Τα κινέζικα μαθαίνουν on-line - προοδευτική σειρά μαθημάτων κινεζικής γλώσσας

Το όνομά μου είναι Adarsh (Adam) Menon. Είμαι ο ιδρυτής αυτού του ιστοχώρου. Πέρασα τα προηγούμενα τρία έτη στην Ταϊβάν που διδάσκει τα αγγλικά και μαθαίνοντας κινέζικα στη διαδικασία. Χρησιμοποιώ ότι γνώση και εμπειρία στα μαθαίνοντας κινέζικα σε αυτόν τον ιστοχώρο - ενδεχομένως μπορώ να σας βοηθήσω στη διαδικασία. Δεν το κάνω από με αν και - χρησιμοποιώ τους εγγενείς κινεζικούς ομιλητές για να με βοηθήσω να σχεδιάσω τα μαθήματα και για να βοηθήσω με μερικές από την προφορά. Γίαυτό θα δείτε μερικές φορές τις αναφορές «στο Ι», και άλλους χρόνους που θα δείτε τις αναφορές «μας» σε αυτήν την περιοχή.

Γιατί αυτή η περιοχή δημιουργήθηκε;

Σαν σπουδαστή των κινέζικων ο ίδιος που ζουν στην Ταϊβάν για τρία έτη, ματαιώθηκα με τις να διδάξω μεθόδους που βρήκα - εάν βιβλία, ταινίες, CD, ιστοχώροι, podcasts, τάξεις κ.λπ. While some of them excelled in some areas they failed miserably in others. A LOT of time and money was spent (much of it wasted) trying to learn this language. The problem I found was that many of the resources available that are created by native Chinese speakers don’t necessarily work well for native English speakers. In the process however, I did learn what methods DID work really well for us non native Chinese speakers and what methods didn’t. I hope to take all this research and experience and put it into this website. By combining my knowledge with that of native Chinese speakers, I hope we can provide you with an invaluable resource for all your Chinese speaking needs.

Why should I learn from you?

I am a native English speaker and spent 3 years trying to find the best way to learn Chinese. I’m hoping to put my experiences into a form that you can relate to. I found that sometimes it was hard to relate to the methods that the PhD professors who had learned the language for decades were using. Instead I wanted something simple that anyone could start using regardless of their background. So now I’m relying on YOU, the user. Our website is constantly evolving based on the feedback given by learners just like you. Techniques and resources that work are kept and those that don’t are thrown out. Compare this with textbooks or other systems using decades old techniques that haven’t been updated with the times, that were created by people you couldn’t relate to. Which form of learning would you rather use?

About learning Chinese:

Why should I learn Chinese?

Mandarin Chinese is the language spoken by the most number of people on this earth – more than 874 million native speakers at last count. Compare that to English which is spoken by a mere 309 million. Chinese is also the world’s oldest language - dating back some 3500 years. I assume that by visiting this website you already have your own personal reasons for wanting to learn Chinese. Whatever they are, we hope to help you attain your own personal goals by using our system.

What kind of Chinese do you teach?

Mandarin is the official language of China and Taiwan and is one of the official languages of Singapore. That is the form of Chinese that we focus on on this website. While there are certainly variations in dialects found between what you might hear in Beijing versus what you might hear in Taiwan or Singapore, what we teach on this site can certainly be used in any of these places. We have taken effort to involve consultants in our dialogue preparation from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to make sure that we focus on the universal aspects as opposed to any regional variations. Where these variations exist, we try to note them for you.

Our Premium access also offers a chance to sample Chinese written scripture. You can see transcripts of our lessons in Pinyin (English alphabet), simplified Chinese (as used in mainland China) and traditional Chinese (as used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and overseas communities). We highly encourage those of you interested in learning how to read Chinese to explore these options as it’s a great way to test your understanding!

What’s your method of teaching Chinese and why is it different from others?

I have spent a LOT of time and money trying to learn Chinese these past few years. During that process, I found a few methods of teaching that worked really well for me. I have decided to take the best aspects of each of the systems that I liked and combine them into the ultimate teaching tool for you. Along the way, I hope to gather user feedback to let us know what aspects work and what aspects can be improved.

The How we teach page explains more.

How do you decide what to teach in each lesson?

