not a book, January 12, 2006
　

Please be aware if you think you are buying both the book (as others indicate in their reviews) that you are only purchasing the audio CD

An excellent way to start, June 11, 2005
　

Colloquial Chinese by Kan Qian is exactly the resource I was seeking when I set out to learn Chinese. Vocabulary and points of grammar and usage are introduced in dialogues followed by clear explanatory notes. The dialogues are realistic and varied, starting with an appropriately slow and stilted first meeting at the airport and moving on to flirting, shopping and catching up with old friends. The notes give just enough information so that you can be comfortable with the material at hand, with further complications introduced gradually. Listening/reading exercises offer more practice and enhance the feeling of success. A psychological boost is provided by the fact that several dialogues feature Chinese natives chatting with people from English-speaking countries: if "Amy" and "David" can speak good Chinese, so can I! Pinyin (mainland China's official and logical romanization system) and Chinese characters are both used, with optional exercises in character writing. The CDs or tapes are essential for anyone learning on their own.

Cautions: There is little supplemental vocabulary, and the simplicity of the notes is frustrating for one with a deeper interest in the language; but these drawbacks are easily compensated by eventually taking on a more scholarly text. English translations are in colloquial British; for instance, as an American I was glad that my Chinese friend pointed out that the word translated as "smart" referred to attractiveness rather than intelligence before I had a chance to embarrass myself by giving the wrong compliment. There are a few typos: however picturesque the names of Chinese foods may be, I doubt that there's one called "Aunts Climbing a Tree," which makes me alert for errors in pinyin spelling that are harder to catch. In the set I bought, which included both CDs and cassettes, the recording quality on the cassettes is atrocious. And, as a San Francisco native I just have to note: Jiujinshan de xiatian bu hen re. Jiujinshan de xiatian feichang leng! By Chapter 6 you'll know what I mean. And you'll very likely enjoy the learning along the way.

fair or good for beginners like me., November 23, 2004
　

The grammar is clear and enough for beginners like me. The sentences are simple enough. I like the quizz/question parts, they made your brain work.1-I wish they had both simplified and traditional characters like Tung's books, but I know that's impossible. 2-the CD sound was hissing and not digital-like.3- It seems that the chinese speakers in the CD had been away from the mainland many many years so their accent were not quite beijing's.

Very good., October 18, 2004
　

I like the fact that I can walk around my house freely while listening to Chinese. I don't understand much, but I know that the more I listen to the cassettes, the more I will understand.

This is a very good series.

-Calvin

Really good for the beginner., April 17, 2001
　

I'm a complete beginner in chinese. This book with its accompanying Audio-CD's give's the beginner a good base in chinese llanguage. As soon as someone finishes this book, he will be able to understand basic written and spoken chinese and move conveniently around china as a tourist or even bussiness traveler (the book's text are based on business traveling). It is good for those who wish to have a basic knowledge of the language. Then they can move on a more academic book.

Excellent for the traveller, January 9, 2000
Reviewer: A reader
While this is not an academic text (as the reviewer from London - living in Beijing - notes), it is excellent for the independent traveller who might be going to Singapore, PRC, or ROC. Along with the tapes that accompany it, I found that 6 weeks of study prior to my trip to Taiwan gave me the basics for getting around solo. The course is a good balance of grammar notes and practical vocabulary. If I wanted to learn how to read Chinese newspapers, I'd certainly enroll in a language school and not try to learn the language all on my lonesome. I highly recommend any of the Routledge series books for Southeast Asian languages as well. These books and tapes are far superior to any others I have used for self-study in preparation for a trip.