Language Resources: Updated

Melissa wrote:
Can you reccomend any language resources. A classmate and myself are interested in purchasing Rosetta Stone software.

Rosetta Stone?

Computer says "NO"

Rosetta stone is oversold, overpriced, overpromised. Others may disagree, but this is the opinion of an old linguist and language acquisition geek.

Here are THREE (plus one) other approaches for you:

FIRST
I recommend instead the Routledge "colloquial" series. Make sure you get the Mandarin, not the Cantonese.

http://www.amazon.com/Colloquial-Chinese-Complete-Routledge-Colloquials/dp/0415155304

SECOND
Here are two lovely FREE resources that will get you a quick start on the spoken language with free podcasts you can download to your MP3, your iPod, or your computer:

1. Chinese Pod
http://www.chinesepod.com

I thought they were the first to offer podcast lessons for free in Chinese: their offering is (as I said before)very, very good and for a small fee you get written materials as well. Their work is based on best practices in language acquisition--whole phrases, not single words as Rosetta Stone too often does. (I have since learned that Popup Chinese, noted below, appears to have been offering "free dictionary and audio materials" for a while before Chinese Pod began their service: see below.)

2. Popup Chinese
I had written that they were a "new entry in that field," but I was wrong! I got a gentle nudge from David Lancashire, the founder of Popup Chinese, who found my post through his Google Alert! (Anyone who thinks the web is unmoderated should take note--there is some self-correction on the Internet!). I wrote, incorrectly, that Popup Chinese "seems to have stolen the chinesepod model." This was an unkind turn of phrase. What I meant was, the models look somewhat the same, and as far as I knew, Chinese Pod had been around longer. Guess what. I was wrong (thank you, David, for pointing this out.).

Nevertheless, (and since I know David will read this post), it is certainly the case that the PopupChinese website offers downloadable lessons, and plenty more. However, the beginner will find the homepage a bit daunting. It talks about the HSK Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì (汉语水平考试), which more experienced Putonghua language learners know about, but which is completely opaque to beginners. (HSK is the official Mandarin langauge examination). The PopupChinese website may have more advanced learners in mind, and for my money, ChinesePod offers more clarity for the beginning language learner in their initial homepage. I've just begun exploring ChinesePod, I appreciate David's correction, and hope they'll signal the value (and originality) of their site and their tools to users who, like me, may not be aware of all they have to offer.

http://popupchinese.com/


THIRD
If you are really serious, and willing to spend a little time every day with book, paper, and pen, then I recommend Joel Bellassen and Zhang Pengpeng
A Key to Chinese Speech and Writing, Vol. I (Paperback)

IMHO they revolutionized Chinese language learning by going back to basics and recognizing the importance of the written form as a key to understanding both spoken and written language. They make a very convincing case, born out by millions of Chinese children over the centuries, that you really can not learn to read the language without writing it. Thus you get at the deep cultural (there's that word!) business that underlies Chinese thinking and acting in the world. Writing characteres is beautiful and fun. So this is really the greatest book ever, for a lao wai (老外) to really grasp the written form. Sadly, it has been nearly impossible to find the tapes that go with it, hence the suggestion that you may start with Routledge. . . though Bellassen and Zhang are my personal favorite.

LAST
Browse Borders for other phrase-book style learning aids that you can listen to in the car. There are plenty of good ones out there: make sure they are fairly new. A combination of a podcast with Bellassen would be a very strong choice; Routledge gives you a solid, if somewhat "traditional" audio/lingual approach with the audio tapes/CDs included

Happy language learning!