If you want to learn Chinese, do not let the numerous programs leave you confused.  Learning a new language is hard enough.  So here are two courses that are definitely worth checking out- Rocket Chinese and Pimsleur Chinese.

Rocket Chinese:

Rocket Chinese claims to have you speaking Mandarin Chinese by the time you are done with the program.  This takes the natural approach, also known as the interactive conversational learning method.  Basically, this is based on the way kids first pick up their mother tongue, which is through simple listening and speaking without paying much attention to writing and reading until later on.  But since you are no longer a child, the entire program was designed with tools and features that are fit for adults.

Learning Tools and Features:

Audio Lessons:

To start, Rocket Chinese comes with 31 interactive audio lessons.  Each lessons lasts for about 28 minutes long, so that comes to a total of 15 hours of casual, everyday, Chinese conversations that not only do you listen to but you actually partake in.  So you will be speaking Mandarin from your very first class.

You will also have access to complete transcripts.  Each one will have the Chinese conversation (pinyin), Chinese characters, and the English translation.  This is supposed to be a big help, especially for beginners.

Also, you can move these audio files to your computer, your MP3 player, your iPhone, your stereo, and the like.  This gives you the chance to take lessons even when away from home.  Plus, since one lessons is relatively short, it is easy to make time for it- be it during your lunch break or even while you commute.

Language and Culture Lessons:

Aside from the audio lessons, you will also get 31 language and culture lessons as part of the package.  The language lessons have one area that is dedicated to the written part of the language.  Here you will have step by step videos that explain how to read and write Chinese characters.

The culture lessons will give you a feel of the customs, culture, and even history of China.  This will actually help you fit in and sound more natural when speaking the language.

The language and culture lessons offer over 300 embedded audio clips, videos for writing, quizzes, tests, and other educational activities.

Rocket Record:

This feature is designed to help you improve your Chinese pronunciation and intonation as well.  You simply record a phrase in Chinese then compare it to the recording of a native Chinese speaker.  The voice mapping technology allows you to keep on trying until your recording matches that of the Chinese speaker.

MegaChinese:

Here you will have some educational fun.  There are two MegaChinese games that are supposed to make the learning process a much more enjoyable one.

MegaVocab is supposed to help you build up your Chinese vocabulary as it contains over 1000 words and 20 topics, but it does not end there.  The MegaVocab creator allows you to continuously add more Chinese words and pictures.  MegaAudio, on the other hand, is supposed to enhance your Chinese listening comprehension.

Rocket Chinese Rehearsal:

When learning a new language, you are bound to make mistakes, but you won’t be able to correct them unless you know what they are.  The Rocket Chinese Rehearsal gives you the chance to try out all of the new skills that you have learned from the course.  Also, you will find tons of tests and quizzes that will help you keep track of your progress.

Chinese Teacher:

Aside from all of those features, if you have any other questions, you can always contact the 24/7 online Chinese teacher that will answer anything as long as it is related to learning the Chinese language.

So Let Lin Ping guide you through the entire course and once you have mastered it, you will even be officially certified by Rocket languages.

But if you want something with less features but claim to have you speaking fluent Chinese just the same, then you better take a look at Pimsleur Chinese (Mandarin).

Pimsleur Chinese (Mandarin):

Pimsleur Chinese is a language program that will help you learn Mandarin based on the two core principles that this course is based on- Graduated Interval Recall and the Principle of Anticipation.  The former pretty much means that the very second you forget a Chinese word or phrase that you have already covered you will encouraged to remember what it is.  The latter requires you to anticipate the right answer before you hear what it is.

These two principles are then backed up by two other important features- core vocabulary and the organic learning concept.  The core vocabulary is basically a selected list of the most common and useful Chinese words while the organic learning concept lets you learn vocab, pronunciation, grammar, and phrases all at the same time.

Learning Tools and Features:

Audio Lessons:

With Pimsleur Chinese, you will get 30 interactive lessons that last about 32 minutes each.  So you will have a total of 16 hours of audio lessons that are broken down by tens leaving you with three different levels.

The first ten will teach you all about the basics.  Here you will cover simple things like greetings and directions.  The next ten is designed to broaden what you have already learned in the first level.  So for example, if at first you learned how to say hi and good morning, now you can continue on with small talk like the weather and whatnot.  By the final ten, you should be speaking at an intermediate level.

Culture Booklet:

You will also have a culture booklet so that you will actually be able to understand not only the Chinese language better but the Chinese people and their county as well.  You will also have a notes booklet available in PDF format.

