127 of 129 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific program for beginners -- with reservations, July 16, 2006
This review is from: Chinese (Mandarin) I (Audio CD)
I've gone through all 3 full sets of Pimsleur Mandarin Chinese. If you'd have asked me immediately after I'd finished them what I thought of the series, I'd have given it 5 stars without hesitation. However, after spending the past year trying to advance past what I've learned via the Pimsleur series, I've come across some reservations which prevent me from giving it a 5 star review anymore. While I do feel the Pimsleur method is incredibly useful and (despite its seeming simplicity) very innovative, I think their Mandarin Chinese series also suffers from simply being "plugged in" to the standard Pimsleur format, rather than receiving the customization that would help users truly understand the Chinese language, which has many quirks unique to it.
My reservations:
1) Pimsleur Chinese teaches the Beijing version of Mandarin, which is understandable considering it is the "official" Mandarin dialect according to the Chinese government, but the fact is that the vast majority of overseas Mandarin speakers do not speak Beijing Chinese and may give you puzzled looks when you use the phrases taught in this series. For example, in Beijing the word 'where' is said 'nar', while just about everywhere else (Taiwan, Singapore, and other parts of China) they say 'na-li'. Sure, 90% is probably the same, but that 10% that is different can be very confusing. Occasionally they give alternate ways of saying words, but more often they do not. Native Mandarin speakers may understand your Beijing usage and pronunciation, but you will definitely need to re-learn several key words in order to understand when they speak to you.
2) Classical Chinese, I believe, was basically mono-syballic, but Modern Chinese is heavily composed of compound words which can be broken down to their individual components as a mnemonic and as a way of better understanding the language. However, Pimsleur rarely does this. For example, I noticed they gave several words that began with dian (which, via other means of study, I learned means 'electronic'), such as dian nao (electronic + brain = computer) and dian hoa (electronic + speech = telephone), but I had to look elsewhere to understand the individual components. Pimsleur breaks down a compound word maybe a quarter of the time, but it should have been done EVERY time.
3) Although I still believe Pimsleur is a great introduction to the language, you ultimately only learn a VERY limited vocabulary from the entire 3 sets -- maybe a few hundred words -- not nearly enough to understand a TV show or movie (again, especially when you consider you are only learning how to say things in Beijing Mandarin).
Don't get me wrong, Pimsleur does an excellent job of getting the listener to memorize key words and phrases using good pronunciation (my Mandarin speaking friends were quite surprised by my "clear, classical accent"), but it is only a first step. To continue learning Mandarin, you definitely should learn Pinyin (i.e. the method used to translate Chinese characters into English/Romanized spellings -- it takes some time to learn as it is not very intuitive) in order to use a dictionary and other instruction books, and as a stepping stone to learning how to read & write Chinese characters (a massive undertaking in itself).
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113 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best way to learn to hear and speak Mandarin, November 9, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Chinese (Mandarin) I (Audio CD)
I have not found a better way to learn to hear and speak a foreign language than the Pimsleur series. I've used both Mandarin I and II, and they have been a big help in enabling me to conduct everyday conversations in China.
The hard part about Chinese is that you don't run into any words that look even vaguely familiar. But the Pimsleur method is gradual. Each lesson begins with a brief conversation between two native speakers. The first time you hear it, you have no idea what's being said, but by the end of the lesson you'll be able to understand it and participate in the same conversation. But I found there's a lot of value in going through each lesson several times.
The emphasis is all on listening to native speakers and responding to them in short conversations. The method forces you to learn how the language really sounds, and you get lots of chances to practice getting the pronunciation right. It also has the advantage that you can do the course while driving or exercising. There is a very small reading book, but it's not essential.
If your goal is to read Chinese characters, you want a different course or a text designed for the purpose. The best introductory text I've found is "A Key to Chinese Speech and Writing" by Joel Bellassen and Zhang Pengpeng. It's very user-friendly, and puts a lot of emphasis on the history of each character, which helps a lot in learning them. Trouble is, it's hard to find. Hint: Amazon should sell it.
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76 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Easiest Way to Begin Speaking Chinese, October 27, 2004
This review is from: Chinese (Mandarin) I (Audio CD)
If it weren't for this program, I would've quit the idea of learning Chinese - but this program made it so easy and effortless that even after this first level I was able to exchange few words with a waitress in a Chinese restaurant in Chinese and be understood. That was a tremendous confidence booster that motivated me to keep going and the whole process of going through this program was so easy and enjoyable that it seemed entirely effortless. It has transformed learning Chinese from impossibility into something easy to accomplish.
There are many other cheaper programs for learning Chinese, but unless you are familiar with pronouncing Chinese words, you'll only find yourself frustrated. I tried some other programs before Pimsleur and was getting nowhere. The prospect of learning Chinese still seemed impossible.
In this program each word is broken into syllables which are easy to pronounce and then they are linked into words and sentences and another wonderful thing about this program is that it begins by teaching you some very useful things to say, so that no matter how many words you have learned, what you've learned you'll be able to use because it deals with fulfilling your basic needs and finding your way around.
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