Features

• Audiobook

Reviews (42)

A Solid Foundation
The Pimsleur philosophy is that one should start learning a foreign language similarly to a first language. Without writing anything, and without detailed grammatical discussion you hear and repeat until the language begins to feel natural. This made a lot of sense to me when I thought about how much English grammar I "know" through experience but can't easily articulate because I never studied much grammar in school. For instance, could you immediately explain when it's correct to use the word "some" vs "any"?
Overrated
Pimsleur is far overrated. True, it teaches (formal) conversation skills, but lacks a text, and costs too much. It's also quite boring. I reccomend the Rosetta Stone instead. It teaches you how to read, and in Level 2 it contains a decent amount of conversation vocab. Also, it can analyze your speech and *graphically* show you your pronunciation vs. the correct pronounciation.
Terrific program for beginners -- with reservations
I've gone through all 3 full sets of Pimsleur Mandarin Chinese.If you'd have asked me immediately after I'd finished them what I thought of the series, I'd have given it 5 stars without hesitation.However, after spending the past year trying to advance past what I've learned via the Pimsleur series, I've come across some reservations which prevent me from giving it a 5 star review anymore.While I do feel the Pimsleur method is incredibly useful and (despite its seeming simplicity) very innovative, I think their Mandarin Chinese series also suffers from simply being "plugged in" to the standard Pimsleur format, rather than receiving the customization that would help users truly understand the Chinese language, which has many quirks unique to it.
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Subjects:  1. Audio - Language    2. Audio Adult: Language    3. Chinese    4. Technical & Manufacturing Trades    5. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    6. Foreign Language Study / Chinese   

Reviews (2)

Oxford-River English-Thai Dictionary plugs the gaps
At last an excellent and truly comprehensive English Thai dictionary.Arguably its best feature is the wealth of common expressions it includes under most listed words, expressions that frequently have no literal construction or translation but are essential to easy and natural conversation.The alphebetically positioned special explanation panels - eg. forms of address in letter writing, the use numerals etc. -are a very worthwhile inclusion as well.One suggestion for the next edition would be a phonetic rendition of theprimary Thai translation of the listed English word - given the implied vowels that feature in many Thai words this improvement would be warmly welcomed and at least for this reader would immediately propel his rating from four to five stars.

Very useful!
An amazing piece of work! It is probably the only one of its kind in the market. It is particularly good for Thai speakers, but it can also help non-native learners trying to learn Thai. Although it is just English-Thai (with no Thai-English section), as long as you can manage to read the Thai (no transliterations) you can get a lot from it. Each entry has many examples of both literal-like (real, but close to the English in their form) and (more interestingly) "functional" Thai equivalents to the English. And these examples seem to be quite real and natural (linguistically "trustable" Thai friends report). Other Thai dictionaries often present Thai sentences that are so improvable... It has been cleverly made to include many multi-purpose sentences in most entries; so in entries like, say, "do" you find very useful Thai equivalents to "Do something to someone", "Is there anything I can do to help?", "Have nothing to do", "What is that/he doing here?", "What am I going to do?" and so on. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Dictionaries    3. Dictionaries - General    4. English language    5. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    6. Foreign Language Study    7. Language    8. Polyglot Dictionaries    9. Reference    10. Southeast Asian    11. Thai    12. Bilingual dictionaries    13. English    14. Foreign Language Study / Southeast Asian Languages    15. Reference | Bilingual Dictionaries | Other    16. Thai (Siamese)   

Reviews (22)

Wonderful but Better With Power Chinese
This is one of the most underrated of all the Behind the Wheel courses I have reviewed.
Excellent!CD 1 and Beyond
The 'good' doesn't stop with CD1.It's just beginning.
Good for listening comprehension and practice
This audio set is very useful for getting an idea of how things are pronounced natively, and some slight variations on those pronunciations. However, it would not be a good idea to start here, as it relies heavily on memory. However, a good accompanying set to any books and courses.
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Subjects:  1. Audio - Language    2. Chinese    3. Foreign Language Study / Chinese    4. Home Schooling    5. Audio-visual aids    6. Audiobooks    7. Chinese language    8. Foreign Language Study    9. Mandarin    10. Self-instruction    11. Sound recordings for English speakers    12. Study and teaching   