And So…

If you want to learn Chinese with minimum features and activities, then the simple choice would have to be Pimsleur.  Many people like this approach and the Pimsleur method has been working long before computer language courses became fashionable. You simply listen to the audio tapes and repeat.

Pimsleur is quite expensive for what you get but reviews are still very positive. You can get the first level to see if this teaching method is for you and it will cost over $250. You can expect to pay over $600 for all 3 levels which is not for the faint hearted.

But Rocket Chinese is perfect if you want all the bells and whistles. It has a few more things to keep you motivated, like tests, games and a forum where you can talk to other people.  It also has the audio course but has a grammar and culture course too. A new feature is the record tool that helps you perfect your accent. Get a good headset or microphone though.

The Rocket Chinese course online version was under $100 at time of writing, which represents pretty good value. The shipped version is much more expensive but is the same course in terms of content so I’d advise getting the online version if you decide that Rocket Chinese is for you.

>>> Get Pimsleur Chinese here <<< 

>>> Get the Rocket Chinese course here <<<

So you want to learn Chinese but don’t know which language learning program to take?  As if learning the language wasn’t hard enough, choosing the right one is also another problem.  So to help you out on your search for a suitable course, here are two programs that are worth taking a look at- Rocket Chinese and Transparent Chinese Complete Edition.

Rocket Chinese

One way to learn Mandarin in a relatively short amount of time is by taking the Rocket Chinese course.  This program is based on how children learn their first language by focusing on simple listening and speaking.  This is called the natural method or the interactive conversational approach.  However, since the target of this course is not for kids but for adults, it has been tailored to suit the likeness of the older crowd with learning tools that come with the package.

So listed below are some of the features that are designed to help you get your goal-to be able to speak the language rather fluently.

Interactive Audio Lessons

Rocket Chinese will provide you with 31 interactive audio lessons that cover useful, everyday, modern conversations in Chinese.  What makes this effective is the fact that you don’t just listen, but you actually take part in the conversations right from the very beginning.  Each one lasts about 28 minutes long coming up to a total of 15 hours.  Since the classes are rather short and the files can easily be moved to your iPod, MP3 player, Pocket PC and the like, you can continue studying even on the go- like on the way to school or work or while you take your morning jog.

To make things easier, especially for beginners, these lessons come complete with transcripts that are supposed to help you follow the lesson better.  For every conversation on an audio file, you will have three in written form- one in Pinyin, one in Chinese characters, and one English translation.

Language and Culture Lessons

You will also have access to over 300 embedded audio clips, writing videos, tests, activities, and a whole lot more with the 31 language and culture lessons.  So here you will have further details and explanations on the language itself plus a very helpful writing segment that teaches you how to read and write the characters in step by step videos.  The culture lessons will give you greater insight into the Chinese world.

MegaChinese Games

To make things more fun, you will also have access to two MegaChinese games.  MegaVocab will provide you with over 1000 Chinese words and over 20 topics to help you build up your foundation.  But just as your vocabulary continuously grows, the MegaVocab creator will allow you to keep this game up to par as you can simply add more words.  The MegaAudio game, as they claim, is supposed to help improve your listening comprehension.

Rocket Record

For you pronunciation and intonation, you have the Rocket Record.  With this neat feature you can record yourself saying some Chinese phrase and then compare it to how a natural Chinese speaker would say it.  With the innovative voice mapping technology, you can keep on trying until you have the perfect match.

Rocket Chinese Rehearsal

This is where you can actually put what you have learned to the test.  You will be able to see which areas need improvement and which ones don’t by taking the myriads of tests and quizzes available.

Teacher and Guide

Throughout the whole program, you will have Lin Ping right there to guide you.  But if ever something is not clear or you have a question, the 24/7 online Chinese teacher will be glad to answer all Chinese language related queries at any given time on any given day- how convenient is that? Or you could always pop into the forum to talk to people going through the course or learning Mandarin too.

Transparent Chinese Complete Edition

This is another course that you can take if you want to be able to speak Mandarin.  The Transparent Chinese Complete Edition is not so much as a course that was created, but it is more like a compilation of different courses all jam packed into one language learning program.

Having said that, here is the compilation of features that you get with this complete edition.

Byki Deluxe 4

You start off with the Byki Deluxe 4.  (Byki stands for Before you know it…in case you were wondering)  This is kind of like where you begin to build up the foundation of the language, your Chinese Vocabulary.  It like a super duper flash card game but rather than simply giving information on a particular word or phrase, you can go deeper by checking how the verbs in a phrase are conjugated or the word order and other things like that.

