Speak Chinese - Where to go from Pimsleur? - Page 3 -

> Learning Chinese > Speaking and Listening
Where to go from Pimsleur?
Home New Posts

Login: Pass: Log in or register for standard view and full access.





Page 3 of 3 < 12 3






Jhorra -

First off let me say hi I just found this site, and I'm very excited to learn. English is my first
language, and I can speak a little spanish, but not fluently. I have been learning mandarin from
the Pimsleur courses, and I'm 10 days from finishing the third set. I'm very interested now in
continuing to learn to speak mandarin. I'm not sure when I'll try to tackle reading it. So, on to
my question.

I actually found very little difficulty learning from the Pimsleur lessons. (Not saying that to be
arogant, but to give you an idea of my ability) With what I have learned, I feel confident that
I'm pronouncing it 90% correctly, and that I for the most part understand the grammar I have
learned. My question now is, what do I do next? I found a beginning mandarin conversation course
at a local community college, is that a good idea? Around the corner from my house is a chinese
food restaurant where they speak mandarin that I can pop in now and again to practice, but
otherwise I know no mandarin speaking people. I live in Phoenix, and I know there is a Chinese
cultural center in Tempe, but its not exactly close, and I don't know how often I could get down
there.

I'm very interested in becoming more proficient, but I don't know where to go from here.

Thanks in advance for the advise.



Pleco Software Learn Chinese with our Dictionaries for Palm and Pocket PC.
Learn Chinese in China Learn to speak Chinese 1MonthChinese.com -Mandarin School in China.
Chinese Textbooks Wide range, cheap, varied languages. Also Chinese cartoons, toys, gifts.
Study Chinese in Beijing Affordable Mandarin language courses at BLCU with ChinaUnipath.com.
HNHSoft Dictionary Learn Chinese on Smartphone and PDA with real person's voice.
XueXueXue IQChinese Get beyond the plateau.Take your Mandarin to a new level.
Chinese in Lijiang Short term Chinese study in a beautiful town with a focus on daily life.
MandarinTube Chinese Access to current everyday Chinese language and culture, 24/7.
Learn Chinese Homestay Chinese course, cultural activities & volunteer events in China.
Learn Chinese Online 1-on-1 instant tutoring, diverse courses, native teachers. FREE trial now!
Nihao Chinese Progam Free one-on-one Chinese lesson. Win 5-years of free lessons now!


About Ads (and how to hide them) -- Your message here









Jhorra -

Just to give a little more context, I didn't find this thread, but my post was added to it, that's
why it looks like I ignored what other people said :p

So I guess I'll try to find a language partner, but what do you all think about the conversational
mandarin course?










wrbt -

Having spoken to people who've taken it the community college conversational course is a waste of
time... you'll be stronger from 90 lessons of pimsleur than from that crap.

I'd suggest you sign up for the full 5 credit CHI 101 course at Mesa Community College, then take
the 102. I believe for many self-learning is better but starting off with a little structure,
feedback, and peer interaction for the (relatively) cheap price of community college is worth the
drive and time. After that either press on to 2nd year or commence self-learning with NCPR or
David and Helen since they both have much audio content available.










griz326 -

I am using the book Reading and Writing Chinese by Wm McNaughton & Li Ying in combination with my
Palm with Pleco on it to learn to write the characters.

I use the character recognition and see if I can get the correct word from the character I draw.
Time will tell if this is a good idea or a waste of time...but it makes sense to me.










griz326 -

About how long does it take to learn all three Pimsleur Mandarin Chinese courses?

That was not mentioned in this thread...and I have just started. If the first lesson is any
indication, each lesson will take 3 or 4 days. Does that sound correct?










Jhorra -

I would listen to the lesson once on the way to work, then once on the way home from work.
Remember when working through them that you won't get everything from the lesson that day. They
review the content of the previous lesson for several lessons afterward. Somethings there were
things I didn't get till 2 or 3 days later. Follow their guide, move on when you can answer 80% of
the questions they ask in a lesson.










runehh -

In general, I would do every lesson twice, and then move on, except for a few particularly
difficult ones that I would do three or four times. I think the 80 % rule is good, don't worry if
you don't remember everything, most of it will be repeated enough times in later lessons.










flameproof -

After doing Pimsleur 1, 2 + 3 (of course forgetting a lot) and being able to move in China a
little without a persoanl babysitter holding my hand I was somehow shocked when D/L stuff from
Chinesepod.com

Newby stuff is easy to handle for me. But still, I do get a fair number of new words from it.

Beginners I have not really listened too yet.

Intermediate, were I believed I should be, is way to advanced. I understand a lot of words, but
can't really get the meaning of what's being talked.

That was quite an eye opener. I will go on with Chinesepod now. Their lessons are quite fun to
listen to and I D/L 200 or so. I only do the free stuff so far.

For all those who do Pimsleur right now, i suggest to go to ChinesePod and do listen to some
lessons similtaniously.












All times are GMT +8. The time now is 06:37 PM.














Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet