*** Free downloadable audio files for the songs and the Chinese lessons *** "Learn Chinese through Songs and Rhymes" demonstrates the usage of Chinese words and expressions through songs, rhymes, conversations and stories in a systematic way. You will be reading or singing along with the supplemental audio files while following the text on the page. And before long, you will have mastered the basics of speaking Chinese. This is because this book not only provides the English translation for the vocabulary, songs and sample sentences, but also points out the sentence structures and shows you how to apply the language rules. What you will get is a dynamic method that you can use to expand your vocabulary and make your own sentences to handle real-life situations. And you will be doing that in a fun way. "Learn Chinese through Songs and Rhymes" features a collection of forty simple songs and rhymes, most of which are familiar Western and Chinese traditional songs, such as Stephen Foster's "Oh Susanna" and the Xinjiang folk song, "Traveler on Camel's Back". The author took care to translate the songs in such a way as to allow them to be sung in either English or Chinese. "Learn Chinese through Songs and Rhymes" is for anyone who wishes to learn Chinese. All the word lists, songs, rhymes and sample sentences in this book are presented with the Chinese characters, the pinyin phonetic aid as well as the English translation. If you just wish to pick up a few Chinese words and read a few interesting cultural bits, you can do so easily. If you are an independent learner, this book will give you an overall picture of the language and serve as a good foundation for you to build upon. This book will also work well as an interesting supplement to any middle-school, high-school or college-level Chinese instruction program.
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This is one of the best books for learning Chinese that has ever been produced... --Amazon Customer Review By Michael West "linguistic drudge" 12/20/10
About the Author
Because of her father's occupation, Lydia Lin has lived in a few different countries during her childhood and youth. Whenever her family moved from one place to another, she and her siblings had to deal with the issue of learning the language used at the new school and, at the same time, maintaining a working knowledge of their native tongue, Mandarin Chinese. Consequently, Lydia has rich first-hand experiences to draw on for compiling this Chinese language instruction book, even though her studies and job functions have been in the fields of science and technology.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Music addict
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was extremely surprised when I unpacked this book because it is just so chunky - a large-paged book almost an inch thick.
The next surprise came upon opening it. The font is large and very clear to read in English, pinyin and most importantly perhaps (and largest) Chinese characters, so no need to get the magnifying glass out for this one.
The book is very loosely structured around 40 songs, some traditionally Chinese, others British/American. There are over 100 linked sound-files available on the net to give you a clear pronunciation guide and sung version.
However, the book is also a proper, detailed language-learning aid, going far beyond the hook of the songs, and it contains many grouped vocabulary lists, some of which are pages long and exceed by far the short lists of basic words found in most beginners' books, exercises, pages of cultural information, grammar notes with copious examples and detailed explanations of the different Chinese words for English words as used in different contexts.
I was expecting a light-weight book, in every sense of the words, but am amazed at the quantity of vocabulary and hard-to-find information contained in this substantial volume. This can just be a songbook for those wishing to dip their toes into Chinese, but it is also a very good book for those who have been studying for quite a while and wish to extend their knowledge.
The cover and the price perhaps suggest this is going to be a less academic work than it really is. For those wanting an informative guide to the Chinese language, this is just the job.
The next surprise came upon opening it. The font is large and very clear to read in English, pinyin and most importantly perhaps (and largest) Chinese characters, so no need to get the magnifying glass out for this one.
The book is very loosely structured around 40 songs, some traditionally Chinese, others British/American. There are over 100 linked sound-files available on the net to give you a clear pronunciation guide and sung version.
However, the book is also a proper, detailed language-learning aid, going far beyond the hook of the songs, and it contains many grouped vocabulary lists, some of which are pages long and exceed by far the short lists of basic words found in most beginners' books, exercises, pages of cultural information, grammar notes with copious examples and detailed explanations of the different Chinese words for English words as used in different contexts.
I was expecting a light-weight book, in every sense of the words, but am amazed at the quantity of vocabulary and hard-to-find information contained in this substantial volume. This can just be a songbook for those wishing to dip their toes into Chinese, but it is also a very good book for those who have been studying for quite a while and wish to extend their knowledge.
The cover and the price perhaps suggest this is going to be a less academic work than it really is. For those wanting an informative guide to the Chinese language, this is just the job.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A review by Free Book Reviews
15 Aug 2011
By Albert Robbins III
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Learn Chinese through Songs and Rhymes
Overall Feedback: To learn a new language is both the desire and the bane of anyone's life. We all know that being bi-lingual or even multi-lingual is the best bet for a prosperous future. We all strive for it and buy Rosetta Stone only to throw it in a closet and try not to think of the wasted money. But if you could learn the language from someone who not only knows it but has the passion for it that you have for yours then it may make it easier to be just as enthusiastic in the following months as you were the day you bought it. If this is how you feel then stop now and buy this book.
Point of View: As a non-fiction book goes the view is from the author but this view is passionate and she truly desires to teach you Chinese.
Voice: You can truly feel the soul of the author pour from the pages as she teaches you through music and art.
Character Development: As this is non-fiction this is not a field that I or you should be worried about but the author does create the feeling of that Kindergarten teacher encouraging your learning.
