Customer Reviews

Chinese (Mandarin) (Instant Conversational Language (Mandarin Chinese))

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is better than Berlitz, and I never thought I would say that about a language product. There are so many study-at-home language products that are boring and ineffective. This is more like the Suzuki method of studying music. Listen, imitate, learn!

The method definitely deserves 5 stars, but there are problems with the "Instant Conversation" product. (The negatives can be noted by reading the Amazon reviews of the corresponding product for Spanish.) To advance to the whole first set of the comprehensive Pimsleur method, you have to pay for these first 8 CD's again, in effect, and at a higher price. (When you buy the comprehensive Mandarin I, it is my understanding that half the CD's you buy are identical to these. Therefore your investment in this beginner set is unwise.) Too bad that they didn't make a special (stand-alone) set for this product instead of just removing the first 8 of the 16 CD's in the Comprehensive Mandarin I.

Those considerations aside, this method is unbelievably effective. I have taken private and group Berlitz, bought untold numbers of study at home sets, and have taken languages in the university. This is fast and really effective. I'll be buying more of the Pimsleur method in other languages, too.

Bottom line: This was an relatively inexpensive way for me to test the Pimsleur method in some depth.

Two years ago my employer required me to begin to learn Mandarin. They had purchased the Original Pimsleur Mandarin Cassettes several years prior to my joining the company. I made it through eight lessons before I took a position with another firm. However, my desire to learn Mandarin had been ignited.
I didn't feel comfortable spending the $350.00 to buy the full Pimsleur course myself, so I went to the local library and checked out the resources there. I tried three different courses by other authors and was amazed how sub-standard they were. Nothing compared to the quality and retention the Pimsleur method gave. When I saw that the Instant Conversation series was available I bought it immediately. I reasoned that for less than $50.00 I could find if I really wanted to learn Chinese. After my experiences with the other learning systems I was not sure I wanted to continue. I'm now starting the third CD and I am confident I will spend the money for the next level of instruction. Every day I learn more and retain probably 80% of what was covered in each lesson. Due to the confidence the Pimsleur method gives I know that mastery of Mandarin Chinese is attainable. I have a friend at work who is a native speaker and she tells me my accent is negligible. I could not think of a more promising recommendation then that.

I am a foreign language teacher and this was my first Pimsleur course and I was pleased with it. I started the course about 3 months before going to China. I found, in China, that people understood what I was saying. I had a Chinese phrase book in "pinyin" (Chinese method of Romanization)which really messed up my pronounciation. I stopped using it and dealt strictly with the tapes.

The only drawback is that this was a beginning course for learning the complete language. It omitted a lot of necessary phrases, i.e., "Where is the restroom?" These I picked up in China.

Be patient with youself. Work with the tape or CD for 15-20 minutes and stop. Work the same material again later until you have learned it...then move on. Otherwise, you will be overwhelmed.

This is the first Pimsleur course I've used, and I wish I had discovered them sooner! I usually don't learn languages completely by ear, but it's proving to be a great way to learn Mandarin. I even find that I remember things my Chinese friends teach me so much easier since I am getting used to picking up new words without seeing them or writing a notecard on them! I've I am on Disc 3 so far and have had no problems remembering any of my lessons. Additionally, I think my pronunciation is coming very easily because I am not trying to translate Romanized characters into Chinese sounds.

