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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| JayR9 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4702 days ago 155 posts - 162 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 1 of 3 23 January 2012 at 3:34pm | IP Logged |
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I am just wondering If anyone has bought a book whilst studying Mandarin and thought to themselves that they wish that they had bought it sooner?
I am wondering because I don't own any books at the moment and there seems to be hundreds out there. I dont know where to start. I want to learn Mandarin all round from speaking, listening, reading and writing. So what are the best or popular books called so I don't end up with a dud one and waste my money. Research Is always better I think. Thanks 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Opensecret Triglot Newbie United States Joined 4694 days ago 20 posts - 30 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Russian, Mandarin | Message 2 of 3 23 January 2012 at 6:06pm | IP Logged |
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Yes, research is good, and getting multiple opinions is important, because people have different learning preferences and styles.
That said, my own recommendation is not to start with a book, but with an audio course. Personally, I'm a fan of Pimsleur, which is basically all audio. Make it through level I of Pimsleur Mandarin, and you'll have a pretty good understanding of the sounds of Mandarin, including the tones, and you'll have a modest working vocabulary. Then when you see "Ni hao ma?" in a text, you'll know exactly what it means and how to pronounce it. (You may not be entirely sure about how to pronounce the "r" in "ren," and may not even be aware that "j" and "zh" are not quite the same sound, but those are nits.) After that, I recommend continuing the Pimsleur course, but using the Assimil Chinese with Ease, volume I, as a beginning text. You'll get familiar with pinyin, and begin to learn how to go back and forth between pinyin and Chinese characters. I think it helps a lot to have a dictionary, and I like Wenlin, a computer-based Chinese-English dictionary with many helpful features, including pronunciation of any character. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| nway Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/Vic Joined 5417 days ago 574 posts - 1707 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean | Message 3 of 3 23 January 2012 at 7:02pm | IP Logged |
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Fun with Chinese Characters:
Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 A very painless way to learn Chinese characters and vocabulary. You'll need a separate book for grammar, but this is a nice way of concentrating your character/vocabulary studies. Edited by nway on 23 January 2012 at 7:03pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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