Learn Chinese

If you’re looking to learn Mandarin Chinese, there’s one resource on the Web of which you must take advantage. ChinesePod.com offers users free lessons in mp3 format everyday. Lessons are fairly short, useful and easy to follow. For those wanting more than just verbal skills, the site also offers transcripts in pdf format. As their slogan promises, “Learn Mandarin on your terms.”

ChinesePod also offers a pay service for more ambitious students who want to progress with more structure. Plans start at $9/mo. for the basic level of structured podcasts and transcripts and reach $400 for an eight-week course that includes a 10-minute daily call from a native Mandarin speaker. But for those studying at their own pace, browsing through the immense archives and downloading lessons can be quite effective.

Lessons on the site are divided into seven comprehension levels from complete beginner to advanced learner and business. As of April 9, 2007, they have a total of 558 podcast lessons available.

ChinesePod began broadcasting online in 2005 in Shanghai and has established a following among English-speaking foreigners residing in China. Newbie and beginner podcasts are hosted by Ken Carroll and Jenny Zhu, with intermediate and upper intermediate hosted by John Pasden along with Jenny. Many lessons rely on user feedback through a comments section in which users may pose questions about vocabulary or grammar. Questions are generally answered promptly by the ChinesePod family or other users. They also welcome ideas for future lessons.

Newbie and elementary levels are slow paced with short sentences to memorize in an average of 10 to 15 minutes for each podcast. In the early levels of Mandarin, Jenny’s pronunciation is slow enough for beginners to notice the difference in tones—occasionally Ken will inquire as to the tone of specific words. Unfortunately, they tend to contain a large amount of English conversation that can be distracting for many students. As the levels progress, the amount of English spoken become minimal—in many upper levels, vocabulary is often defined in Chinese. Using the pdf transcripts will help any student to follow along with any lesson.