Features

• Audiobook

Reviews (12)

As Good as Volume I and II
Now that I have reached the end of the Pimsleur Chinese courses, I am very aware of its strength and its relative weakness. Fortunately, Pimsleur is very complementary with Rosetta Stone. So now, I will redo the Rosetta Stone program, while keeping Pimsleur alive by going over one or two lessons a week.
Pimsleur Chinese Mandarin Quick and Simple
This method would be perfect if it had a text book attached to it.Babies can learn without reading, but as soon as they master the sounds of communication they need to learn how to read and write to improve their skills.I find incredible that Pimsleur refuses to give access to a text book as soon as the learner has mastered basic sounds.I am a University Professor and can testify that a language method without a text book is a fake

Bookchip version is better and easier to use
Bookchip version is better and easier to use, ( 3 bookchips compared to 52 cds) I bought bookchips and cds, send cds back. Buy Bookchip (Audiofy Bookchip) instead. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Language    2. Chinese    3. Foreign Language Study    4. General    5. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    6. Foreign Language Study / Chinese   

Features

• Audiobook
• Unabridged

Reviews (13)

Spoken Chinese, the possible way
I'm enjoying this method every day, I'm at the end of volume II by now. I also have ended the first year of the China Academy in Brussels and volume one has certainly helped me to be the first of my class.
Addictive, and great results to boot
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).
If you think the script is too spartan...
To comment on the people who are calling the script predictable and not varied enough, Come on, If you are serious about learning a language with this incredible system, you should have had a good Mandarin to English and back again dictionary since halfway through Mandarin I.The Pmslr CDs teach you the language by giving you an understanding of the sentence structure and the ability to recognize and replicate the tonal system that is the single biggest hurdle to learning Mandarin for an English speaker.
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Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Language    2. Chinese    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    5. Foreign Language Study / Chinese   

Reviews (14)

A good beginning
There are a number of very strong points with "Beginner's Chinese":
Very good book
I think this is a quite good book for learning some basics of chinese. It is simple, easy and you don't need much prior knoledge about the language.
REVISION
iN THE INVOICE THAT YOU SEND WITH THE PRODUCT IS A LIST OF MAILING ADDRESS OF MY DIFERENT PRESENTS, I WANT ONLY WITH THE STUFF THAT I BUY,MY ADDRESS IN MEXICO...¿IS POSSIBLE ?. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. General    5. Language    6. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Reviews (3)

great book for class
I like the character workbook because it gives me much needed practice of writing Chinese characters.The puzzles are also fun!

review for character workbook
this workbook is excellent b/c it teaches the traditional and simplified. We have loved it.

Excellent condition
I'd liked this book as my reference for the future. It is very useful to have this book as chinese language is one of the most dominants language in the world ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Foreign Language Study    3. Language   

Reviews (7)

Indespensible, easy to use and comprehensive.
This dictionary is an indispensable dictionary for anyone who has any need for a Chinese-English dictionary.It is organized alphabetically by pinyin.Looking up a compound term is very easy.I know of no other Chinese-English dictionary that has so many compound entries or is so easy to use once the pinyin is known.
Good dictionary but...
I'm very happy about the sheer number of entries, I don't think there are many others like this one. The problem is (and for me it is a main issue) that you cannot roam the entries by characters. That's a big drawback, so unless you know the pyinin it will take ages to find what you're looking for. So I am now returning this dictionary and still looking for another one, where once you found the radical, you can find the word by character first.

Great Dictionary, though not best solution for classroom
I bought this dictionary based on the rave reviews here. I was not disappointed. My biggest problem with other dictionaries has been that I invariably come across a word that isn't in the dictionary. I haven't looked something up in this one yet that I haven't found. The drawbacks mentioned in other reviews apply (can't roam the entries by character, and you have to know what you're looking for) but they aren't show stoppers. I find that for organized study this is an excellent dictionary to keep on the shelf.
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Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Chinese language    3. Dictionaries    4. English    5. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    6. Language    7. Language Arts & Disciplines    8. Polyglot Dictionaries    9. Study & Teaching    10. American English    11. Bilingual dictionaries   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (12)

Excellent learning tool
I was toying with the idea of making my own flash cards to aid my learning, but then I ran across these flash cards.I am so glad I purchased them along with the work book 250 Everyday Characters, also by Philip Yungkin Lee.The flash cards are handy to take with me and also show the proper stroke order for each character.I will definately be purchasing the other sets of flash cards once I finish learning this set.

