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Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:06 am  |
in a few months i will graduate from uni and during the hols i want to learn chinese (madarin), i was wondering if u guys can recommend any websites that offer free lessons or any help at all.
i could sign up for lessons offline but i will have to travel to another city, so want a convenient way to learn 
TIA |
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Premenstrual acne, combination, dehydrated skin. Using- Retin-a, bb cream, Asian sheet masks, Avene mist, Dr Jart |
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Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:00 am |
as it happens, I read an article recently in a local newspaper (Hong Kong) about how quite a few mainland Chinese are now teaching Mandarin over the internet to people in the UK and US and the rates are very good compared to locally based teachers. Sorry, don't know the names of any websites but it might be worth googling.
Of course you'd need to check their teaching qualifications as just because someone can speak a language doesn't mean they can teach it. God knows i've had some less than wonderful Cantonese teachers myself...and some great ones Good luck! |
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Mon Apr 09, 2007 12:58 pm |
i dont not know any website your can learn chinese.
where do you live?
I know some cities have chinese school for teaching chinese. |
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Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:12 pm |
Hi Yeahyeah! Have you looked into going to weekend Chinese school, like Chinese people send their kids to? I'm married to a Chinese American guy and I want to learn Mandarin, so I plan to start going to this kind of school when the new semester begins.
It's too bad you aren't trying to learn Japanese as I've been teaching people how to speak it for years!^-^ |
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27, sensitive/reactive/acne prone skin, dark brown hair, blue eyes, possibly the palest woman alive... |
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Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:32 pm |
Oooh, Liz! :waves and bats eyelashes:
Any pointers for a total noob to the japanese language? |
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Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:39 pm |
| Sharkbait wrote: |
Oooh, Liz! :waves and bats eyelashes:
Any pointers for a total noob to the japanese language? |
Hi Sharkbait! Well, I may be biased, but I think that learning Japanese really isn't as difficult as everyone thinks--- most people just have a mental block. For example, I've never given my parents or siblings any kind of formal lessons, I just speak Japanese to them from time to time and then tell them what I said, and over the years they've picked up enough to speak in full sentences. (I'm already fantasizing about my children speaking English, Japanese, and Mandarin, lol!) If you're trying to pick up Japanese from scratch on your own though, my advice is to get a good textbook that comes with a CD so you can hear the pronunciation, and then find someone, ANYONE, who can practice with you, correct your grammar and pronunciation, etc. (I'd be happy to help you with that, if you like.^-^) Even though I've been speaking Japanese for years now, I find speaking it with someone is absolutely critical so I can maintain what I have. I have a Japanese friend right now with whom I practice, and I actually went so far as to accost her in the grocery store and ask her if she'd practice Japanese with me, lol! |
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27, sensitive/reactive/acne prone skin, dark brown hair, blue eyes, possibly the palest woman alive... |
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Mon Apr 09, 2007 2:10 pm |
I'm doing the free BBC course learning Italian.
They also do Chinese, check out...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/
If it's anything like the Italian course, it's fun, easy to follow and an interesting way to learn.
Good luck |
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Mon Apr 09, 2007 2:35 pm |
| sarahb wrote: |
I'm doing the free BBC course learning Italian.
They also do Chinese, check out...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/
If it's anything like the Italian course, it's fun, easy to follow and an interesting way to learn.
Good luck |
Cool! Thanks for the link. I'm chinese but my mandarin sucks big time. Of course when you don't use it, you lose it.
I'll be checking out the other languages too! This is pretty cool  |
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Mon Apr 09, 2007 3:12 pm |
| sarahb wrote: |
I'm doing the free BBC course learning Italian.
They also do Chinese, check out...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/
If it's anything like the Italian course, it's fun, easy to follow and an interesting way to learn.
Good luck |
yeah thanks for the link sarah...sounds like quite a hard language, but knowing catonese already, i think il b a tad easier!
re Liz, there are those chinese weekend sessions, but sounds like such a trek (maybe an hours drive )
thanks for the useful info everyone! |
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Premenstrual acne, combination, dehydrated skin. Using- Retin-a, bb cream, Asian sheet masks, Avene mist, Dr Jart |
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Mon Apr 09, 2007 11:10 pm |
I'll put in a good word for BBC language learning courses; they're great for adults and really interesting to do. I taught myself basic Greek just doing that on the tube in a previous life.
I'm sorry to say the Chinese teaching Mandarin is usually a pretty frustrating experience; I've been through so many teachers I can't tell you. One was good, but she was doing a Phd on teaching Mandarin to foreigners and was aware of all the latest teaching methods.
It depends though; if you've been brought up with an Asian kind of learning system you might appreciate it; the Koreans always seemed happy with their methods, but if you're used to Western teaching methods it'll drive you crazy. |
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Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:41 am |
| Hi, are you out to learn to speak only or to write only or both? For speaking... my foreign friends have been telling me for years (I'm chinese btw haha) the hardest part of speaking chinese is the pronounciation of the four sounds to each chinese character and how that changes the meaning of the word/phrase... |
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A girl of 25, living in Singapore & still searching for that one line of skincare products that i can continue using for long term for my combi-dry-prone to bumps/spots skin... |
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Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:10 am |
i am a chinese here as well. i saw how the teachers in school teach the young children to learn mandarin. they started off with "Han Yu Ping Ying", learn how to pronounce the words.
it make the class somewhat more interesting and the kids also tends to learn faster this way. if go straight into learning how to write the chinese characters, i am sure alot of children will lose interest in the lesson. |
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Mid 20's, combination & sensitive skin |
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Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:26 am |
| samantha185 wrote: |
| Hi, are you out to learn to speak only or to write only or both? For speaking... my foreign friends have been telling me for years (I'm chinese btw haha) the hardest part of speaking chinese is the pronounciation of the four sounds to each chinese character and how that changes the meaning of the word/phrase... |
to speak, read and write!!!! that would take me forever to learn...im only hoping to learn to speak it fluently first, would be great for when i go back to HK to get a job.
oh yeah, theres always these funny stories about how ur trying to say one thing but came out completely wrong or the opposite! |
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Premenstrual acne, combination, dehydrated skin. Using- Retin-a, bb cream, Asian sheet masks, Avene mist, Dr Jart |
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