grawrt Posted August 2, 2011 at 03:53 AM Report Posted August 2, 2011 at 03:53 AM I was looking around for any specific audio tapes recommended but for some reason I just keep finding the online downloadable courses. Call me old but... I dont own an ipod :mellow: and my mp3 player is MIA. But my CD player is exactly where it last was. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on good audio tapes? I currently finished my elementary course in chinese & one month of laaziness and nothing has wiped my brain clean of chinese. Im trying to get back into the groove of things (practicing writing, rereading old lessons) but id also like to work on my listening comprehension as well (and possible speaking along with). Before I got into lazy-slump I took out an audio tape for learning mandarin chinese but it was just really bad. I dont remember the name but it had too much uhmmmm froo-froo like random background orchestra music and there was no booklet, and I dunno. It just didnt click with me. So I was hoping there were suggestions on good cds out there? Quote
马盖云 Posted August 3, 2011 at 01:22 AM Report Posted August 3, 2011 at 01:22 AM You wrote this on a computer, right? :blink: you have zero excuse to whine about cassette tapes. You can get a mp3 player that will hold hundreds of Chinese language recordings (we will talk about podcasts here) for almost no money. Seriously, man up and use the technologythats out there today! There are several good podcast series that are either free, have free trials, or some limited levels of there series for free, or at a reasonable price which is still way cheaper than any textbook/CD or cassette tape course would be. Look into the following, let me know if you cant find them based on my descriptions, I am not going to link them up for you, since I fear it not worth my time unless you ask for more help. Chinesepod.com CSLpod.com iMandarinpod.com ChineseLearnOnline LearnChinese with Serge Melnyck Slow-chinese 4 Quote
amandagmu Posted August 4, 2011 at 02:42 AM Report Posted August 4, 2011 at 02:42 AM Less interesting but more straight-forward, no downloads or devices required, and includes the booklets: http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Chinese 1 Quote
grawrt Posted August 5, 2011 at 04:45 PM Author Report Posted August 5, 2011 at 04:45 PM Thanks so much. I wasn't completely against technology but I know a few sites with chinese podcasts that I looked into kept asking for money and I get wary with that because Im not really sure which lesson to start with, while as in a CD its all grouped. I'll try the links. Also, this sounds dumb but... are 'podcasts' only exclusive to ipods? Quote
jbradfor Posted August 5, 2011 at 05:08 PM Report Posted August 5, 2011 at 05:08 PM Good question. But no, in spite of the name, podcats are not iPod only. Most podcasts are in mp3 format, which can be played by pretty much any player or computer. Even my car stereo can play mp3s. Quote
spiff Posted August 10, 2011 at 05:04 PM Report Posted August 10, 2011 at 05:04 PM grawrt, there are also a couple of audio courses/audiobooks that I would recommend. I found two especially useful for beginner-level learning: Michel Thomas Method - Mandarin (sample) Pimsleur - Comprehensive Mandarin I-III The advantage of both of these over some podcasts is that they build on each successive lesson, teaching vocabulary and grammatical patterns through usage and repetition rather than just jumping from topic to topic, as many (though not all) podcasts do. They're available on CD (and probably onlne download as well, though it sounds as if you'd prefer the CDs). I'd especially recommend Michel Thomas if you're starting from a fairly low level: the course author, Harold Goodman, uses a variety of mnemonic tricks that help to embed the tones, vocal and sentence patterns in your memory. There are Beginners/Elementary, Advanced (not really advanced but it's the next one) and Vocabulary courses. It looks like they may be rejigging the range so you might be able to get them cheaper at the moment. Pimsleur is also very good, and avoids using English as much as possible. More expensive though. Have a search on the forums and you'll find some reports of people's experiences with both Michel Thomas and Pimsleur. Good luck. Quote
grawrt Posted August 10, 2011 at 09:20 PM Author Report Posted August 10, 2011 at 09:20 PM lol thanks j! Oh Spiff thanks so muuuch <3 I'll prob start with pimsleur first since my library has it *yays* but the Michel Thomas method sounds really interesting. Ive always been bad with remembering things. Quote
imron Posted August 10, 2011 at 09:47 PM Report Posted August 10, 2011 at 09:47 PM I think the Michel Thomas method goes too slow, uses too much English, and has too much content not related to learning the language. There's a thread on it here. If I had to choose between either this method or Pimsleur, I'd choose Pimsleur. Quote
roddy Posted August 10, 2011 at 09:56 PM Report Posted August 10, 2011 at 09:56 PM I struggle to imagine something that goes slower and uses more English than Pimsleur. Quote
imron Posted August 10, 2011 at 11:31 PM Report Posted August 10, 2011 at 11:31 PM Have a listen to the sample above. It goes on for several minutes and doesn't even get to the learning Chinese part There used to be a longer sample on the michel thomas site that I made some comments on in that other thread. Edit: the flash player sample on the site is not the full version of the sample, you can register and download the full 20-min sample from the audible link above. I stand by my comments in the other thread. Quote
grawrt Posted August 14, 2011 at 10:32 PM Author Report Posted August 14, 2011 at 10:32 PM I started looking through the podcasts because my sister said I could have her old ipod *yay* I really liked popup chinese, and I noticed they have a podcast and free subscription to some lessons. This is where my dumb question appears. are ALL of the lessons free? Im very very new to itunes/ipod world. On the site i saw it lists about 230 that says 'free' next to them, but when i click 'get all' under the free podcast it starts downloading and says about 500 something. Are all of them free or am I going to be randomly charged/? Quote
BertR Posted August 14, 2011 at 11:07 PM Report Posted August 14, 2011 at 11:07 PM As far as I know the popup chinese mp3's are all for free. Quote
edelweis Posted August 15, 2011 at 09:31 AM Report Posted August 15, 2011 at 09:31 AM If you wish to be certain that you will not be charged, it's best to avoid downloading to Apple devices directly from the internet. I understand Apple requires your credit card information even if you download only freebies. If you have access to a PC, download from free websites with this PC (don't give out your credit card info ;) ) and then transfer the MP3 files to your ipod using an USB cable. [edit] (but since I don't own an ipod, I am not aware of extra software which may required to do this). or ditch apple and get yourself any basic inexpensive MP3 player that connects to a PC like an USB key and will NEVER ask for your credit card info. Quote
roddy Posted August 15, 2011 at 09:47 AM Report Posted August 15, 2011 at 09:47 AM Apple won't charge you for anything without making it clear what you're doing. Have a listen to the sample above. Ha, if I can't even imagine it, there's no way I'm going to risk listening to it. Quote
grawrt Posted August 15, 2011 at 02:46 PM Author Report Posted August 15, 2011 at 02:46 PM oh thanks guys <3! I agree mp3s are much easier. Quote
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