Teach Yourself Mandarin Chinese Conversation (Teach Yourself Conversation) [Audio CD]

Elizabeth Scurfield (Author)

Book Description

Series: Teach Yourself Conversation | Publication Date: October 28, 2005

This stand-alone, all-audio Chinese (Mandarin) course can be used by those who have little or no knowledge of the language, by those who want to learn or brush up basic conversation skills, and by more advanced learners who require extra audio material to complement their current courses. The ten units or 'conversations' cover the situations you are most likely to find yourself in while on holiday or on business abroad. They are divided into two parts, with a dialogue in each part. The dialogue in Part 2 reuses the vocabulary and phrases from Part 1 in a slightly different context. Both parts start with an introduction to the words and phrases you'll need, followed by the dialogue. Finally it's 'Over to you': you take part in the same dialogues following the English prompts, playing all the roles in turn. So you get lots of opportunity to practise! Frequent track markers divide the CDs up into short, easy-to-use clips. Vocabulary and phrases in the first two CDs are kept to the basics and are introduced gradually with lots of opportunity to repeat and practise, to improve your confidence in both speaking and understanding. The third CD concentrates on helping you improve your understanding, so that you will be able to hold two-way conversations with people who speak very fast or use words and phrases you do not know. The course comes on three 75-minute CDs and has an accompanying 48-page booklet which gives the dialogues and the translations of the dialogues, for those who like to see the written word or want additional practice. The Chinese is transliterated into romanized script. The booklet also provides a basic glossary of the words and phrases used. This is the perfect complement to "Chinese" and "Beginner's Chinese" in the "Teach Yourself" range.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I am a big fan of this series. Commercial packaging, simple concept and a competitive price make these well worth trying...One to watch." -- The Bookseller 20050429

About the Author

Elizabeth Scurfield graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Chinese from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. She has nearly 30 years' experience of teaching Chinese to beginners. She is former Chair of the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Westminster in London. Song Lianyi grew up and was educated in Beijing. He has taught Chinese as a foreign language for more than 15 years. He is at present Lecturer in Chinese at SOAS. He completed his PhD in language teaching techniques at the Institute of Education, University of London.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Teach Yourself (October 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340906472
• ISBN-13: 978-0340906477
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,069,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Audio Course, September 5, 2010

By 

J. F. O'Neill (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Teach Yourself Mandarin Chinese Conversation (3CDs+ Guide) (TY: Conversation) (Audio CD)

This is not an in-depth course, which is a good thing. It is focused on audio learning and speaking Chinese.

I ripped the tracks and put them on my digital music player (I ripped them in .ogg format, that is why I don't call it an "mp3 player) so I can listen to them anywhere.

It does not explain grammar in detail, which may be a good thing. By itself, it will give a good introduction to speaking Chinese. With other resources (for learning grammar, characters and vocabulary), it is a good audio supplement.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for audio only learning, February 3, 2010

By 

Gw Mes (South Africa) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Teach Yourself Mandarin Chinese Conversation (3CDs+ Guide) (TY: Conversation) (Audio CD)

The course come with a tiny booklet containing the text and translation of the main conversations. The rest is on the CDs. This means you can learn in the car, in the subway or whatever.
The material is not too fast paced either, so I feel like I am coping.
Very Good