Learning Chinese online - Has anyone tried it?

[BirdRockster]

Hey everyone,

I just arrived in China with my family and am looking to get everyone (and reluctantly, myself) learning Chinese online to make our experience better (we don't really have a schedule to do in person tutoring). I would like to know what you all think is the best institution/school/company to learn Chinese online. Thanks for your advice!

[Yezze]

Well I've taken 4 years of online Chinese through my high school, so i don't know about places in China, but... We have this thing called a lab, where I actually meet with my teacher for at least one hour a week (with my 3 other classmates) and we go over questions from the homework, pronunciation and learn some new stuff。 That part seems to be the most beneficial, you might want to look for something that has a similar "feature".

[abcdefg]

Since you are in China, having a live tutor would make much more sense than doing it on-line even if it requires some adjustments in your schedules.

Lots of previous posts here in the forum about on-line learning. Use the search fucntion and have a look.

[amandagmu]

Have you considered getting one of these tutors who makes house calls? I agree with the last poster, I think in-person would be good since you're in China, and it's definitely easier to find people willing to do it. For example, this place might be worth checking out:

http://www.1on1mandarin.com/door-to-door-chinese.php

I tried them through Skype (audio only) and liked them. I took about 4-5 lessons before I had to stop at the time due to my schedule. I have been thinking about trying door-to-door service or signing up with them on a more permanent basis. I was impressed with the two teachers I spoke with before. I'm an advanced student though, not a beginner. If you're looking for someone to teach children, it might be better to do some research on expat websites for programs, and then have a separate private/at-home tutor for them a few times a week. Before paying anything, I would ask for a free trial (30 minutes maybe?) to see if the tutor is any good. Many online places offer a free 30-60 minute lesson as well. Try a few and don't just take the first one, even if he or she seems OK. Often times tutors ask right away "do you want to have your first lesson now then?" after the "free trial" -- for obvious reasons: they'd like to be paid for having taken the time out of their day to help you. Don't feel pressured if you didn't like it much or aren't sure. There's no harm in saying you'd like to think about, or if you're busy telling them that. And if they want to schedule classes right away, tell them YOU will call THEM about scheduling (if you aren't sure).

Wow, having arrived in Beijing just 10 days ago (after a 5 year hiatus), I feel like I'm once again learning the rules. ;-)

[jbradfor]

What amandagmu said.

Since you're in China, is seems absurd to take on-line lessons. With the current wages in China, having someone meet you at your home (or work, or wherever) is surprisingly (to me, at least) cheap. I've found the amount I've learned in-person to be much much greater than remote.

[roddy]

It's not that hard to be in China and not have easy access to any decent tutors - if you're one of a small number of foreigners in some random city, who's going to have experience teaching Chinese? I suspect you could be living on the south side of Beijing and have trouble finding anyone within easy traveling distance. Might seem odd, but I can entirely see why someone might go for an online tutor. You'd certainly be better off with a good online tutor than some random I'm-Chinese-so-I-can-teach-you-Chinese person.

[Chinadoog]

Chinesepod is good. Using something like Chinesepod or Pimsleur, in combination with a good beginners textbook and some help from a Chinese tutor with your pronunciation is probably the best way to go.

[Murray]

While ChinesePod and Pimsleur are excellent resources, both will come with a price/subscription fee which may or may not be out of your price range. I'm surprised no one's mentioned Livemocha at all. Livemocha is a social networking web site that has lessons on several different languages (think of it as a free online rosetta stone). The beauty of the website is that it's set up so that after you complete the lessons, native speakers will correct your written and spoken submissions. It's actually not that bad for it to be completely free; since you live in China, it would be a great way to be introduced to to new vocabulary and make some Chinese friends online.

Are you sure your schedule is that backed up? You can hire a personal Mandarin tutor for around ¥100－150/hour to come a teach your for a few times a week, that and since you're exposed to the language on a daily basis you should make good progress in your Chinese study.

[Chinabound]

I agree with Murray about Livemocha. Also you could try RocketChinese, there audiopods are easy to follow and with each new one you review what you learned in the previous one to test your memory before learning new words and phrases. They also have something called Megavocab which is like a flashcard system but you have to choose the correct saying or word.

[eya323]

Can you access a free Byki site there? My local library in the US allows me to have free Byki access. It's essentially a web-based flashcard system with audio that tracks your progress. There are several different flashcard-type exercises and can be a bit repetitive. For basic vocabulary acquisition, though, it could be helpful.

[kellys]

since you are in China already, why not find a tutor to teach you Chinese, and the price is the same. it's much better to talk with someone face to face. and the tutor can tell you more about real China after you are familiar with each other.

[Meng Lelan]

Have you tried www.chineseteachers.com? Some of the listed teachers are in China and they do online lessons.

[putonghua73]

Apologies for digging this up, but I really wish to continue with my Chinese studies whilst I am in London and using web based tools is a really cool way (potentially) to have a personalised programme that matches my interests and development goals (1-2-1) and fit Chinese around my schedule, given that I'm now in London.

Thanks for the link, Meng Lelan. I'll read the FAQs on the site and discover more on how it works and do some independent research of my own. I also need to refresh and develop my learning goals to have a proper plan, as well as a structure to get the best out of this.

I'll feedback once I am ready to dip my toes into the water.

Cheers!

[Meng Lelan]

Chineseteachers.com also has teachers outside of China. Some are in Europe. This one uses audio and an interface where you and the teacher can view study documents and type notes. Best of all no contracts.

There is also eChineseLearning which uses Skype but they tend to push contracts to lock you in, promotions to keep you locked in, etc etc gets old quick.