The first 9 lessons of our course teach you the basics you will need to know, such as how to introduce yourself, greet others, how to count, how to use money and how to say dates. This provides you with a proper basic foundation. From lessons 10 on, each lesson begins with a short dialogue that reviews vocabulary taught earlier while only introducing a few new words and concepts. By following this “gradual” format you are constantly reusing high frequency vocabulary in different contexts which allows you to easily remember it. Compare this with other courses that provide you with long lists of vocabulary that you are likely never going to encounter again. Your time is valuable to us and we want to make sure you are being taught in the most efficient manner possible.

Is it true that Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn?

Yes and no. While some aspects like the various tones that are used or the thousands of characters used in the written language may be a turn off to some, if you get past that, the rest of the language is a LOT simpler than English which makes up for the hard parts. Our course uses a novel approach of combining listening (through the podcasts) with speaking (by giving you opportunities to repeat and respond to what is being said) and viewing (through transcripts of every lesson) to make it much easier to see what tone is being used in each word. As for the written language, those interested in learning reading can also benefit from our Premium transcripts which display Chinese characters next to their English equivalents. By taking the time to view both side by side you may find yourself recognizing written Chinese without even knowing it!

Am I capable of learning Chinese?

Absolutely. Many people falsely believe that great intelligence is required to learn a new language. That is not true. There are many cases of severely mentally handicapped people being fluent in multiple languages. We use a novel approach to our system that doesn’t involve strenuous memorization of vocabulary lists or studying of grammar rules. All we ask is that you give us less than twenty minutes of your time each day following through the steps in our How to Use section. To get the full benefit of this course be sure to take advantage of the premium lesson notes for level 1 which also include extra language learning steps and motivation hints to maximize your language learning or the Premium podcasts for level 2.

What is Pinyin?

The written Chinese language does not use a phonetic alphabet as we do in English, so to make things easier for you, this website uses Pinyin, which is the standard form used to transcribe Chinese sounds into a Latin script. Tone marks are used to show you which tones to use when pronouncing words. Learning and understanding Pinyin is a great way to learn Chinese without having to learn to read the thousands of Chinese characters out there. While the Pinyin pronunciation differs from English in some cases, it can be easily learned by following the dialogues and the Pinyin transcripts included with each one. Pinyin will be used in all transcripts of dialogues and new vocabulary that is introduced in the actual lessons.

Do you teach how to read Chinese?

While we don’t explicitly teach how to read Chinese, we do include them in the Vocabulary section found under each lesson, as well as in the flashcard and word bank tools. One great way to learn Chinese characters is by seeing them next to their Pinyin counterparts. We hope that by frequently seeing them together you’ll slowly be able to recognize the characters on their own without needing to look at the Pinyin. I learned a lot of my reading doing just that - by looking at street signs in Taiwan while waiting at a red light. The name of the street would be written in Chinese with the Pinyin translation right underneath. What a great way to learn!

We have also included both simplified (used in mainland China) and traditional (used in Taiwan and overseas communities) characters so you can appreciate the differences between the two sets.

Technical Questions:

What is a podcast?

This link from Yahoo podcasts should answer all the questions you have related to podcasts, how to find them, how to subscribe to them, how to listen to them etc.

What equipment do I need, to listen to a podcast?

You need a computer and an MP3 player (which could be on your computer itself). Having a portable MP3 player allows you to listen to the lessons on the go - on your way to work, at the gym, or wherever it’s most convenient for you. Some of the newer generation MP3 players (such as iPOD Nanos and iPOD Videos) support the viewing of lyrics on their screen. These models will allow you to view the summary transcripts that are included with each lesson.

How do I view the summary transcripts?

Each lesson includes a summary transcript of all the new vocabulary for that lesson. You can view it in two ways:

1. The front page of our website shows you the latest lesson along with its summary transcript. Scrolling down the site and using the Previous entries allows you to access archived lessons. Direct links to these lessons are also provided from the Course Outline section.

2. This same summary transcript is also included as part of the MP3 file itself. If your MP3 player supports the viewing of lyrics, you can view it on your MP3 player screen while listening to the lesson. On iPOD Nanos and iPOD Videos, you can do so by clicking the center wheel button a few times while listening to the lesson. On Windows Media Player, you can do so by clicking Ctrl+Shift+C or by selecting “View captions and subtitles” in the Play menu.

The characters don’t display properly on my iPOD screen. How do I fix this?
The easiest way to fix this problem is to download the lessons manually from the site (as opposed to receiving them in podcast format). This will also solve the problem of the transcript screen only appearing for a few seconds at a time on your iPOD. Our new downloads page makes it easy to download several lessons at once.