Not for absolute beginners
The flashcards are fine, but I would recommend them only as supplementary material once you are acquainted with some of the principles of character formation (there are several fine books for this), like character roots, and the more you know about this, the easier it will be to remember the characters. The booklet that comes with the flashcards is only a very shallow introduction to this. I think that, if I had begun to study characters with these flashcards, I would have been completely overwhelmed. (By the way, if you are an absolute beginner and still have not acquired basic pronunciation skills, I would reccomend not starting to learn characters right away, but instead trying to get some speech proficiency first, using Pimsleur for example)

Do not buy these cards from this publisher - they may be defective
I bought volume one of Chinese in a Flash, and - what can I say? - I was impressed. The cards were well made (I don't have the problems with sturdiness that other customers have) and well-put together. The only problem I had with Volume One was that I needed more - more characters, more information, more flashcards.
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Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Language    5. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Reviews (6)

Difficult to use
Aside from the general complaints given by other reviewers, the list of proper nouns on both the CD and the text version of this dictionary is awful.
The dictionary I recommend automatically.
I owed the previous edition of this Dictionary which I would have found very useful if it wasn't for the extremely tiny print they used. This new edition has got large print (easy to read) so it fulfills all my needs.
Not for beginners
I recently bought the Oxford Chinese dictionary (2003 edition) and although I've only had it for a few days, it has already annoyed me sufficiently that I felt impelled to write a review here.
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Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Chinese language    3. Dictionaries    4. English    5. English language    6. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    7. Foreign Language Study    8. Language    9. Multi-Language Dictionaries    10. Foreign Language Study / Chinese    11. Reference | Bilingual Dictionaries | Chinese   

Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Chinese language    3. English    4. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    5. Foreign Language Study    6. Language    7. Textbooks for foreign speakers   

Reviews (4)

No pinyin pronunciation for compound entries
Re: isbn 9576122279, hard cover large size ca. 8x10x2.5 in. dictionary.This dict lists entries according to their radical which is perfect to learn the characters in their family, and so learn chinese the most meaningful way (vs. entries listed by alphabetical pinyin: easy to find word but not known how it's formed or which radical it belongs to, eg., theDe Francis ABC dictionnary).This dictionary, however, only gives the pinyin pronunc. of the main entries.All the compound entries within a main entry are given a "coded" pinyin pronunc., one may refer to the table in the appendix to decipher how to pronoun it, which is a chore.It seems this dictionary is intended for chinese speakers and not for chinese leaners.

Useful dictionary with most thorough entries
In a world without the ideal Chinese-English dictionary, this one comes close, with the most throrough definitions of any dictionary I've used.Useful in academic settings as well.Uses traditional characters.

Very useful and portable
I find this useful when learning Chinese, but it may not be useful for speaking to people from mainland China, I believe.This small text version is the same thing as the large one but portable.This book has thepopularily used words highlighted in red. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bilingual dictionaries    2. Chinese    3. English   

Reviews (12)

A very good grammar
It is a really good grammar manual - it contains a lot of explanatios, samples, syntactic rules, semantic clarifications, all of then with traditional and simplified samples with pin-yin.
Just The Facts
As always, Schaum's Outline delivers the basics in a concise and practical manner.Well worth the cost of admission.

One of the better Chinese language books on the market.
There are some really bad ones out there, especially one called, Modern Chinese by Peking University. The only thing modern about that one is that they keep updating the picture on the cover. It was written during or shortly after the Cultural Revolution and contains nouns and phrases no one uses anymore.One of my complaints about other books is that many of them concentrate too heavily on the pinyin, the alphabetized Chinese, the implication being that characters are unimportant. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was in Beijing in 1999 and every sign, menu, train ticket, etc. was in characters. Moreover, because Chinese is a tonal language with a zillion homonyms pinyin really isn't very helpful except as a tool for pronunciation and filing.Perhaps it's because the characters came from pictures most people, once they develop some fluency, find them easier to read than the pinyin.
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Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Chinese Language    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Grammar    5. Study Guides    6. Foreign Language Study / General    7. Grammar & vocabulary   

Reviews (7)

extremely useful!
extremely useful for those who have Chinese as their mother language and have instrests in learning English, espcially for those Chinese who just arrive Ameria. you can find almost all the nouns in English you may meet during daily life. this book will expediate your English learning process.

