Chinese Mandarin I, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand Mandarin Chinese with Pimsleur Language Programs: Amazon.ca: Pimsleur: Books

Product Description

Book Description

Mandarin is the official language in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore. The Mandarin dialect is used in most Chinese schools, colleges, and universities, and in most TV programs, movies, and radio stations throughout the country. Mandarin is one of the five official languages of the UN.

Comprehensive Mandarin Chinese I includes 30 lessons of essential grammar and vocabulary -- 16 hours of real-life spoken practice sessions -- plus a Culture Booklet. Upon completion of this Level I program, you will have functional spoken proficiency with the most-frequently-used vocabulary and grammatical structures.

In the first 10 lessons, you’ll cover the basics: saying hello, asking for or giving information, scheduling a meal or a meeting, asking for or giving basic directions, and much more. You’ll be able to handle minimum courtesy requirements, understand much of what you hear, and be understood at a beginning level, but with near-native pronunciation skills.
In the next 10 lessons, you’ll build on what you’ve learned. Expand your menu, increase your scheduling abilities from general to specific, start to deal with currency and exchanging money, refine your conversations and add over a hundred new vocabulary items. You’ll understand more of what you hear, and be able to participate with speech that is smoother and more confident.
In the final 10 lessons, you’ll be speaking and understanding at an intermediate level. More directions are given in the target language, which moves your learning to a whole new plane. Lessons include shopping, visiting friends, going to a restaurant, plans for the evening, car trips, and talking about family.

One hour of recorded Cultural Notes are included at the end of Unit 30. These notes are designed to provide you with some insight into Chinese culture. A Notes Booklet is also included in PDF format.

About the Author

Dr. Paul Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world’s leading experts in applied linguistics. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed The Pimsleur Method based on two key principles: the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory training that he called “Graduated Interval Recall.” This Method has been applied to the many levels and languages of the Pimsleur Programs.

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.8 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best there is!, May 14 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Chinese (Mandarin) I, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand Mandarin Chinese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Audio CD)

I have a Ph.D. in linguistics and taught the subject for many years. Pimsleur is absolutely the best system out there for learning foreign languages short of being dropped in another country. (In fact, I'd still take Pimsleur with me if I were going to be set down in a foreign land.) In 30 days you will have basic functionality in the language along with excellent pronunciation-- a real Pimsleur plus. Work through the entire three levels (90 lessons) and you will reach a solid intermediate speaking level-- something that might take 4 years or more of traditional study! I started the Mandarin program from scratch and could not be more pleased. The tones, which will seem impossible at first even if you understand the theory behind them, are much easier after only 7 days and almost natural in two weeks. At the end of the 30 day first course you will barely be thinking about them any more-- so automatic will they have become. Obviously, you will need to further your studies to become as fluent in your second language as you are in English-- but there is absolutely no other course that teaches you so much, so fast, and with so little pain as Pimsleur. (By the way, I have no vested interest in this company-- I just love the system.)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes Mandarin Possible!, Dec 2 2003

By

Malcolm Robinson (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Chinese (Mandarin) I, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand Mandarin Chinese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Audio CD)

When I first started Pimsleur Mandarin I, about six months ago, I gave up after the fourth lesson thinking it was too difficult. I just couldn't get my head around the tones and the difficult pronunciation. It seemed as though every sentence that I tried to make was too slow or had a wrong tone. Then about a week later, I tried it again and it wasn't quite so hard. I made it to lesson eleven, but then took another week-long break out of frustration. When I picked it up for the third time, it was much easier. I had finally figured out how to position my tongue to create most of the non-english phenomes (pinyin: q, x, j, r, ü, z, c), and the tones were starting to get easier, although I still had trouble when combining two falling-rising tones. After two months, I managed to finish Mandarin I, and then, with a bit more effort and patience, I finished Mandarin II and III. I can now repeat or say any sentence at full speed, and the tones have become almost entirely subconscious, making the language much more reasonable. This is the main strength of the Pimsleur program, it gets your ears accustomed to the sounds, and it forces you to make correct sentences quickly, with good pronunciation. This is especially important for a tonal language such as Mandarin.

Of the three levels, Mandarin I is by far the most difficult and frustrating. This is because the four tones and many of the difficult phenomes are all introduced at once, and it seems almost impossible to master them. I had to listen to the first four lessons about four or five times each. After that, I listened to the remaining twenty-six lessons three times each. When I got to Mandarin III, I only had to listen to each lesson twice, as I had already mastered the tones and phenomes by that point and I only needed to deal with the vocabulary and relatively easy syntax. It gets much, much easier as you progress - trust me. It is also tremendously rewarding. I can carry out basic conversations with Chinese people, which suprises everyone (myself included). However, it doesn't take long before I encounter a word or sentence structure that I'm not familiar with. Oh well, I can't expect to become fluent in six months. As for pronunciation, I've been told that I don't have an accent, which is almost entirely because of Pimsleur.

I highly recommend getting this course if you are serious about Mandarin. It is much more efficient than a tutor, and you'll see results. As for the cost, I'm only reviewing the qualilty of the product and not the cost/quality ratio. However, you should realize that there are other ways of obtaining this course. It is possible to buy it used, or rent it, and some libraries even carry Pimsleur programs. Keep this in mind...

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Even I managed to make progress...., Jun 19 2004

By

Cyanide Bunny "cyanidebunny" (中国) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chinese (Mandarin) I, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand Mandarin Chinese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Audio CD)

As probably one of the worst language students in the continental US i bought this package with a certain amount of scepticism. However, i read the review by someone who claimed they listened to it in the car each day as they drove to work and ended up speaking with relative ease so it seemed it might be worth a try. After the package arrived i tried this and found myself veering into oncoming traffic and running red lights as i tried to concentrate on what the speaker was saying. i gave this up fairly quickly and finally found the best way (for me) was to go for a walk as i listened to each tape. even then i was stumbling along in an erratic manner and muttering to myself which only helped to lowering my neighbours poor opinion of me.

I had to listen to the first few tapes anywhere between 5 to 10 times before i mastered them. I followed the advice of another reviewer, picked up a copy of the Oxford English-Chinese dictionary and proceeded to write down each lesson. I am now towards the end of the set of tapes and it is definitely getting easier - I can master each tape in 2- 5 hearings, am stumbling less and speak mandarin in a clear voice, oblivious of the looks from the neighbours. I intend to get Mandarin II as soon as i am done.

and now if you will excuse me, it is time for my next lesson...

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent as usual
I have used many of the Pimsleur programs before and believe they are worth every penny. However, I have found that the Mandarin language is most difficult to learn and find... Read more

Published on April 12 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for the spoken language
Once again Pimsleur offers an excellent course for the spoken language with relevent conversations and a teaching style that is both automatic and effective. Read more