Mandarin II [AUDIOBOOK] [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD)

by Pimsleur Language Programs (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Congratulations on your selection of this Pimsleur Language Program. Learning to speak a language has never been easier.

The Pimsleur Language Programs, using the world-renowned method of Dr. Paul Pimsleur, will soon have you speaking the language of your choice.

This series of thirty minute lessons enables you to learn comfortably and conveniently at your own pace, and achieve measurable results.

Refer to the enclosed owner's manual and see how easy it is to learn to speak foreign language.

About the Author
Dr. Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and was one of the world's leading experts in applied linguistics. After obtaining his Ph.D. in French from Columbia University, he taught French Phonetics and Phonemics, and supervised the language laboratory at UCLA. He went on to become Professor of Romance Languages and Language Education, and Director of The Listening Center at Ohio State University; Professor of Education and Romance Languages at the State University of New York at Albany; and a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Heidelberg. Dr. Pimsleur was a member of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), American Educational Research Association (AERA), Modern Language Association (MLA), and a founding member of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). His many books and articles revolutionized theories of language learning and teaching. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed a new method that is based on two key principles: the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory that he called Graduated Interval Recall. This program incorporates both of these principles to provide you with the most simple and effective learning method possible.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Pimsleur; Unabridged edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743506618
• ISBN-13: 978-0743506618
• Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 11.6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,217 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning while u drive works..., August 24, 2002

By	David M "professordavid" (Zionsville, IN USA) - See all my reviews

I wrote a review on Pimsleur Mandarin I. Excellent set. Waited for II. Now it's out. PM II maintains the excellent standards of volume I.

Two months after getting PM II, I went to Beijing for a science meeting (for ten days). I was in excellent shape. Nearly everyone understood me: waiters, shop people (bargains galore), taxi drivers, etc. I never quite had the time to master volume II like I did volume I. But the best thing is the diction and sound that you CANNOT get from a book alone. Pimsleur uses stock phrases to a point, and then mixes them and creates new ideas. Sentences do become longer (occasioanlly they are so long I can't remember them to translate -- I am after all driving). It is not a trivial list of slogans. You actually learn. They speak at a pace that forces you to become more fluid and conversant -- but you can replay the units. Of course it cannot mimic the spontaneity of real-life conversations, but it does an excellent job nevertheless.

Pimsleur is best if regular opportunities exist to practice. Pimsleur is not that simple, yet it is comfortable and thorough. The different arenas: eating, travel about town, "small talk", are all well chosen. I used all of them in Beijing-- some more haltingly than others, some comfortably naturally.

I now hear most tones the first time. I still don't quite stress them strongly enough (I discovered this while there). The down-and-up tone is really emphasized. The daily practice is getting my tongue more and more comfortable with the unusual sounds and twists.

I still think it's a bit pricey. I have the convenience of sitting in a college class -- which does NOT give the oral practice that Pimsleur does, but the class does give me a wider understanding of context and word order.

I will get Pimsleur III when it comes out. I'm serious about learning the language. I think Pimsleur can deliver a lot, but not everything. It is convenient, CDs don't wear out, and I'll keep reviewing. You need to find supplemental ways to expand the dialog still. I AM a satisfied Pimsleur fan.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Addictive, and great results to boot, June 21, 2006

By	Jethro Manjay "j'ai trop mangé" (Carlisle, PA United States) - See all my reviews

I wrote a good review of volume I. Now I'm on the last lesson of volume II (and I treated myself to volume III for Father's Day). Pimsleur Mandarin is wonderful in the way it teaches you sentence structure. You will need another source to accumulate vocabulary (perhaps Rosetta Stone, which I completed and is strong on vocab but weak on grammar).

For instance, after 59 lessons with Pimsleur, I have been told only one color: green. (From Rosetta Stone, I know many colors). But I can ask "At what time did you drink GREEN tea with Mr. Chen's wife in Beihai Park?" and keep it straight. (In Rosetta, I could say green car, blue car, red car, yellow car. See the difference?)

As far as the plot is concerned, whereas volume I seemed focused on the effort of a man to drink beer with a reticent woman at his place, volume II is set in the world of business. They work hard, and they play hard: The speakers keep trying to invite each other to play tennis or drink green tea. But the timing is always wrong:"I have to excuse myself, I have a meeting at two o'clock. Tomorrow's impossible: I'm taking a business trip to Nanjing."

I haven't been to China since I started Pimsleur. But when I do little experiments in Chinese restaurants, I feel much more comfortable that with Rosetta alone under my belt (although the Rosetta vocabulary is valuable).

A great adjunct (and free too): chinesepod.com available at their website and at iTunes. Measuring myself on chinesepod.com, I am now better than elementary, and not quite intermediate (there is also newbie and advanced).

One last thought: Simon and Shuster recommend moving on to the next lesson when you feel 80% proficient with the present one. I wait until I'm 100% proficient and the answers come almost automatically to me. It takes about 3 to 4 repeats of each lesson. At that price, I don't feel like rushing through it!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best, August 8, 2002

By A Customer

I waited a few years for this, and it was worth it. I'm a native English speaker, and I've dabbled in German, Spanish and Japanese, but I still think that Mandarin is the easiest language I've ever learned. It is a straightforward, simple, flexible and consistent language with no surprises. The tones are not that hard to learn; there are basically only four of them, and you learn them by experience and practice, and by HEARING and REMEMBERING them, not by memorizing. All in all a very well-done and polished production. According to the Amazon release date, Mandarin III should be out February 2003; can't wait! I also hope they do a fourth level, like they have with the German and Spanish.