Good but limited
This is an easy to use picture dictionary organized around themes, such as homes, food, feelings, etc. The illustrations are clear and colorful. There are two big drawbacks, however, the first and biggest being that there is no pinyin used, so a Westerner has no idea whatsoever about how to pronounce the Chinese word, although phonetic spellings for the English words are listed in the index. The second is that the "old style" characters are used, not the simplified versions. This book is definitely for Chinese students learning English but of very limited use for English speakers wanting to learn Chinese. As an ESL teacher in China recently, I found I only used this book as a last resort, when explanations of various words proved impossible, and once when I was teaching a lesson on homes. This book is a useful supplement, but I'm going to try to find something with pinyin when I return to China to teach again.

NOT for people trying to learn Chinese
I am trying to learn Chinese, and in seeing my toddler learn English by repeatedly looking at picturebooks, I thought a picture dictionary in Chinese would be a good way to learn every day objects in Chinese.Unfortunately, this book has the English word and the Chinese IN CHINESE CHARACTERS.NO pinyin, no bopomofo pronounciation.For the non-Chinese reader, you'll have to look up every single word.So, though this book may be good for Chinese students learning English, it is of limited usefulness to students learning Chinese.Frankly, I think this is an extremely stupid mistake by the publishers of this book.The editors should be flogged! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    2. Chinese    3. Chinese Language    4. Dictionaries    5. English language    6. Foreign Language Study    7. Foreign Language Study - General    8. Picture dictionaries, English    9. Bilingual dictionaries    10. ELT dictionaries & reference    11. English    12. English Language Learning (ESL) | Picture Dictionary Programs | Oxford Picture Dictionary Program    13. Foreign Language Study / English as a Second Language   

Reviews (8)

Wonderfully useful content presented clearly
I've studied Mandarin (off and on... too much off) for about twelve years. I have many books that teach me obscure Chinese history or the names of Chinese minority groups' clothing and holidays. But I have sketchy knowledge of many fundamental words, like "water faucet." This book systematically plows through commonly used vocabulary. It tells you, for example, how to say "web browser" and "mouse" in Chinese (which I find essential for showing my in-laws how to use a computer). And, unlike a Mandarin pictorial dictionary I have that displays only Chinese characters, this book also has pinyin and uses the words in sentences.
Excellent
This book (along with "Practical Chinese Grammar"(...))are the two books I use whenevr I don't understand the right way tosay something in Chinese. Neither are for beginners, but after about a semester or two of Chinese, they are indispensible. Many times I know I'm saying something with the wrong grammar, and a quick look-up sets me straight.

Excellent!!!
The raves this book has received are well warranted. Extensive vocabulary in most areas of everyday life and even travel make this remarkable resource a fabulous help to anyone from beginners and tourists to intermediates and up. I can't help but say I love this book, and it well deserves the 5-star reviews it's earned. :) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Chinese Language    3. Foreign Language Study    4. General    5. Language    6. Study Guides    7. Foreign Language Study / General    8. Grammar & vocabulary   

Features

• Audiobook
• Unabridged

Reviews (6)

Absolutely worth it.
This is a fantastic resource for beginners.I purchased it two weeks prior to a symposium on the future of China-US relations that my department at Cornell was hosting.I felt that it was imperative to have some Madarin before our Chinese delegates arrived from Beida.When the delegates arrived, not only could I understand much of the basic conversation, but they (and my supervisors) were pleasantly surprised at how perfect my Manadrin was!This is not an in depth cousre, but a jumping off point to subsequent learning.I found it very helpful that suggestions and explanations of the language and culture were offered along the way.A great resource.

