need resources for business/formal chinese

[kaox0018]

hi all,

I am looking for some resources (podcasts, mp3s, free online lessons) that can help teach business or formal chinese. i have a strong base in conversational chinese but in talking to people about what i study and what my career aspirations are (international development and global policy) my chinese is less than zero.

i've always struggled with newscasts, newspapers, often only understanding 25% of the story. when i listened in on a sociology class in an university in taiwan years ago, i understood 10%.

i took a look at a friend's business chinese text and i thought it was useful only to an extent without a teacher. please let me know if there are good resources for self-study or podcasts that help teach!

[wushijiao]

Hi kaox0018, I'd strongly recommend the BBC's 中国焦点。Essentially, every Monday through Friday they have a 15 minute show which roughly breaks down into:

1) An interview with a Chinese expert in policy, media, society. Or an activist or politician. (6-8 minutes).

2) A short essay from readers, or a re-cap of China-related news in the British press. (3-5 minutes).

3) Netizens feedback or comments (2-4 minutes).

This podcast is basically ideal for your interests (I'd assume), but the slight down side is that there is no transcript

Besides that, I'd recommend reading newspapers everyday, and if you're in China, buying DVDs related to things that you're interested in. Since most DVDs contain subtitles, you essentially have a transcript right there.

[gato]

You need to read more.

[wushijiao]

You need to read more.

Yep. Academic/formal Chinese is just written and formal Chinese in a spoken format.

[kaox0018]

wushijiao, thanks for the suggestion, i'll check it out.

[kdavid]

Is there a link anywhere on here that allows one to download the transcript of the podcast?

Either there isn't one, or I'm a raging retard. I've clicked on "打印文稿" but that doesn't take me to the manuscript.

[songlei]

be careful what you wish for: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/chinese/news/topic.htm

radio australia does provide the transcripts of their daily podcasts. but when you read through them, you begin to realize why it is hard to understand the news. you might not like what you will discover hehe. good luck!