You essentially discover what you want about the language as you go through the flashcards. This can be fun for some people that have plenty of time on their hands or a bit annoying if you are pushed for time. It can certainly get you into the flow of learning Chinese.

You will be able to do so through various activities like games, a voice recorder that can compare your pronunciation to that of a true blue Chinese speaker, as well as tests and quizzes which are perfect to keep track of your progress.

Quick Start Lists

These lists actually contain the most common and useful Chinese words and phrases, the ones that you would actually hear and use walking down the streets of China.  This will teach you what to say in day to day situations, like saying hello and good morning or asking and giving directions.

Transparent Premium Chinese Edition

Once you have a pretty good background, you will then move on to the Transparent Premium Chinese Edition.  This is where you begin to focus more on grammar and sentence structures as well as carrying out full conversations.  To help you in this area, you will be provided with native Chinese texts, stories, and Chinese videos that are all designed to help you further develop all of your Chinese skills- both written and oral.

Everywhere Chinese

To make the best out of your time, like when you are commuting from one place to another or when you are on the treadmill, Everywhere Chinese gives you the chance to continue learning with audio lessons that you can take along with you.

And So…

So here are two programs that both promise to get you to speak Mandarin, but take different paths on the way.  So when it comes down to Rocket Chinese VS Transparent Chinese Complete Edition, here are the facts,  now you decide.

>>> Get Rocket Chinese here <<<

>>> Get Transparent Chinese here <<<

 

 

 

 

 

Learning the Chinese language can be tricky, but with the right program, it doesn’t have to be.  However, finding the one that suits you best is another problem.  So here are two language programs that are definitely worth checking out – Rocket Chinese and Tell Me More Chinese. Here is a review and comparison of the two programs.

Rocket Chinese:

The people behind Rocket Chinese have combined the natural, interactive conversational learning approach with tools and features that they claim will have you speaking Mandarin in no time.

The approach that they use has been tried and tested for years.  By who?  By everybody.  This approach is basically an audio course with lots of other features to help motivate and encourage you. The course is a mix of Pimsleur and Michel Thomas in it’s audio content. There are similarities to Rosetta Stone in the Megagames and the testing and motivation are common in most software or computer based learn a second language programs.  So with Rocket Chinese, you will be speaking even at the very first lessons – no matter what level you are. As you go through the course you will develop the other skills needed to master a language.

So let’s take a look at what you get

You will have your very own Chinese host, so to speak, Lin Ping, to help you out and guide you through this course.

To start, Rocket Chinese comes with 31 interactive audio lessons.  With each 20 to 30 minute lesson you will have a modern, casual and useful Chinese conversation that you do not just simply listen to, but you will actually be a part of it.

The basic premise is Lin and her co host David going round China (which is a big place) and experiencing various situations that a typical traveler might experience in China. There are also family and social situations that you might encounter too.

Plus, you can also download these files to your MP3 player and take them along with you and make the best out of your time, like when you are on the road or working out.  With every lesson you will also get a full transcript in Pinyin, in Chinese characters, as well as an English translation.

With this program, you will also have access to 31 language and culture lessons in pdf format if you choose to download them.  These lessons offer over 300 embedded audio clips, tests, quizzes, and various activities.  You will also get writing video clips that teach you how to read and write Chinese characters in an easy to follow process.  Although the main focus of this program is on speaking and listening, having a little background on the written  is a good idea since the characters look nothing like the English alphabet.

MegaChinese integrates fun with learning.  Here you will have two games that are designed to help you with the Chinese language.

MegaVocab, as you can already guess, will help you build up your vocabulary while MegaAudio, which is also pretty obvious, is for your listening improvement.

Rocket Record is aimed at improving your Chinese pronunciation and intonation.  Here you get the chance to record a phrase or sentence then compare it to one recorded by a native Chinese speaker.  With the voice mapping technology, you will be able to try and try and try until the way you say it matches the way the speaker says it perfectly.

To keep track of your progress, you have the Rocket Chinese Rehearsal.  Through the various tests and quizzes, you will be able to see how much you have learned from the previous lessons you have taken.

When all else fails and you still have a question or two about the language or when an area needs just a bit more explaining, you can always contact the online Chinese teacher that is readily available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week or go into the forum and chat to other students of the course.

Tell Me More Chinese:

Tell Me More Chinese stands by what they call the PRIME approach.