Too Little Vocabulary/I Prefer Behind the Wheel Chinese
The problem with the Pimsleur approach is that they teach far too little vocabulary.You go on and on learning just a few words, and worse. You have to tolerate the 'gradual intervail recall system' which means you have to listen to entire half hour to follow their rigid program and if you don't, your memory techniqueis wasted.
A great starter
Obviously the course you chose should depend on what you want as well as how you learn.This Pimsleur course offers conversational Mandarin, not reading or writing.In fact that is what I want right now.It proceeds almost entirely by immersion with very little discussion of grammar or pronunciation.That is not perfect for me, though it might be for you.I will come back to it.This Pimsleur course is entirely audio and so is very well suited to learning as you drive or walk or whatever.
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Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Chinese Language    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Language    5. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    6. Foreign Language Study / Chinese   

Reviews (14)

Children's picture book for the deluded
The title really speaks for itself. I was desperate to learn Chinese quickly for travel, was up late, read the reviews, flipped out and bought it.Another romance language if you know one in 10 minutes a day maybe, Chinese if you speak English from a book without audio-not so much....
good to start a basic vocab and concept
This was a good book to start a basic vocab and concept of what would later be studied in the Chinese language. I use this book very frequently to start learning a new language and, the only thing that would be missing would be an audio guide to the book. Pronunciation in Chinese is very essential to the word and understanding of the language.

Iceberg
This is a good introductory book to Mandarin, but by itself it is incomplete. Correct pronunciation of basic sounds is critical to a non-native speaker before jumping too far into the language. Still, I'm a visual hands-on learner and I appreciate the visual association of words with objects as opposed to systems that employ only spoken lessons. What works best for me is a combination of the two. Consequently, an accompanying tape or CD would enhance this book greatly.
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Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Chinese language    3. English    4. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    5. Foreign Language Study / Chinese    6. General    7. Language    8. Language Arts & Disciplines    9. Study & Teaching    10. Textbooks for foreign speakers    11. Travel / Asia / China    12. Asia - China    13. Conversation and phrase books    14. Language self-study & phrasebooks    15. Travel   

Reviews (13)

Good start but it needs reviewing if you live in Hong Kong
I've found the CDs a great help to my Cantonese. I am an expat living in HK for three years and have recently got engaged to my Chinese girlfriend.
a great start
These cds are a great way to start into cantonese. It moves at a good pace and does a great job at retention. After the first time, with the first lesson I was able to recall the phrases with ease. I certainly wouldn't say these cds would get you very far in hong kong, but it is a great start!

It works, period
Like Dennie in NY, I am also a native Cantonese speaker - born and raised in Hong Kong.My caucasian wife purchased this system about a month ago and it has worked wonderfully for her.I have listened in on the CDs and have offered help from time to time.The system does what it is designed to do and NONE of the pronounciations are wrong.Some of the lessons and phrases are purposefully simplified for the beginners.The idea here is to equip the student with some basic conversation skills and not turn them into a native speaker.Cantonese is a VERY difficult language.It has more exceptions than rules.There are multiple ways of saying the same thing.The Pimsleur system is well thought out and breaks it down so that leaning is fun and possible. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Language    2. Chinese    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    5. Foreign Language Study / Chinese   

Reviews (7)

pretty good
Checked this out from the library this was pretty much my first exposure to chinese I enjoyed it and thought for an at home course it was pretty comprehensive will buy it when I get more money

Distinguish book alone version, sold withoutaudio or cds
People should understand this book is sold in a version without any audio/cds. You then have to buy separately one of two companion audio/cd programs, which the book references. Without audio of any kind, the book alone is useless unless you aren't a beginner. As long as you understand that, great. I mail ordered this sight unseen based on the Amazon reviews (but from a different vendor). When it came as a stand alone book I returned it because the cd version was cheaper than buying the book and the program counterpart separately.

It depends on what you want.
This program aims to do what a college course would, and I think it succeeds at that.It teaches conversation, with much grammar, and some reading and writing of Chinese.After using it for a week (from the library) I decided not to stay with it.Right now I want much more focus on conversation, and in fact on conversation useful on a first trip to China.And I want to use only "on the go" audio.This program aims at a more thorough knowledge of Chinese spoken and written than I hope for right now -- so I want to be clear I am not faulting the series.It depends on what you want.
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Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Chinese language    3. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    4. Foreign Language Study    5. Language    6. Self-instruction    7. Sound recordings for English speakers    8. Spoken Chinese    9. Foreign Language Study / Chinese    10. Language self-study & phrasebooks    11. Mandarin   

Subjects:  1. Chinese    2. Chinese language    3. English    4. Foreign Language Study    5. Language    6. Textbooks for foreign speakers