Rating: 
Summary: Needs a better book
Review: You can learn how to speak, but if you want to know how to read then the tapes are of no use. The book just has a word list with the characters. It is the equivalent of about one or two semesters of chinese. If you are above this then it is of no use. Only buy this if you are a complete beginner.
Rating: 
Summary: best system for *introduction* to a language
Review: I know from reading other reviews of Pimsleur language programs that people are sometimes taken aback by the rather basic vocabulary the program leaves you with and the lack of written material. Bear in mind, the Pimsleur program is an excellent *introduction* to a language. It can't be beat for helping you with pronunciation and with learning the "core" of a language. If you want to become fluent that is going to take work on several fronts besides the Pimsleur course (or any other tape course available), but Pimsleur delivers on what it's designed to do. My experience thus far is with Pimsleur Mandarin Chinese I and with Pimsleur Spanish I, II and III. They are superb. When used in combination with vocabulary building work, a grammar book (preferably and old fashioned grammar book ), and practice with a native speaker, you will attain your goals of speaking the language in fairly short order. What can I say? Learning a language is a lot of work and if you're looking for a magic bullet that gives you fluency in "30 minutes a day for 3 months!!" you're living in a dream world. But the Pimsleur program will get you well on your way. You will develop an ease for composing sentences, a great pronunciation and an introduction to the vocabulary with their system. After one level of Pimsleur Mandarin I, I've managed to astound a co-worker born and raised in Taiwan with my ability to speak her language. Granted my vocabulary is limited at this point since I haven't done much else besides the Pimsleur tapes in Mandarin, but what I do know, I know very well. Having completed three full levels of Pimsleur Spanish and having worked on vocabulary, grammar, and reading from other sources, my Spanish has reached a very conversant level in only three months. Living in Albuquerque, I have the opportunity to practice my Spanish frequently, and people have commented on how adept I've become. Pimsleur is one of the crucial language learning tools I have to thank for such praise.To sum up, I believe that Pimsleur programs can be used effectively by several different types of language learners, from those just wanting to pick up a smattering to those that want to become very conversant or even fluent. If you want to pick up some phrases and learn a small but useful vocabulary fluently as well as set up a solid foundation for future efforts, then all you need are the tapes. If you want, on the other hand, to really attack the language and master it, then you'll need more than just the Pimsleur tapes; but the Pimsleur tapes will constitute one of the most helpful tools you have in your language learning bag of tricks.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent way to learn basic Mandarin,learn while you drive!
Review: You will learn basic travel type conversation. What is also very helpful is that you learn to pronounce words exactly as native speakers and recognize what they are saying. After you go over each lesson a few times you will be able to respond to each question in Mandarin as it is asked immediately. You can also challenge yourself to resond as fast as possible with as precise a pronounciation as the speakers. It is time well invested when you are driving and actually learning a new language and fun too!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Overall, a good product, not perfect.
Review: I have had these tapes for about 4 months now. I listen to them in the car on the way to work. I am midway thru the units so far, but I don't listen to them every day. The course is good and worth buying, but the main drawback is that some key words are not sounded or spelled out in any method to help you pinpoint the correct sound. For example, I pronounced the word 'bu' as 'tu', for weeks until a chinese person corrected me. Because of this, you will definately need another resource to help you "hear" some sounds. Another example, I thought 'sh da' and swa da' were the same word; they are not. What a big mistake while trying to learn the language. Since I have a chinese speaking friend to help me, I find this course very useful to me, otherwise, I would get frustrated and give up. After I bought this course, I also bought the Spanish course, based on the good aspects of this product and because I can learn it while driving.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Way to Start Learning
Review: Pimsleur's audio-only teaching method is ideal for learning Chinese. The Mandarin phonemes are so different from English that it is a good idea to get the sounds into your head before looking at any text -- even Pinyin, which can be very misleading to the beginner. One thing I like about the Pimsleur method is that it uses the knowledge you have already acquired in English. Many methods follow the popular idea that you should never use the speaker's native language in teaching the new one; just throw him in the pool and he will learn to swim on his own. Using the English language saves a lot of frustration. My only complaint is that they have never put out levels 2 and 3.
