continuation of a good series, May 15, 2003

If you've already bought Mandarin I and II, then Mandarin III won't disappoint. III continues where II left off. It builds on what you already learned in the previous two, so it doesn't feel like starting over. III uses the same teaching techniques used in I and II - repeat what the speaker says at different times.

There are also 30 lessons and a supplementary CD. Each lesson introduces about 10 or so new words and a few grammar rules. This allows for a very gentle but progressive learning of new vocabulary. Unlike other language systems (which bombard you with 20-30 words per lesson), this promotes retention and as a result gives the student encouragement and confidence.

The downside of the Pimselur system is that it only teaches listening and speaking skills and no reading or writing skills. This may be fine for European languages, which are mainly phonetic, but with Chinese, it feels like you're learning only 1/2 the language. ...

Nevertheless, Pimsleur is the best non-classroom language system I've tried so far (and I've tried many!) It does its job very well, so I'm willing to forgive the lack of writing or reading lessons.

P.S.: I wouldn't recommend Mandarin III if you are a beginner and haven't listened to I and II yet.

The Easiest Way to Begin Speaking Chinese, October 27, 2004

Level III continues where level II left off and it does contain some review of the material covered previously. By now you may begin to feel rather addicted to learning more Chinese. By completing Level III, you have barely entered the waters of learing Chinese. You have no problem communicating some of your basic needs and ideas, but you want to be able to do much more than that. The hardest part may seem to be over - after all now you're totally confident in your ability to master Chinese if you keep going.

If you haven't yet picked up a book or a program to learn how to write Chinese - you may consider getting Easy Chinese Tutor CD, as well as some good dictionary (my absolute favorite is Wenlin's electronic dictionary - to a certain extent it can also function as a translator and best of all, you can not only see, but also hear the words). By the time you get addicted to writing Chinese characters, you may also want to get NJStar program).

A good way to continue with reading and writing for serious students may be getting into the New Practical Chinese Reader (make sure you also get the tapes with the program).

Understanding Chinese movies may still be a rather challenging proposition, so as the next step you could get Rosetta Stone's Mandarin Chinese.

So I am now immersed in the third volume of Pimsleur Mandarin. My reviews on the previous versions were very good. Mandarin III continues in the same vein, and I offer similar comments as given before. Pronunciation opportunity is excellent -- no Pinyin to distract you -- and you can effectively mimic sounds (at least on the CD versions). Occasioanlly, some sounds require Pinyin intervention and a dictionary -- I cannot quite distinguish some of the consonants. Could be my old ears? Overall, I have been very pleased. I have gone to Beijing after the first volume and a bit more, and had no difficulty. But I have cheated -- I've sat through some Mandarin classes in my local university. These classes have been essential.

Pimsleur is a great introduction to the language. It gives drills that develop important vocabulary, settings, and flexibility. They repeat enough to keep vocabulary relatively fresh. They rush you a bit to improve your fluency. They provide grammar in context, not as simply rules. So you sometimes know what to say, although you don't know a gramar rule. So?

I am on track to have comfortable comprehension and fluency. I still have a ways to go (even with my university classes). The Pimsleur set is a great accompaniment to the classes. And I figure out the grammar and associated rules. If you REALLY want to be fluent in Mandarin, you simply cannot rely on the Pimsleur alone (or perhaps any other fixed media). You need context, friends, classes, tv, movies, etc. But I would never give up the continuing practice the sets afford in the car. For me, the regular practice keeps vocabulary current, and "internalized." Pimsleur reinforces common scenarios you would likely experience in China. I will be going to China again next year, and I will really try to immerse myself in speaking.

Yes, a difficulty is no writing. Yes, there is no menu reading (which in class was done on a number of occasions and with food). And yes, there are even pronunciation differences between my Mandarin class teacher and the Pimsleur set. That just gives me a broader sense of lattitude in what works.

I would recommend I, II and III to all students of Mandarin, whether learning in the University or not. I still enjoy I and II even though I am somewhere near the end of two years of college courses.

