Fast and Easy Mandarin (Living Language) [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Living Language (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0609603418 | ISBN-13: 978-0609603413 | Publication Date: September 29, 1998

300 essential words and phrases on cassette

Audioscript with pronunciation guide

Fast        
If you've always wanted to learn Mandarin or need to learn it in a hurry, here is a quick, stress-free introduction to the basics. This 60-minute audio course features more than 300 essential Mandarin words and phrases.
        
Easy        
A narrator guides you through the program, providing brief explanations of the foreign phrases. All you have to do is listen and repeat after the native speakers.
        
Effective
Brief quizzes in this interactive course help you think in Mandarin. Lessons include short dialogues so you can hear Mandarin spoken naturally. Learn both pronunciation and comprehension skills. To help with memorization, each phrase is spoken twice, with ample pauses for repetition.
        
Portable        
A transcript with pronunciation guide is included, but the cassette may be used alone. It's easy to learn on the go: in a car, on a plane, even while walking or jogging.

Contents
Greetings                Shopping
Polite Expressions        The Post Office
Directions                The Airport
At the Hotel                The Train Station
At the Restaurant        The Telephone
Numbers                Questions
Telling Time                Days and Months

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

300 essential words and phrases on cassette

Audioscript with pronunciation guide

Fast        
If you've always wanted to learn Mandarin or need to learn it in a hurry, here is a quick, stress-free introduction to the basics. This 60-minute audio course features more than 300 essential Mandarin words and phrases.
        
Easy        
A narrator guides you through the program, providing brief explanations of the foreign phrases. All you have to do is listen and repeat after the native speakers.
        
Effective
Brief quizzes in this interactive course help you think in Mandarin. Lessons include short dialogues so you can hear Mandarin spoken naturally. Learn both pronunciation and comprehension skills. To help with memorization, each phrase is spoken twice, with ample pauses for repetition.
        
Portable        
A transcript with pronunciation guide is included, but the cassette may be used alone. It's easy to learn on the go: in a car, on a plane, even while walking or jogging.

Contents
Greetings                Shopping
Polite Expressions        The Post Office
Directions                The Airport
At the Hotel                The Train Station
At the Restaurant        The Telephone
Numbers                Questions
Telling Time                Days and Months

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Living Language (September 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609603418
• ISBN-13: 978-0609603413
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,214,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Books on Cassette > Languages > Chinese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stay away if you want to learn anything, February 11, 2000

By 

Leo Dirac (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fast and Easy Mandarin (Living Language) (Audio Cassette)

The tape wouldn't be so bad if it were backed up by a text of any quality at all. But the leaflet it comes with is less than worthless -- it's misleading.

First, it doesn't use pinyin as its phonetic spelling system. They make up their own. This will teach you very bad habits if you care to move past this very simple level.

Beyond that, it gives nothing but phrases to say with no hint to what the words in them mean.

The text is just a transcription of what's on the tape. The only additional information is a short bizarre pronunciation guide and a woefully inadequate description of tonality.

A very low-level introduction to the language. Appropriate only if you're not willing to spend more than 30 minutes studying the language.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Place to Start, September 18, 2000

By 

Amy Theerman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fast and Easy Mandarin (Living Language) (Audio Cassette)

I listened to this cassette everyday in my car for three months. When I got to China, I was able to greet and thank people, ask for chopsticks, forks, tea. I was also able to talk genially with our bus driver about when we were eating. I understood time and money and the food being served. Being horrible at foreign languages, this was just the right speed and the right amount of phrases, not so many as to be confusing. Because it is listen and repeat, I could not read or write anything but everyone I spoke to in Mandarin was impressed, said I spoke very clearly and were really happy to hear an American speaking Mandarin.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Almost worthless, September 19, 2000

By 

Ed McDougal (Rockville Centre, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fast and Easy Mandarin (Living Language) (Audio Cassette)

I agree with the previous reviewer and am just reenforcing his/her opinion. Some things are cheap and still over-priced. The Barron's Gettings By in Chinese is a much better value.