Rating:
Summary: it really works
Review: Pimsleur is really an effective way to learn Chinese. I struggled through the first couple of lesson (hating the process), convinced that I would never catch on. But by the end of the first week I gained a lot of confidence with the language. By the end of the second week I traveled to Taipei and was very confident with my 25 word vocabulary (smile). After one month, I'm half way through the 32 lessons, and acutually enjoying learning the language. Start with the 8 lesson tapes (less than $20); it comes with a $50 certificate to upgrade.
Rating:
Summary: A Great language taster but this pack is not a real course.
Review: A lot of language courses over the past few years have laboured a gimmick of "learn so-and-so language the way you learnt English as a child". Well I for one wouldn't want to spend the first year of learning a new language making gurgling sounds. In fact, those methods were just really more of the same. However, I believe that this is really ground-breaking! I bought this pack to see what all the fuss was about witht he Pimsleur method and I can honestly say that I have been impressed with the teaching style. This course in particular pays a lot of attention to the production of correct Chinese tones and the tapes are very clear in most cases. I found that I was able to assimilarte language in a way I hadn't before. It felt more natural that any other method I have used. I am a language teacher and hobby linguist, by the way. The method builds up sentences in your mind in a way that teaches you the structure but leaves you with a feeling that you have actually done the figuring out yourself. Having said that, I did find that still having to repeat the same phrases in lesson three that were used in lesson one a little boring. Also, this pack is a very reasonable price, but the amount you will learn is severly limited. If you consider that the method is based upon repitition of words and phrases to a great extent you will see just how little 8 tapes can really offer you. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you think you will even learn a useful amount from it, then think again! As a way to break the ice with a language, it is fine! I heartily recommend the technique. If you really want to learn Chinese with Pimsleur, then you should realuy go for the longer 30 tape courses. There are three levels in all. I would if I had the money, but sadly they are so expensive only people with money to throw around would be able to afford them. Finally, I think that this system would be great to use in conjunction with a regular language course. It could help to take the part of the live conversation element that so many people feel they cannot learn without (I disagree, actually!). Psycologically, this speaking style method can really help to prepare you for confident conversation, even though you may never have spoken to Chinese people in their native tongue before. On the whole, excellent, but content extremely limited. (BUT, this has a $50 certificate off a regular course inside it - only applies to USA, though, so it's probably worth it anyway!).
Rating:
Summary: BUY IT IT'S WORTH THE MONEY
Review: BEST WAY TO LEARN LANGUAGE IS TO HEAR IT AGAIN AND AGAIN SO YOU WOULD REMEMBER IT AND HOPEFULLY YOU WILL ABLE TO GRASP THE SAME POSSIBLE TONATION FOR EACH VOCABULLARY/ CONVERSATION. PLIMSEUR MAKES IT VERY GOOD BECAUSE NOT ONLY THEY REPEAT CERTAIN CONVERSATION AGAIN AND AGAIN BUT AS THEY MOVE TO A NEW CONVERSATION THEY GRADUALLY REPEAT THE PREVIOUS ONE (IN CASE WE FORGOT , WHICH USUALLY WE DO) BECAUSE OF THIS METHOD, I CAN LEARN SIDE 1 AND 2 TAPE DIRECTLY AND START TO MAKE CONVERSATION WITH MY HONGKONGNESE HUSBAND... WHICH IS SO WONDERFUL! BUY IT, TRUST ME IT'S REALLY WORTH THE MONEY. I HAVE TRIED OTHER BOOKS AND TAPES AND THEY ONLY GOT ME FRUSTRATED. TALKS ABOUT THE STRESS FOR HAVING TO TALK TO YOUR MOTHER IN LAW AND DOESN'T KNOW A WORD TO SAY!
Rating:
Summary: Principle Excellent - Vocabulary Poor
Review: The Pimsleur learning principle is excellent, there is no doubt at all. What you learn really sticks and you will remember it. It's the only system I know which really works! But on the other side, the 30 lesson course has a vocabulary of less then 200 words. That's not eneugh for even a basic conversation. Pimsleur, you should come up with Cantonese 2 & 3 ! (If I would buy it again? Sure, all other methods are just a waste of money)
Rating:
Summary: Nothing else like it!
Review: This is the finest language learning program I have come across. Pimsleur has made what seems like an impossible language to learn, easy and enjoyable. Mandarin is a fun language and these tapes will have you conversating with native speakers in a matter of days. If anyone is serious about learning the Chinese language, they needn't look any further. I would assume that they do an excellent job for all the languages in the series. Great! Nuff said. Tsai Jien! (Goodbye!)
|
