Product Overview
The Easiest and Fastest Way to Learn Mandarin Chinese
Did you know that Mandarin Chinese is the worlds most widely spoken language with over one billion native speakers? Once you get the basics down, youll be surprised how quickly youre able to begin speaking it. And even knowing a little bit of the language will make travel to China far easier, and much more fun. Whether your goal is to travel, communicate with friends or colleagues, reconnect with family, or just understand more of whats going on in the world around you, learning to speak Mandarin Chinese will expand your horizons and immeasurably enrich your life.
The best part is that it doesnt have to be difficult or take years to master. Thirty minutes a day is all it takes, and we get you speaking right from the first day. Pimsleur courses use a scientifically proven method that puts you in control of your learning. If youve tried other language learning methods but found they simply didnt stick, then you owe it to yourself to give Pimsleur a try.
Why Pimsleur?
- Quick + Easy Only 30 minutes a day.
- Portable + Flexible Core lessons can be done anytime, anywhere, and easily fit into your busy life.
- Proven Method Works when other methods fail.
- Self-Paced Go fast or go slow its up to you.
- Based in Science Developed using proven research on memory and learning.
- Cost-effective Less expensive than classes or immersion, and features all native speakers.
- Genius Triggers your brains natural aptitude to learn.
- Works for everyone Recommended for ages 13 and above.
Whats Included?
- 30, 30-minute audio lessons
- 60 minutes of recorded Notes to provide you some insight into Mandarin Chinese culture
- In total, 16 hours of audio, all featuring native speakers
- a Notes Booklet and a Users Guide
What Youll Learn
In the first 10 lessons, youll 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. Youll 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, youll build on what youve 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. Youll understand more of what you hear, and be able to participate with speech that is smoother and more confident.
In the final 10 lessons, youll be speaking and understanding at an intermediate level. In this level, more directions are given in the Mandarin Chinese 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. Youll be able to speak comfortably about things that happened in the past and make plans for the future.
One hour of recorded Cultural Notes are included at the end of Lesson 30. These notes are designed to provide you with some insight into Mandarin Chinese culture. A Notes booklet is also included.
The Pimsleur Method
We make no secret of what makes this powerful method work so well. Paul Pimsleur spent his career researching and perfecting the precise elements anyone can use to learn a language quickly and easily. Here are a few of his secrets:
The Principle of Anticipation
In the nanosecond between a cue and your response, your brain has to work to come up with the right word. Having to do this boosts retention, and cements the word in your mind.
Core Vocabulary
Words, phrases, and sentences are selected for their usefulness in everyday conversation. We dont overwhelm you with too much, but steadily increase your ability with every lesson.
Graduated Interval Recall
Reminders of new words and structures come up at the exact interval for maximum retention and storage into your long-term memory.
Organic Learning
You work on multiple aspects of the language simultaneously. We integrate grammar, vocabulary, rhythm, melody, and intonation into every lesson, which allows you to experience the language as a living, expressive form of human culture.
Learning in Context
Research has shown that learning new words in context dramatically accelerates your ability to remember. Every scene in every Pimsleur lesson is set inside a conversation between two people. There are no drills, and no memorization necessary for success.
Active Participation
The Pimsleur Method + active learner participation = success. This method works with every language and every learner who follows it. You gain the power to recall and use what you know, and to add new words easily, exactly as you do in English.
The Mandarin Chinese Language
Over one billion people speak Chinese. The two most common dialects are Mandarin and Cantonese. They are not mutually intelligible. Mandarin is the official language in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore. The Mandarin dialect is used in most Chinese schools, and in most TV programs, movies, and radio stations throughout the country, even in Guangzhou (formerly Canton), where people speak Cantonese in their daily lives. Mandarin is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
Tech Talk
- CDs are formatted for playing in all CD players, including car players, and users can copy files for use in iTunes or Windows Media Player.