P is for Progressive as they claim that no matter what, you are guaranteed to improve your Mandarin.

R is for Real life because the focus is only on parts of the language that you would actually hear and use in everyday scenarios.

I is for Interactive.  This course is filled with tasks and activities.

M is Motivating, because all of these tasks and activities are different so you won’t fell complacent and you will keep on challenging yourself to do better.  Finally,

E is for Effective.

Tell Me More Chinese actually has the bragging rights of a 94% success rate. Whilst I’m not sure what this actually means as many people define success when speaking a foreign language by many different measures. But the point is that they believe their product works.

So here are a couple of things that you actually get with this language program.

With Tell Me More Chinese, you will be able to take part in 18 interactive modern, everyday, Chinese dialogues.  These dialogues are supposed to help you improve your pronunciation and intonation, you will get to learn over 1500 useful phrases and words, plus they are also supplemented by 400 beautiful Chinese photos to help you get the feel of the culture behind this language.

As for Chinese vocabulary and grammar, you will also have a Chinese glossary that has around 3000 recorded words that are most useful in the language.  You will also be able to consult 30 key grammar points when you feel a little lost in this area, all of which are explained and presented in a very simple and clear way.

To further enhance your Chinese skills- writing, reading, listening, vocabulary, and grammar, Tell Me Chinese has over 1500 various activities and exercises.

You will have picture and word association type exercises, word association between Chinese and Pinyin, Chinese and English, and Chinese and Chinese.

You also have the right word, fill in the blanks, and mystery phrase.

Dictation, word order, and crossword puzzles just to name a few more that you will also get with the package.

In fact, there are heaps of exercises and word games that can take plenty of time to work through.

One thing that sets Tell Me More Chinese aside from other language learning programs is the high technology that they use.  For your pronunciation and intonation, the innovative speech recognition technology can actually recognize the four distinctive Chinese tones and is able to evaluate the way you say certain Chinese words and phrases.

The Spoken Error Tracking System, or S.E.T.S., can automatically detect when you are not exactly saying something correctly and then correct your mistakes. They also produce diagrams of how the tongue and lips should move when pronouncing certain words. Not many other courses do this and I actually think this is a better system than just mapping your voice to a bar graph.

The thing that immediately strikes you about all Tell Me More language courses is the size of them . Most are huge and Tell Me More Chinese is no exception. Whilst this is a good thing to some extent, some comments and feedback suggest that the course can be hard to follow and it becomes easy to lose your focus.

There is so much going on that you drift from one thing to the next. I think Tell Me More are trying to create an immersion environment where you can simply immerse yourself in all thing Mandarin and come out a few hours later and slightly more wiser.

This works for kids that have time and even in a home schooling environment where learning is part of a curriculum but I would suggest it is a bit too vague for an adult wanting to learn the language. Or rather, the adult should be prepared to spend a lot of time using the program. One thing that was pointed out by users of the program was that documentation on setting up the software and using it was not adequate and this was a justifiable problem for many people.

To Sum Up:

Tell Me More Chinese has a lot of content and many tried and tested tools to help you learn the language. General usability and documentation could be improved if you wanted to get full value out of the program. At about twice the price of Rocket Chinese that might not be the one to go for.

>>> Check out more on Tell Me More Chinese here <<<

Rocket Chinese doesn’t have the depth of content as Tell Me More in my opinion. They are improving all the time and adding new features like Rocket Record to the tool set. They also seem to be more focused and made for adults and teenagers. At half the price of Tell Me More they represent better value.

>>> Get your own Rocket Chinese site here <<<

So here are two language programs, Rocket Chinese and Tell Me More Chinese, complete with all the facts, all that is lacking is your choice.  You decide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to learn Chinese but have no idea where to begin or what program to take, here are two language learning programs that will both end up giving you the same desired result, which is to speak Chinese, but take very different roads to getting there- Rocket Chinese and Fluenz (Mandarin) Chinese.  Which one is for you?

The Approach:

Rocket Chinese uses what they like to call the natural approach, also referred to as the interactive conversational learning approach.  This method of learning is based on how we all started to learn our very first language, which is through just understanding through listening and speaking while not paying any attention at all to reading and writing until much later on.

However, since we are no longer adults, the people behind Rocket Chinese have taken this tried and tested approach and styled it in a way that is effective for adults.

Also, since Chinese characters are totally different from the English alphabet, a quick lesson on reading and writing is provided.  But do remember that the main focus of Rocket Chinese is still speaking and listening comprehension.  This is just to help you out a bit so that you won’t be completely lost when you see some written Chinese.

