Pimsleur Mandarin Questions

[emmenite]

Hello, I have recently become interested in learning the Chinese language, and I would like to do so with the Pimsleur audio programs. I have had some experience with the first German "set" of the program. For those who are experienced with the Pimsleur programs, I would greatly appreciate it if you would tell me what sort of information I will be able to exchange after completing each set, especially after the third. If I complete the series will I be able to make regular conversation that isn't limited to asking where ___ street is or how much ___ costs?

Also, I have heard that learning to speak (not read) Chinese is actually fairly easy thanks to a very simple grammar and structure, is this true? Thanks a lot.

[kdavid]

After completing Pimsleur 1 - 3 you'll "know" about 500 words. You'll be able to do very basic tasks and carry on very basic conversation (limited to asking for directions, buying something in a store, ordering at a restaurant, etc). It's good for those who plan on traveling through China for a short time. Besides talking about your family, or very basic information about your home or hotel room, I wouldn't expect to be able to carry on a conversation for longer than 2 minutes.

Chinese grammar is quite simple. Reading isn't *too* difficult (for me, at least, I have a photographic memory). Writing is a pain in the butt. Generating authentic pronunciation (without the yang2qiang1yang2diao4, or foreign accent) takes some work, more than Pimsleur will be able to give you.

[thph2006]

I guess my experience is less positive than kdavid's. I also completed the three levels and was definitely not able to do the tasks or carry on the types of conversations he mentioned (limited to asking for directions, buying something in a store, ordering at a restaurant, etc). You will learn how to say "I want to buy something" and "how much does that cost" but you won't have the vocabulary to tell the clerk what it is you want to buy without just pointing at it. I think the real value of Pimsleur is its approach to training you on correct pronunciation and tones. For that alone it's probably worth it and you will have a rudimentary vocabulary that will probably allow you to amuse your Chinese friends.

If you want a more thorough, disciplined approach (that's also free and available online) try this:

FSI Language Courses - Standard Chinese, A Modular Approach

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

The folks at the FSI site have painstakingly digitized the US government Foreign Service Institute Chinese language course which was developed in the mid-1970's to teach diplomats. Some of the material is a bit outdated but most is still quite relevent. According to my iTunes the course has over 4 days of recordings. That's around 100 hours of free Chinese learning material. The course texts (scanned versions of old typewritten manuals) uses rather than Chinese characters but if you're interested in learning spoken Mandarin, that shouldn't be a problem for you. Some people say the material can be boring and initially I agreed but after getting minimal results from several other methods I finally worked diligently on the FSI course and have learned more from it in the last 6 months than I did from a year of the other stuff. Have a look. You might like it.

Good Luck!

[emmenite]

That's a shame they don't teach you more, because I have loved what I have done with the first level of German I have done. I'm taking French in school but I don't think that it would ever help me in a French-speaking country simply because goog pronunciation is not necessary to get a good grade, and I am against the fact that schools teach fairly useless vocabulary such as swim or video games before they teach some of the more useless terms.

I am really interested in learning Mandarin but I'm not sure how long that interest will last, a few months ago I really wanted to learn German, then I was into Russian for a little while.

The truth is that Spanish is the most useful second language to know in America, but I have no interest in it simply because of my repetitive Spanish classes is middle school giving me a bad impression of the language and the fact that the language isn't very exotic or impressive to know.

[kdavid]

I actually didn't complete the full three CD's.

When I arrived in Harbin I studied for 5 - 6 hours a day and met with a private tutor 4 times a week. I did this for two months. At the end of that two months I threw in Pimsleur 3 and skipped to the last lesson just to see what it was like, and the content there was stuff I had covered by the end of the first month.

Also, what's your motivation for learning Chinese? Where are you located? Based on your last post it sounds like you might be on a "language kick"? If you stopped studying those other languages because of difficulty, I imagine you might have quite a hard time with Mandarin (though I know Slavic language grammar is generally much more difficult than Mandarin, as I've studied a (very) small amount of Czech).

Regardless, if you have a deep interest in learning the language, it's certainly worth the hair pulling and hours upon hours of drilling.

