Learn Chinese the Fast and Fun Way (Barron's Fast and Fun Way Language Series) [Paperback]

Lifei Ji (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812096894 | ISBN-13: 978-0812096897 | Publication Date: September 1, 1997

This attractive and highly accessible book introduces readers to enough Mandarin Chinese to help them get around in typical travel situations. It opens with a pronunciation key, and goes on to emphasize the sounds of Chinese words and phrases. Sections that follow guide the reader through practice of often-used words, phrases, and sentences in typical travel situations that include arriving at a hotel, sightseeing, taking public transportation, and more. Also featured are vocabulary cards to improve students' visual recognition of words and increase their word power in Chinese.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Chinese

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812096894
• ISBN-13: 978-0812096897
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #464,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars There are better books., December 14, 1999

By 

Corcoran - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learn Chinese the Fast and Fun Way (Barron's Fast and Fun Way Language Series) (Paperback)

I read this book when looking for a language text. My goal is/was to actually learn to read, write and speak chinese at some point in the future. After leafing through it for about 30 minutes, I noticed that it was severely lacking in many aspects. It offers sparse chinese language instruction. If you are looking for something extremely basic this might work for you. However, you might be better off with any number of phrase books. If you are genuinely interested in learning chinese, I can recommend ANYTHING from either the faculty of PEKING UNIVERSITY or if you are interested in computer based instruction Triple-Play Chinese CD-ROM by transparent technologies. I recommend the triple-play as a basic introduction into chinese because it is inexpensive and has voice recognition software to aid in the pronunciation of pin-yin. There are other software titles out there, but I believe its the best one for the beginning student.

I hope this review helps you choose the right book.- Corcoran

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the tourist or casual learner, May 31, 2003

By 

Eds Word (El Paso, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learn Chinese the Fast and Fun Way (Barron's Fast and Fun Way Language Series) (Paperback)

This book is a good choice for learning spoken Mandarin in preparation for a trip to China. You'll learn a lot of phrases you need to know as a tourist and the book is more thorough than a simple phrasebook. You'll also learn how to put sentences together and by the end of the course you will develop a good feel for the language. Four ninety-minute tapes accompany the cassette version. Though professionally made, too much time is spent by the narrator walking you through the book. The time would have been better spent by supplementing the dialogs. The dialogs themselve are invaluable. The book uses romanized Chinese (pinyin) and therefore you will not learn how to interpret Chinese characters. Although the book comes with a nice fold-out dictionary the Oxford Starter Chinese Dictionary would make a wonderful accompanyment to this volume. This is about the easiest introduction to spoken Chinese that can be found.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, December 28, 2006

By 

Diane Carroll (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learn Chinese the Fast and Fun Way (Barron's Fast and Fun Way Language Series) (Paperback)

My husband is using this book in a class he is taking at work. He is going to be traveling to China next year. The book is easy to use, written in a clear and easy to understand fashion. It is working out well for him.