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 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 gat 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.

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 it the natural approach seems more appealing, then Rocket Chinese is perfect for you.

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 based on how children learn their mother tongue merely through listening and speaking.  The reading and writing always came later, much later.  So with Rocket Chinese, you will be speaking even at the very first lessons- no matter what level you are.

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 28 minute lesson you will have a modern and casual useful Chinese conversation that you do not just simply listen to, but you will actually be a part of it.  Plus, you can also move 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.  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 are 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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

To Sum Up:

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.

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

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?

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.  This is kind of like were you begin to build up the foundation of the language, your Chinese Vocabulary.  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.

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.  But Rocket Chinese is perfect if you want all the bells and whistles.

To begin, both courses teach Mandarin Chinese.

As far as Rosetta Stone is concerned, it is predominantly a software program. It is certainly one of the better learn Chinese software programs in fact but if sitting at a computer doesn’t fit your way of learning then it might not be for you. They do have an audio companion guide now – (CD’s you can load on your ipod and play at any time you feel like it) but the bulk of your time will be spent in front of a computer.

Rocket Chinese also requires you to spend a good amount of time on a computer. For instance, the 3 games (that are comparable in style to Rosetta Stone) have got to be played at a PC or Mac computer.

If you are looking to use the feedback features of Rocket Chinese then you also must be logged onto their web page.

Rosetta Stone uses their unique ‘Dynamic Immersion’ technique to teach you Chinese. In essence this calls for no conscious thinking on your part. You’re effectively immersed in the Chinese speaking world and learn vocabulary by means of repeatedly seeing pictures and words.

It does this by saying a word or sentence (or showing a word or sentence) and showing you four pictures. One corresponds to the word or sentence. You must guess which one. You proceed through a group of questions – 20-25 per lesson/module. If you receive a high score on the lesson you are able to go to the next lesson.

This is identical to how you learned your mother tongue – seeing an image and linking a word or sentence to it. You do not have to consciously learn what the word means. It merely sticks in the head with sufficient repetition of the picture/word combination. This will even be done with complex sentences. This is how babies learn their mother tongue.

Rosetta Stone even offers a program able to scrutinize your pronunciation and a headset comes supplied these days for talking and recording your voice as you speak Chinese.

Rocket Chinese is more traditional in that it is predominantly an audio program with added reading material that teaches the grammar of the language and introduces vocabulary. There’s a Rosetta Stone style series of learn Chinese games that employ the same picture/word association philosophy that is used with Rosetta Stone nevertheless it is not as wide-ranging.

It also has loads of multiple choice testing that is good to give a learner opinion on how he/she is doing.

Rocket Chinese is more conscious of students as they have a community forum and the program seems to have changed in style over the past couple of years, indicating that they are surely listening to their students regarding how to improve the program.

Rocket Chinese can be downloaded from the internet for $99. Rosetta Stone Chinese level 1 can be purchased for approximately $229 (depending on where you purchase it online). Nonetheless, you must get the other 2 levels to complete the set so it’s considerably more expensive than Rocket Chinese (you can bundle the 3 levels together for approximately $540).

Rosetta Stone Summary

Positive points – Easy teaching style, no need to commit to memory or write things down – learn language like a baby does.

Can improve pronunciation

Negative points -

Costly, if you choose to have all the levels

Involves a good amount of repetition and practice if you wish to remember what you learn. Better still, make use of what you learn right away by chatting to a Chinese speaking person and it ought to stick.

Check out Rosetta Stone Chinese here >>>

Rocket Chinese Summary

Positive points -

Get a little of everything – complete audio course, 3 Rosetta Stone style games and a decent grammar/vocabulary written guide with audio components.

Good price point – cheaper than most learn Chinese courses

Responsive to students wishes and queries – fairly active forum where you’ll be able to ask questions. Send out follow up lessons via email address.

Negative points -

No pronunciation teaching, you are required to repeat the words after they are spoken in the audio thus no real feedback.

Verdict : If you consider cost and content of each particular course, Rocket Chinese is better value for what you get in my opinion.

Check out Rocket Chinese and how to get a free 3 day trial here >>>

I think people have a concept of a scam on two levels. The first level is will I pay for the course and get sent to a bogus website or just not get the product I have paid for. This is the classic skepticism of buying over the internet.

You should have no fears of this happening with Rocket Chinese. The company behind Rocket Chinese has been going for 10 years. It has a number of languages products and has developed a good reputation as a leading provider of downloadable language learning courses. There is no way they would want to jeopardize this hard earned reputation by scamming people by not having a product or delivering it. They are not a fly by night company. They have a solid reputation. There website has numerous ways in which you can get hold of them, including a physical address. They also offer a guarantee on their product so you have no reasons to doubt that they stand behind their product.

The second level of scam that people may be worried about is whether the Rocket Chinese course is just rubbish or does it live up to the hype that is generated by the sales page. I would also suggest that you have no worries here either.

First of all the sales page is quite low on hype. If you read it carefully, it pretty much sticks to what you get for your purchase and how it goes about teaching you to learn Chinese. The important point to note is that it won’t work if you don’t put the effort in. You have to use it and dedicate yourself to learning Chinese. The course can’t do this for you and won’t help you learn Chinese unless you make this commitment and stick to it.

Check out my detailed Rocket Chinese review or go on to the official site for more information on this good self study course and how you can try it for free for 3 days.

People are concerned about spending money on something that doesn’t work but I would suggest the biggest commitment is the time they will spend using something that doesn’t work. They don’t want to spend years getting nowhere. They want to know that they have the best tools available to achieve the objective they have set themselves. In this case the objective is to learn Chinese. And the tool is the learn Chinese course Rocket Chinese.

I would say that Rocket Chinese does work but probably not as quickly as it states. I guess it all depends on your definition of speaking Chinese.

I’d say you can speak basic phrases and get by in structured situations like at an airport, train station, restaurant etc. These situations are easier to control for a Chinese speaking novice because there is a limited amount of vocabulary needed and in most cases the types of phrases needed will be limited to asking for information. In short, you have an element of control over the situation and this means you can concentrate on practicing what you have learned rather than worrying what someone is saying or what might be going on around you.

I think this is what is meant when they say you will be able to speak Chinese. You will be able to get by in social situations but won’t be able to have in depth conversations. You will, however, have the basic building blocks to take your Chinese languages skills to a more fluent level. But this will take practice and confidence in your own ability. Ultimately, once you have the basics of a language down, you have to start talking to people. This is the best way to learn and will get you to a fluent level.

So Rocket Chinese does work but it will not complete your knowledge of the Chinese language. It is the first check mark on your journey to fluency.  Check out my Rocket Chinese review for more details on this course or go to the official site to learn how you can get a free trial of the course for 3 days.

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It points out the good and bad points of each course and makes a recommendation based on value.

Value has a simple formula :

Value = Quality/Cost

And this will be used as the pointer towards any recommendations.

The site will also give you tips and hints on how to get the most out of learning Chinese products and the best ways to learn a new language.