The Easiest Way to Begin Speaking Chinese, October 27, 2004

Level III continues where level II left off and it does contain some review of the material covered previously. By now you may begin to feel rather addicted to learning more Chinese. By completing Level III, you have barely entered the waters of learing Chinese. You have no problem communicating some of your basic needs and ideas, but you want to be able to do much more than that. The hardest part may seem to be over - after all now you're totally confident in your ability to master Chinese if you keep going.

If you haven't yet picked up a book or a program to learn how to write Chinese - you may consider getting Easy Chinese Tutor CD, as well as some good dictionary (my absolute favorite is Wenlin's electronic dictionary - to a certain extent it can also function as a translator and best of all, you can not only see, but also hear the words). By the time you get addicted to writing Chinese characters, you may also want to get NJStar program).

A good way to continue with reading and writing for serious students may be getting into the New Practical Chinese Reader (make sure you also get the tapes with the program).

Understanding Chinese movies may still be a rather challenging proposition, so as the next step you could get Rosetta Stone's Mandarin Chinese.

This is THE WAY to learn Mandarin, December 4, 2003

After finishing Mandarin I, I felt as though I had basic knowledge of the language. After finishing Mandarin II, I felt as though I was able to use this knowledge in basic conversations. Now that I've finished all three levels, I feel that I have a good overall knowledge of Mandarin and that spoken fluency is within my grasp. This intermediate level would have taken years to achieve without Pimsleur, and my pronunciation wouldn't have been nearly as good. The only downside to this method is that you will NOT be fluent by the end, and you will need to finish the language on your own through self-study and conversational practice. For example, Pimsleur Mandarin teaches somewhere between 300 and 400 words, while 3000 - 5000 is required for fluency. Luckily, vocabulary is fairly easy to learn if you make a deck of flashcards. I've made thousands of these cards for Mandarin and other languages. They work. As for word lists, I've been using a few resources, but primarily the two-way dictionary in the back of the Lonely Planet Mandarin Phrasebook, which contains about 2000 common words. I've also been using the Oxford Starter Chinese Dictionary, which is quite good. There are probably other good resources for vocabulary, but whatever you do, DON'T buy Vocabulearn Chinese. The female speaker in the recording has severe pronunciation errors which will damage your Mandarin beyond repair. Stick to the standard pronunciation that you see on television and hear in the Pimsleur series.

I also had a go at learning the writing system, which isn't as difficult as I previously thought. I can now read and write a few hundred characters, but this hasn't been nearly as rewarding as studying vocabulary. Still though, it is fun to be able to read the signs in chinatown. I plan to learn the rest of the characters after I'm fluent.

I've also been watching Mandarin TV shows and I try to catch the Mandarin edition of the news whenever I can. They talk a little fast, but I can usually understand some of what's going on. Conversation is much easier, as Chinese speakers tend to slow down to accommodate learners such as myself. And, if not, I can always politely ask them to slow down, or repeat what they've said.

Great Product, July 5, 2003

I had tried several language tapes and software packages before but this is the one that I've had the most success with. I completed Mandarin I and Mandarin II and when I saw that Mandarin III was available, I ordered it immediately.

I won't say that I'm conversing fluently in Mandarin but the entire series is only 45 hours of instruction so I think you have to be realistic in your expectations. For me, Pimsleur is the right approach. I've made genuine progress and I'm told that my pronunciation is reasonably accurate. For someone with moderate skills as far as learning foreign languages go, as well as having started after the age of 40, I'm quite satisfied. I even have a Cantonese speaking friend who borrowed the tapes and used them to improve her Mandarin!

I'd recommend the series to anyone who wants to learn to speak Mandarin. Note that there is no instruction on writing Chinese, only some brief notes on Pinyin. I'd also recommend Modern Chinese from Beijing University for learning Pinyin and the basic components of speech. The Chinese-English Dictionary edited by John DeFrancis is also worth looking into and finally, you can get the Oxford Chinese-English dictionary for Palm OS.