Pimsleur

Chinese Mandarin I

5 stars (One of the most remarkable learning experiences in my life) - The CDs will make you think about all the time you wasted in ineffective foreign language classes (previously, I thought I had no aptitude for languages). These CDs do what they say: 1) you learn grammar implicitly. It's remarkable - I can say a new sentence in the correct word order without consciously thinking what the word order should be(it justs sounds right). 2) rather than translating from English, you learn to "think" Mandarin. For example, rather than learning to count 1, 2, 3...., you learn to order 2 beers, then 8 o'clock, 3 o'clock. You learn to know the numbers rather than trying to count in your head. Despite my limited vocabulary, while in China, I was able to have passable conversations with complete strangers. It's hard to emphasize how much fun this was. Some asked if I taught Chinese in the US and most assumed I had much more language skill than I actually do. Both in the US and China, most say "you have a good accent." To compare, with 6 months of Pimsleur, I was able to develop more language skills than I ever received from 6 yrs of High school & College German (I don't think I ever had a conversation in German). With other language tapes, I found the need to constantly rewind. Pimsleur's approach eliminates the need for this. Also, in contrast to the many inaccurate Mandarin phrasebooks, Pimsleur's CDs are accurate in translating both the flavor & meaning of words. One seeming downside to Mandarin I is its apparent overemphasis on numbers. However, the reason for this emphasis becomes apparent when you start Mandarin II. In addition to the general utility of numbers, Mandarin II shows that months, days of the week, and many individual words are based on numbers. Hence, this emphasis is justified. Downsides: 1. While the CDs are effective in teaching the language, a written booklet would be extremely valuable as a later reference. Because there is ...
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