How do I keep the transcript from disappearing off screen on my iPOD?

When listening to a podcast on a newer generation iPOD, you have the option of viewing the description on screen by clicking the center wheel button a few times. For your convenience, we store the lesson transcript in this field. However, after a few seconds you may find that the iPOD reverts back to the default screen, meaning you have to constantly use the scroll button or keep clicking to keep the transcript on screen. If this is a big problem for you, we recommend downloading the MP3 file directly from our website and placing it in a different playlist. By doing so, your iPOD doesn’t treat the file as a podcast. This means that when you now click the center wheel button a few times, the lyrics field is brought up, rather than the description field. For your convenience, the same transcript is also stored in this field. The advantage to you is that when you bring up the lyrics field the iPOD stays on this screen and doesn’t revert back to its default screen making it easier for you to view the transcript. As stated above, the transcripts are placed in both the “lyrics” and “description” fields to allow you your choice of which playback mode is more convenient for you.

Where are the Chinese characters?

Premium subscribers can view the Chinese characters for vocabulary introduced in each lesson by clicking on the “Vocabulary” link of a particular lesson. The new vocabulary for that lesson is first presented in Pinyin format with audio links. At the bottom are links to Simplified and Traditional Chinese characters. Clicking on those links displays the same content in either Simplified Chinese characters (used in mainland China) or Traditional Chinese characters (used in Taiwan and overseas Chinese communities). Moving your mouse pointer over characters gives you the Pinyin translation so this is a great way to learn and test your recognition of Chinese characters. You can also test your knowledge of Chinese characters by using the flashcard and word bank tools.

I’m having trouble viewing the Chinese characters on your site. How do I fix this?

This website tests to see what characters your system is capable of displaying and provides instructions on how to download the appropriate fonts required to view them.

About Subscriptions:

How much do you charge?

The podcasts are free, while a Premium subscription gives you:

1. Complete word for word transcripts.
2. Chinese characters (simplified and traditional).
3. Review tools.
4. Access to the Review podcast feed.

Please visit our Subscription page to see the various plans available.

As the database of information and resources increases and we are able to teach more advanced levels we expect to increase our pricing structure to represent the added value available. However, to reward members who have supported us from the beginning we will maintain the pricing rate you start off at till the end of your subscription regardless of future price increases.

What payment methods do you offer?

You may purchase a subscription using Paypal or from 2Checkout, an authorized reseller for ChineseLearnOnline.com. Both companies allow purchases using major credit cards. If you prefer a different option, please Contact Us.

If I purchase a subscription, do I have access to content from all the past lessons?

Yes, our whole course is based on the constant review of older material. So we highly encourage you to review the archive of lessons on our website. All Premium subscribers have access to all the content.

How do I cancel my recurring subscription?

If you paid using Paypal, you can cancel your subscription from the “My Account” option that appears under the login window after you have logged in. If you used 2Checkout, then please Contact Us.

I would like to pay for a subscription but I don’t want any recurring charges. How do I do this?

Easy. Anytime after you create your subscription, you can cancel your subscription which will cancel the recurring portion of your membership. You will still have complete access to your membership for the duration of your membership period.

What review tools do you make available?

Our resources page summarizes the current tools available to you. The full Flashcard, Word Bank and Tone and Pinyin Practices are only available to Premium subscribers with samples for you to try out, while the remaining resources are available for all to use.

What can I do on your site for free?

The lessons themselves are free, as are the summary transcripts that come with them. As well, we encourage all users to read and send in comments on each lesson. The Course Outline is also available for everyone to use. We are constantly previewing new features and tools so check out the free sample content available to Premium users in level 1 or level 2.

How do I get started?

Start by going through the steps in our How to Use section. They should walk you through how to use the resources we’ve put together for you on our website.

I would really like to support you, but I’m not ready for a subscription. Is there anything else I can do to support you?

Absolutely. You can really help us by rating our podcast using the buttons on the right sidebar. iTunes, Yahoo and Podcast Alley all allow you to submit votes, ratings and reviews on our podcasts. Receiving many votes allows our site to climb in popularity which helps promote it to new users so please take the time to do by using the links to the above two websites on the right.

If you still have questions that we haven’t been able to answer for you here, please Contact Us with them. Thank you!

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