bad after effects from slowing it down?

[flynnfrogg]

hi all

As a beginner, I suspect that I might be asking questions which have discussed long before. But please bear with me. I have been enjoying the video clips of "Happy Life" from CCTV but found that my listening ability is still not up to speed - ie they are speaking too fast for me. So these days, having downloaded and saved the video clips, I watch them at a slower speed - not too slow that the actors are speaking in a deep low bass growl but slow enough for me to be able to pick out the various words.

But is this a good learning strategy? Will I get too used to a slow speed so that I am unable to understand normal speech in the future? Should just struggle along at normal speed of the video clips?

Appreciate advice from all of you. Thank you

F Frogg

[anonymoose]

In my opinion, slowing it down first is a good idea. I don't think you can "get used" to a slow speed in the sense that it will impair you from adapting to a more natural speed later. Some people prefer the jumping in at the deep end method, but personally, I think building up systematically is more efficient in the long-run. After all, as they say, you need to learn to walk before you can run.

[imron]

Consider http://www.slow-chinese.com/

[roddy]

Slowing down occassionaly to pick something out is fine. If you can't understand anything at normal speed, it's maybe too difficult for you for now.

[jbradfor]

not too slow that the actors are speaking in a deep low bass growl but slow enough for me to be able to pick out the various words.

Many video players can slow down the speed while trying to keep the pitch the same. It still sounds a bit weird, but better than changing the pitch. vlc, for example, is a free player that does this.

[flynnfrogg]

thanks all for advice - much appreciated

@jbradfor - yes I am using VLC for the slow playback and it is a great program ! You are right about the need for the pitch to be maintained - especially because of the tonal nature of Chinese.