Fluenz (Mandarin) Chinese, however, takes an approach that is pretty much the opposite of Rocket’s.  “Great explanations make a big difference because we don’t learn like children anymore”.

Also, the creators and developers of this course believe that in order for you to truly learn the Chinese language, you must make use of all of your skills, reading, writing, listening comprehension, and speaking, and not just focus on one or two.

Learning Tools and Features:

So now that you’ve seen how different the approach it, check out the various tools and features that each one uses as well.

Some Similarities:

Rocket Chinese starts you off with 31 interactive audio lessons that last about 28 minutes each.  These short classes cover useful everyday Chinese conversations that you do not just merely listen to but you actually take part in- even at your very first lesson.  Aside from that, you will also be provided with the full transcripts of each- one in Pinyin, one written using Chinese characters, and of course, the English translation.

Fluenz (Mandarin) Chinese also offers conversations in Mandarin that are modern and casual with the 45 sessions that come with the package.  However, these lessons last up to two and a half minutes long- much longer than with Rocket.  The reason why this takes a lot of time is that following each conversation is a full explanation and tutorial on the vocabulary and grammar structures that were encountered in each.

Both language courses have the on the go feature so that you can take your learning anywhere.  Rocket Chinese lets you move your audio files to your iPod, MP3 player, or pocket PC while Fluenz comes in CDs and Podcasts.

Another features that both language learning programs have is the one for improving pronunciation.  Rocket Chinese has Rocket Record while Fluenz also has a similar feature that also allows you to record your own voice and then compare it that of a true blue Mandarin speaker.

Where Fluenz has tutors Sonia Gil and Yi Wei, Rocket Chinese has Lin Ping to guide you plus an online 24/7 Chinese tutor that you can contact regarding anything about learning Mandarin.

Other Features:

So, now that you have read about some of the learning tools that are rather similar, here are a couple more features that each program has that cannot really be compared side by side.

Rocket Chinese also comes with 31 language and culture lessons.  Here you will find over 300 embedded audio clips, writing videos, tests, quizzes and other activities that not only explain the language side further such as sentence structures and writing in Chinese, but also give you a deeper look into the lifestyle, traditions, and culture of the Chinese people.

Another feature of Rocket Chinese is MegaChinese.  These are educational games that are supposed to help you learn the language through fun.  MegaVocab is for building up you foundation of Chinese words and MegaAudio is more focused on improving your Chinese listening comprehension.

Fluenz Chinese has what they call the Fluenz Navigator.  Basically, this is a quick reference guide that you can also take with you wherever you go.  Here you will find lists of key words and phrases that may slip your mind but are very handy while speaking Chinese.

With Fluenz, you will also get various workouts.  This wide range of activities cover all the different skills- reading, writing, listening, as well as speaking.  You will even have some that focus on just the grammar side of learning the language.

Another workout…..

Total Differences:

One feature that is totally different between the two is that although both offer various tests and quizzes, Rocket keeps track of your progress so that you know which areas need improving and which ones don’t whereas Fluenz does not keep score at all.

Instead of keeping track of your mistakes, this program motivates you to keep on learning through positive reinforcement and encouragement.

The Verdict:

So basically, if you want to learn the more traditional way, you should opt for Fluenz (Mandarin) Chinese, but if the natural approach seems more appealing, then Rocket Chinese is perfect for you.

Rocket Chinese will take you to a basic conversational level – like asking questions. You could probably get around as a tourist in China asking questions, buying things in shops and markets, traveling round the country but I don’t think you could have in depth conversations about your inner most thoughts. Only practice and learning more vocabulary and turns of phrase will improve this to be fair.

Fluenz Mandarin Chinese has 3 levels and consequently covers more ground. You will still need to do a lot of practicing and learning before you will be fully fluent but it’s a good start on your Chinese language education.Going through the 3 levels will give you more confidence to take your learning to the streets and actually talk to people. This is a significant break through for anyone learning a new language because your knowledge of the language will increase rapidly and you will find learning more interesting and fun than learning from a course.

Rocket Chinese is cheaper than Fluenz when you get the 3 levels in one set. Even if you get the first 2 levels, you are paying considerably more than the Rocket alternative. And if you decide to go for Fluenz, it makes most sense getting all 3 levels for the difference in price.

>>> Get Rocket Chinese here <<<

>>> Get the 3 level set of Fluenz Chinese here <<<