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Summary: Pimsleur Converstaion
Review: great series as an intro to a language
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Summary: I like the Pimsleur method but be wary!
Review: I already have the Quick and Simple Mandarin Chinese by Pimsleur and really loved it but, even though the description says-'goes beyond the Quick and Simple...' The first 8 lessons (first half) is merely a repackaging of the 8 lessons in the Q + S. So, I cannot comment on the second half because I was so upset about being duped that I returned it! -ck
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Summary: Great way to learn Mandarin...
Review: I am a foreign language teacher and this was my first Pimsleur course and I was pleased with it. I started the course about 3 months before going to China. I found, in China, that people understood what I was saying. I had a Chinese phrase book in "pinyin" (Chinese method of Romanization)which really messed up my pronounciation. I stopped using it and dealt strictly with the tapes.
The only drawback is that this was a beginning course for learning the complete language. It omitted a lot of necessary phrases, i.e., "Where is the restroom?" These I picked up in China.
Be patient with youself. Work with the tape or CD for 15-20 minutes and stop. Work the same material again later until you have learned it...then move on. Otherwise, you will be overwhelmed.
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Summary: Wow!
Review: I found this at a book outlet for [cheap], and I bought them immediately because Pimsleur tapes have been recommended to me. Well, these are fantastic: You retain everything you hear, and it's actually very exciting. Before using these, I couldn't understand pronounciation at all but with them I am beginning to grasp it. I have tried Berlitz's living languages series and these tapes are a million times better. They're very effective and fun. I highly recommend them.
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Summary: gets you started, yes sir!
Review: I have tried the pimsluer courses (highest is Spanish II), but I've found that just using these quick & simple course are just about as good. Why? well, by then if you can see some of the words written down, you pick up how to say written words really fast (of course, for Chinese this would mean the phonetic pinyin, not the Chinese characters)
By the end you will know the sounds, the intonations, and basic grammar, but you are still translating in your head, and have a very limited vocabulary. For me, translating everything after reaching this level (like the rest of the course does) just gets in my way of understanding. I suggest that after this short course, if you really want to continue, go find the FSI courses for you language to get you into fluency. The main weakness of these FSI courses is they don't teach pronunciation very well, but you already have this!
A cheaper, but not as good or complete route, is to go over to unforgettablelanguages.com and get the courses for you language. These will seriously boost your vocabulary in a relitively short period of time. Sadly, for mandarin, there is only a survival course with no audio. However, there are no verbs, so I don't think you will know any of the words on it.
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Summary: Chinese (Mandarin) (Instant Conversational Language (Mandari
Review: I learned Chinese Mandarin while in the Army about 5 years ago. Without practicing since that time, my language abilities suffered tremendously. I purchased the Pimsler set of CDs as a refresher course for myself. I was so impressed with the style of teaching. (I wish I had had these CDs when I was in school!) The CDs were exactly what I needed to get back in the groove of things. It gave me the oppertunity to get used to the pronunciation and tones again and actually even learned a few new words! I strongly recommend this set of CDs to anyone.
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Summary: Loved it!
Review: I will be leaving for Taiwan in a week and am thankful for this wonderful introduction to Mandarin. After purchasing the Instant Conversation, I used the large rebate to continue my study of Mandarin with Pimsleur's Mandarin I. I have been living with a Taiwanese family (in the US) for the last few months and they tell me that my understanding and pronounciation of the Mandarin I have learned thus far is beautiful. There are, of course, slight differences in pronunciation between the Beijing accent of the CD's and the Taiwanese accent, but it hasn't been problematic.
Thanks Pimsleur!
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Summary: Teaches you well, but not a lot
Review: My stars are for the program delivering what it claims to deliver -- instant conversational skills. In this aspect alone the program is superb. I followed the instructions (at most 1 lesson -- 30 minutes -- per day, no books) and found myself being understood by my Chinese colleagues by the end of the program. What did I learn to speak? Well there lied this collection's shortcomings. While it teaches you well, it doesn't teach you much. This perhaps can be expected since the package in its entirety includes 16 lessons or 8 hours. In the end I think I've learned some 50 Chinese words, whose combination allowed me to compose simple (as opposed to compound) sentences such as: "I am <nationality>," "I {want to/can/am going to} do <something> [{or/and} something else] [at what time]," "I have <something>," "Where is <location>?," "How much is <something>?," "Who is <someone>?," "What did you mean?," (In other words, variations of simple sentences making use of verbs shi4 (be), hui4 (can), xiang3 (want to), yao4 (need/must), you3 (have), zai4 (located), ke3 (may) in pinyin.)
The program will doubtlessly get you started well, but you will have to fill in other rudimentary vocabulary from elsewhere. Though no direct comparison should be made, I once purchased a Spanish learning program of comparable length. The Spanish set included at least 10 times the words this set contains. As the Spanish program was not as effective (nor as leisurely-paced) as Pimsleur's program it was difficult to digest. However I could always play back the parts I missed.
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Summary: Amazing method!
Review: This is better than Berlitz, and I never thought I would say that about a language product. There are so many study-at-home language products that are boring and ineffective. This is more like the Suzuki method of studying music. Listen, imitate, learn! The method definitely deserves 5 stars, but there are problems with the "Instant Conversation" product. (The negatives can be noted by reading the Amazon reviews of the corresponding product for Spanish.) To advance to the whole first set of the comprehensive Pimsleur method, you have to pay for these first 8 CD's again, in effect, and at a higher price. (When you buy the comprehensive Mandarin I, it is my understanding that half the CD's you buy are identical to these. Therefore your investment in this beginner set is unwise.) Too bad that they didn't make a special (stand-alone) set for this product instead of just removing the first 8 of the 16 CD's in the Comprehensive Mandarin I. Those considerations aside, this method is unbelievably effective. I have taken private and group Berlitz, bought untold numbers of study at home sets, and have taken languages in the university. This is fast and really effective. I'll be buying more of the Pimsleur method in other languages, too. Bottom line: This was an relatively inexpensive way for me to test the Pimsleur method in some depth.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing method!
Review: This is better than Berlitz, and I never thought I would say that about a language product. There are so many study-at-home language products that are boring and ineffective. This is more like the Suzuki method of studying music. Listen, imitate, learn! The method definitely deserves 5 stars, but there are problems with the "Instant Conversation" product. (The negatives can be noted by reading the Amazon reviews of the corresponding product for Spanish.) To advance to the whole first set of the comprehensive Pimsleur method, you have to pay for these first 8 CD's again, in effect, and at a higher price. (When you buy the comprehensive Mandarin I, it is my understanding that half the CD's you buy are identical to these. Therefore your investment in this beginner set is unwise.) Too bad that they didn't make a special (stand-alone) set for this product instead of just removing the first 8 of the 16 CD's in the Comprehensive Mandarin I. Those considerations aside, this method is unbelievably effective. I have taken private and group Berlitz, bought untold numbers of study at home sets, and have taken languages in the university. This is fast and really effective. I'll be buying more of the Pimsleur method in other languages, too. Bottom line: This was an relatively inexpensive way for me to test the Pimsleur method in some depth.
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