Chinesepod, CLO, Popup...

[fortune_cookie]

Hi, I'm trying a membership at CP, and CLO, and I think I like the CLO method of building every lesson on the one before it, therefor strenghtening the vocabulary, which has a bit of a method to the madness. I also like CLO because of the videos which seem to span through the beginner series at least.

Any comments on Popup Chinese?

Are the lessons random like CP?

[Horcsog]

Also anyone knows, can we practice writing skills on chinesepod? I mean on the website, I know I can download skitter, to my phone, but I'd rather practice it on the website.

[driftman]

there are several threads on here discussing Chinesepod - do a search for the software you are interested I would suggest.

[fortune_cookie]

Hmm, seems my thread's been hijacked :s

[mikeedward]

Podcasts change, no need to search for old information.

CLO has video now? Haven't listened to it for a few years but I thought their structured sequential lessons were excellent, I think I went through over 100 of them back in the day.

ChinesePod sold out to another company last year and doesn't have the employee dedication it used to. Their voice actors have historically been extremely annoying to listen too, with a whining and complaining tone throughout. Early lessons with the Irish host were entertaining but contained poor pronunciation and bad grammar by the host. I believe they have been slowly weeding those lessons out.

Popup Chinese definitely has the best voice-acting and most entertaining podcasts, with highly useful vocab.

Mike

[icebear]

Popup Chinese definitely has the best voice-acting and most entertaining podcasts, with highly useful vocab.

Definitely the most fun, but the utility of some of their lessons is pretty questionable.

[fortune_cookie]

Thanks for the summation Mike. Actually, CLO only has 20 videos in level one, and a couple more random ones in the upper levels. I emailed them to inquire if they had more or were going to make more but no reply.

Chinesepod seems ok, but a bit annoying right.

I hear good things about popup, I'll try their course when I start getting bored with what I've already got.

Another one with videos which is good for absolute beginners is yang yang. She's a cute Chinese girl with a ton of videos. A bit basic but that's good if you're a total newbie like me.

[sleepy eyes of death]

For my money, Chinese Popup by far. As mentioned, they have the best voice-acting and writing. The dialogue and situations are always offbeat and entertaining. That helps (a lot, in my case) with the dialogue staying in your memory. It's where I get most of my new vocabulary these days.

[Northern_Lights]

I find the hosts on Chinese Pod to be entertaining. The best thing is they have a 7 day credit card free trial. The bad thing is they will spam the heck out of you after sign up.