Mandarin by Pimsleur ISBN: 0743529138 Publisher: Pimsleur Intl Inc Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
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Title: The Starter Oxford Chinese Dictionary by Boping Yuan, Sally Church ISBN: 0198602588 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: 15 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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