Chinese learning program that teaches PINYIN

[griz326]

I've been looking for a program that focuses on teaching Chinese speaking by teaching Pinyin.

 

The result I want is to be able to pickup a page of written pinyin and read the words with a high degree of spoken accuracy.

 

Quite frankly, the tone marks are worthless until someone holds your hand through learning to speak them in the various renditions.

 

I've read the rules about them; I've studied with CDs trying to learn the tones; but I want a dedicated course so that I master Chinese speaking from Pinyin. At least then I will be able to say the word properly after finding it in the dictionary.

[Randy W]

Do you want to be able to translate pinyin -> English -> pinyin, or just to pronounce the pinyin?

[ameriken]

I had tried about 3 or 4 different book/cd programs and had trouble learning the tones and speaking the different sounds. CD's may be great for other languages, but for Chinese, I think they are lacking.

 

It wasnt until I took a 10 week beginners mandarin course at a local community college that I learned them properly.

 

The reason is the sounds are so different than anything in English. Another is some of the Chinese sounds are very similar to each other, yet slightly different, such as C and T, J and Zh, and having a live instructor was what I needed to master those differences, master the tones, and correct any mistakes and misunderstandings I had while learning.

[griz326]

I want to be able to read Pinyin aloud.

 

It would be a wonderful added benefit if when I heard someone say a Chinese word that I could then spell it correctly in Pinyin which would allow me to look up the character.

[se_lang]

I have another thread about a place my wife showed me online it is called echineselearning.com. I had my 3rd lesson last night and for the entire 50 minutes I was drilled on pinyin I am sure I will get more drilling tonight. my user name on there is suthdj so give me a plug if you take the free lesson so I can get extra lessons free. Yes I am shameless

[Randy W]

I want to be able to read Pinyin aloud.

 

It would be a wonderful added benefit if when I heard someone say a Chinese word that I could then spell it correctly in Pinyin which would allow me to look up the character.

Pinyin is phonetic - Each pinyin character (or combination of 2 characters) has a unique sound. All you need is a table of pinyin syllables.

 

Scroll down to where it says "Rules given in terms of English pronunciation"

 

Of course, the lessons wouldn't hurt

[griz326]

Sorry Randy but those tables don't work for me.

 

If I lived in a big city, I'd take 1:1 lessons.

 

I really need 1:1 training because my hearing is bad and read lips to support my poor hearing. That's why Pimsleur is not working for me. I do not hear the sounds well enough to mimic.

 

Something with the audio matching of Rosetta Stone might be useful.

Edited April 15, 2008 by griz326 (see edit history)

[se_lang]

Sorry Randy but those tables don't work for me.

 

If I lived in a big city, I'd take 1:1 lessons.

 

I really need 1:1 training because my hearing is bad and read lips to support my poor hearing. That's why Pimsleur is not working for me. I do not hear the sounds well enough to mimic.

 

Something with the audio matching of Rosetta Stone might be useful.

 

PM me with your email address and I can email you the audio from my lesson.

[david_dawei]

can't vouchsafe for these but have a look:

 

http://www.china-guide.com/language/interactive/cd01.html

 

http://www.language-chinese.net/

 

----

 

The one beginner's book I recommend is "Beginner's Chinese" by Yong Ho

[chrisnhong]

The best I've seen for learning pinyin sounds is the FSI course which is now downloadable for free.

 

The Foreign Service Institute is the US Department of State's language teaching department.

 

http://fsi-language-courses.com/Chinese.aspx

[david_dawei]

Hey Griz.. wonder what you think of the FSI link provided above? I've been downloading all the tapes

[griz326]

The content is a bit out of date but it looks like a good course, David.

[david_dawei]

The content is a bit out of date but it looks like a good course, David.

and I don't see alot of Beijing dialect nuiances, which my wife would probably say most of the content is wrong but it does have a pinyin focus...

[JamesnYuHong]

To really learn the sounds, I think the best method is to find an American or other "foreigner" who has learned Mandarin as a second language. They can teach you in seconds what may take you weeks or months to learn from a Chinese person, if you ever learn it at all. I'm talking about zh, ch, sh, j, q, x and all that.

 

For tones, recorded materials should be adequate for most people. You just need lots of drills. Pimsleur is good, and after you know the fundamentals, just hearing Chinese people speak lots and lots is very helpful.

[ameriken]

The best I've seen for learning pinyin sounds is the FSI course which is now downloadable for free.

 

The Foreign Service Institute is the US Department of State's language teaching department.

 

http://fsi-language-courses.com/Chinese.aspx

That looks like a pretty good course