I have completed the instant conversation series and purchased Pimsleur Mandarin I. The method works, although I had to run through the eight CDs three times before I felt comfortable with the language. Lessons 1 and 2 introduce about 30 vocabulary words. The subsequent lessons introduce about 10 new words each. Lessons 1 through 8 cover the to be infinitive as well as what, when, and where questions. Action verbs are also covered: to speak, to eat, to drink, to go, and to buy. In addition, intention expressions of going to, would like to, and wanting to are covered. Lessons 9 through 16 thoroughly cover telling time and counting in situations where money is exchanged. If you are serious about learning Mandarin, listening is okay, but having a teacher to explain the mechanics of producing the sound would be better. I found that the many "ch_w" and "sh_w" sounds in Mandarin were difficult to distinguish on the CDs. Consider, for example, the English words "shower" and "chowder". On the CDs, the words are spoken with varying emphasis by both a man and a woman, and that helps. However, consider getting help with pronunciation from a native speaker. Mandarin sentences and phases are requested in a random fashion, making it impossible to memorize a CD, unlike an eye chart. So playing a CD while driving is a good review. However, be sure to set aside one half hour per day per lesson in complete quiet to learn new material. After these 16 lessons you will be able to win friends and influence people, on the job or on vacation, with a few select phrases.

I will be leaving for Taiwan in a week and am thankful for this wonderful introduction to Mandarin. After purchasing the Instant Conversation, I used the large rebate to continue my study of Mandarin with Pimsleur's Mandarin I.

I have been living with a Taiwanese family (in the US) for the last few months and they tell me that my understanding and pronounciation of the Mandarin I have learned thus far is beautiful. There are, of course, slight differences in pronunciation between the Beijing accent of the CD's and the Taiwanese accent, but it hasn't been problematic.
Thanks Pimsleur!

I like Instant Conversational Language (Mandarin Chinese) by Pimsleur. I was already using and enjoying Language Dynamics Behind the Wheel Chinese-Mandarin and getting great results. Pimsleur's method also works but is somewhat rigid and doesn't allow for as much creativity as Behind the Wheel Chinese. Unlike Behind the Wheel Chinese, I also note that with Pimsleur you must remain with the CD track until it ends so that the graduated interval recall system is not interrupted. This is not always possible for me.
Still, I recommend you buy this course since it is very good, as long as you use it along with a more versatile alternative
such as Behind the Wheel Chinese.

I found this at a book outlet for [cheap], and I bought them immediately because Pimsleur tapes have been recommended to me.

Well, these are fantastic: You retain everything you hear, and it's actually very exciting. Before using these, I couldn't understand pronounciation at all but with them I am beginning to grasp it.

I have tried Berlitz's living languages series and these tapes are a million times better. They're very effective and fun. I highly recommend them.

I give 5 stars to Chinese (Mandarin) (Instant Conversational Language (Mandarin Chinese) by Pimsleur.
Pimsleur's method really works. If you really want results then buy and use this course.
If you want even better results, then combine this wonderful course with another approach and method. I have found Language Dynamics Behind the Wheel Mandarin
to be the ideal companion course to Instant Conversational Mandarin. The learning technique is also very good and you learn a lot of sentences and vocabulary with the course. I have gotten excellent results using both.

My stars are for the program delivering what it claims to deliver -- instant conversational skills. In this aspect alone the program is superb. I followed the instructions (at most 1 lesson -- 30 minutes -- per day, no books) and found myself being understood by my Chinese colleagues by the end of the program. What did I learn to speak? Well there lied this collection's shortcomings. While it teaches you well, it doesn't teach you much. This perhaps can be expected since the package in its entirety includes 16 lessons or 8 hours. In the end I think I've learned some 50 Chinese words, whose combination allowed me to compose simple (as opposed to compound) sentences such as: "I am <nationality>," "I {want to/can/am going to} do <something> [{or/and} something else] [at what time]," "I have <something>," "Where is <location>?," "How much is <something>?," "Who is <someone>?," "What did you mean?," (In other words, variations of simple sentences making use of verbs shi4 (be), hui4 (can), xiang3 (want to), yao4 (need/must), you3 (have), zai4 (located), ke3 (may) in pinyin.)

The program will doubtlessly get you started well, but you will have to fill in other rudimentary vocabulary from elsewhere. Though no direct comparison should be made, I once purchased a Spanish learning program of comparable length. The Spanish set included at least 10 times the words this set contains. As the Spanish program was not as effective (nor as leisurely-paced) as Pimsleur's program it was difficult to digest. However I could always play back the parts I missed.