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Chinese Lessons


Guest ShaQuaNew

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Guest ShaQuaNew

A short time after I arrived in China for work, I began taking lessons in Chinese. It was a real challenge, and I felt pretty stupid most of the time. I finished the first section of Survival Chinese, but noticed that while the teacher was quite pretty, she really didn't have much experience with teaching.

 

I conducted a little research and found another company. It's quite a bit more expensive, but I'm impressed with their Web site and other literature. I will be speaking with a representative today who will be stopping by my office to provide a quote. Fortunately, the company will pay the bill.

 

For anyone interested in learning Chinese, the online courses they provide from their Web site look pretty good.

 

http://www.newconceptmandarin.com/

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Guest ShaQuaNew

Thanks. I am getting ready to start getting serious about learning. I will check the link. Has anyone tried Rosetta stone?

 

 

I looked at the application from one of my co-workers in Taiwan. It's not bad.

 

What I've discovered is that the most fundamental stepping stone in many courses, is that they do not begin with teaching pinyin and tones. There is a really big chart that breaks down all the pinyin pronunciations, and it's key to learn this first. From there, you can start moving forward. However, if I recall correctly, it seems like the Rosetta Stone stuff, focuses a lot on dialogs and scenarios. If you really want to learn, then the course should start you learning with the basics, before moving to dialogs.

 

The reason they do that I think, is because most people are impatient to learn something so they can at least speak a little. I've found when I approach the language that way, I get stuck, and have to keep going back to the pinyin chart, tones, verbs, and syntax. The reason is, even after you learn a few words, you've got to know where to put the word in the statement.

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A short time after I arrived in China for work, I began taking lessons in Chinese. It was a real challenge, and I felt pretty stupid most of the time. I finished the first section of Survival Chinese, but noticed that while the teacher was quite pretty, she really didn't have much experience with teaching.

 

I conducted a little research and found another company. It's quite a bit more expensive, but I'm impressed with their Web site and other literature. I will be speaking with a representative today who will be stopping by my office to provide a quote. Fortunately, the company will pay the bill.

 

For anyone interested in learning Chinese, the online courses they provide from their Web site look pretty good.

 

 

http://www.newconceptmandarin.com/

 

The worst thing you could do is get into a classroom setting where all the other students are either Japanese or Korean. That all but ensures you'll be the class retard.

 

I spent a couple of terms in a local university studying Chinese, but soon gave it up because of time constraints. You can improve your Chinese by getting out on your own and mixing with people once you've mastered the basics.

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Guest ShaQuaNew

The worst thing you could do is get into a classroom setting where all the other students are either Japanese or Korean. That all but ensures you'll be the class retard.

 

I spent a couple of terms in a local university studying Chinese, but soon gave it up because of time constraints. You can improve your Chinese by getting out on your own and mixing with people once you've mastered the basics.

 

I feel pretty much like a retard anyway when I'm trying to learn Chinese. I had one-on-one classes the last time, and will be looking to do that again. I understand this company has a classroom in downtown Nanjing. I'm a little nervous about taking classes with others, as many may be more advanced than me, further contributing to my insecurity.

 

:surrender:

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They advertise on ATV (in English) all the time - how to embarrass your fellow models who don't realize you can speak Mandarin while they're talking behind your back

 

Randy, I found this video on their Web site. Is this the one your referring to?

 

New Concept Mandarin Commercial

 

 

Yeah, that's it! It gets my attention to all of a sudden hear someone speaking English. It's aired frequently :lol:

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