[rherschbach]

I think Pimsleur's a great introductory course if you're just starting out (as I was). It's really helpful for overcoming the fear factor caused by the sheer unfamiliarity of the language. People who have been studying for awhile can forget just how difficult it is in the beginning to cope with even the most rudimentary Chinese phrase. Pimsleur can really work wonders there. It keeps recycling the stuff at cleverly timed intervals, so you almost can't help picking some of it up.

However, I found the method exhausts its usefulness by the end of Pimsleur II. After completing the next and final level, I didn't feel I'd learned much more. And it was disappointing, after ploughing through the whole system, to realize my Mandarin wasn't even close to being functional. If I were to do it over, I'd probably start with Pimsleur but quit after II and move onto something more vocabulary-intense.

[ange9s]

"The truth is that Spanish is the most useful second language to know in America, but I have no interest in it simply because of my repetitive Spanish classes is middle school giving me a bad impression of the language and the fact that the language isn't very exotic or impressive to know."

I don't find any language ability very impressive when the speaker can only speak on a basic level, but when I see an American who can speak Spanish at a high level of proficiency, it's quite impressive.

[emmenite]

Well, thanks for that link thph, I'll check that out.

Kdavid, I really don't have much of a reason to want to learn Chinese other than it's an interesting language and I like Chinese film and culture. I live in North Carolina. And I didn't "give up" on those languages. I didn't even touch on Russian, I just had an interest in it for a time. I didn't reallt give up on German, I simply had an interest in it for a while and am still working on finishing the first Pimsleur level (I'm going to visit Germany in a few weeks.)

I have simply always been interested in languages and a career involving foreign languages, I'm 15. Unfortunately, learning languages probably isn't for me because of how fickle I am.

[kdavid]

Impressive. Sorry about the last post, I phrased my meaning in the wrong way.

I think Pimsleur may be a good start for you, then. It doesn't require a whole lot of time investment, and, if you get fickle and move on, or put it on hold, you aren't going to lose a lot. Also, as many posters above have said, it would be a good starter in regards to introducing you to the language.

[emmenite]

Nah, it's alright.

Yeah, I'm a little disappointed that the Pimsleur series doesn't have much content. I think I'll probably try out at least the first Mandarin level to at least get a feel of the language and look for other ways to learn if I'm still interested.

Thanks a lot eveyone.

[Stefani]

Emmenite,

Check out your local library. I borrowed Pimsleur I & II from my local library. They don't have III, so I am considering buying it.

I find it perfect for my situation. I am a working mother with a toddler, so I don't have much time to study. With Pimsleur, I listen while on my way to and from work, school, or anywhere else. 500 words is not that much, but better than 0, or 100 :-)

At your age, if you have an MP3 player, they have it in MP3 format, so you can listen to it using that.

Stefani.

[thph2006]

I'd like to sell my 3-level Pimsleur Mandarin CD set but can't find a generic classified section on the site. Is there an appropriate place to post an ad? I did find a classified thread under Living in Beijing (or something like that) but I'm in the USA right now.

Thanks, Tom

[roddy]

Just stick it in that section and see what happens - it doesn't get a huge number of visitors though, so you will probably want to advertise it elsewhere as well. Include contact details as guests and new members won't have pm access.

[flameproof]

I'm a little disappointed that the Pimsleur series doesn't have much content.

Well, I suggest you focus on what it does, rather then what it didn't do for you. I still think it's an excellent start. But you have to go on after it. Or maybe even parallel to it.

I'd like to sell my 3-level Pimsleur Mandarin CD set but can't find a generic classified section on the site.

You can try this section: http://www.chinese-forums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=37

[ZLearner]

How did you go with your beginners Pimsleur?

I used it as a formula to teach myself Cantonese and Spanish and Mandarin too.

I just look for the teaching patterns:

1. How they teach individual word memory?

2. How they teach short sentences?

3. What is the pace they teach you longer sentences?

Please check out for step by step info

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/105-private-chinese-schools-in-beijing39&page=2

all the best