Plot: The emphasis is that your are enjoying the learning process all over again.
Dialogue: This is not an area that is to be focused on in a non-fiction but the author is clear and concise.
Pacing: 400 pages, yes 400 pages and you do not feel it when you are finished.
Setting: This is all in your time and the author creates the setting of a classroom but one that you look forward to like when you first learned that you get to go to school.
Continuity: You go from page to page without pause. You will read this again and again as you learn and build your skills.
Free Book Reviews
Overall Feedback: To learn a new language is both the desire and the bane of anyone's life. We all know that being bi-lingual or even multi-lingual is the best bet for a prosperous future. We all strive for it and buy Rosetta Stone only to throw it in a closet and try not to think of the wasted money. But if you could learn the language from someone who not only knows it but has the passion for it that you have for yours then it may make it easier to be just as enthusiastic in the following months as you were the day you bought it. If this is how you feel then stop now and buy this book.
Point of View: As a non-fiction book goes the view is from the author but this view is passionate and she truly desires to teach you Chinese.
Voice: You can truly feel the soul of the author pour from the pages as she teaches you through music and art.
Character Development: As this is non-fiction this is not a field that I or you should be worried about but the author does create the feeling of that Kindergarten teacher encouraging your learning.
Plot: The emphasis is that your are enjoying the learning process all over again.
Dialogue: This is not an area that is to be focused on in a non-fiction but the author is clear and concise.
Pacing: 400 pages, yes 400 pages and you do not feel it when you are finished.
Setting: This is all in your time and the author creates the setting of a classroom but one that you look forward to like when you first learned that you get to go to school.
Continuity: You go from page to page without pause. You will read this again and again as you learn and build your skills.
Free Book Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Best Books for Learning Chinese on the Market
10 Dec 2010
By Michael West
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Xie Xie, Lydia Lin! Gongxi, Gongxi!!! This is one of the best books for learning Chinese that has ever been produced, and trust me, as an American living and teaching in Chengdu, China, I have searched far and wide for aids to help me "crack the code" of this mysterious and elusive tongue.
So fanatical has been my pursuit, that I have even hired a veritable team of young Chinese students here in Chengdu, hailing from hometowns all across China, to record their voices reading Chinese texts in both "standard" Putong Hua, as well as their local dialects, such as Sichuan Hua, Wuhan Hua, Pixian Hua, Ke Jia Hua, Guangdong Hua, deng deng. Although the result has been a rich private library of idiolectical exemplars (if there is such a term), Ms. Lin's wonderful tome is the Crown Jewel of my collection.
Linguists have long known that the language, music and memory centers of the brain are "tied together," and that linking linguistic information with musical information is a powerful method for forming long-term memory associations. Knowing this, I have lucubrated long into the night searching for DVDs that contain popular Chinese songs with Hanzi, Pinyin and English subtitles. The market is saturated with terrific Chinese karaoke products, but as a rule they only display Hanzi subtitles. Alas, I have yet to come across a DVD that contains a wide selection of Chinese popular songs with the requisite Pinyin and English subtitles. Ms. Lin's book is the closest thing I have found so far to the Holy Grail of Chinese language learning - the perfect storm of audio and visual information.
What makes this book so fantastic is the soul of the author, which permeates every page and every line. There are many books out there to teach you Chinese, with accompanying CDs, and most of them are factually and phonetically accurate. But few convey the spirit and joy of learning Chinese like Ms. Lin's little book (granted, at 400 some odd pages "little" might not be the appropriate adjective).
Although there are many excellent products on the market for teaching you the "science" of Chinese (Living Language's "Ultimate Chinese" and Tuttle's "Chinese-in-a-Flash" are just two examples), few products communicate the "art" of Chinese like "Learning Chinese Through Song and Rhyme."
I heartily recommend this beautiful book for anyone out there who wants to begin their Chinese language studies or reinforce the skills they have already acquired. Buy it today, and hurry home to download the accompanying audio files. Sing along with Ms. Lin on "Liang Zhi Lao Hu," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star," "Lily of the Valley," "O, Susanna," "Rock-a My Soul," "London Bridge Is Falling Down," and my personal favorite, "Study War No More." Your family and friends will be amazed at just how "kuai" you have "xue le" the subtle and elusive tongue of the Middle Kingdom. Your "Lao Ban" will offer you a handsome raise, and your "Yin Hang Jia" will forgive all your debts. This book is that magical! :)
So fanatical has been my pursuit, that I have even hired a veritable team of young Chinese students here in Chengdu, hailing from hometowns all across China, to record their voices reading Chinese texts in both "standard" Putong Hua, as well as their local dialects, such as Sichuan Hua, Wuhan Hua, Pixian Hua, Ke Jia Hua, Guangdong Hua, deng deng. Although the result has been a rich private library of idiolectical exemplars (if there is such a term), Ms. Lin's wonderful tome is the Crown Jewel of my collection.
Linguists have long known that the language, music and memory centers of the brain are "tied together," and that linking linguistic information with musical information is a powerful method for forming long-term memory associations. Knowing this, I have lucubrated long into the night searching for DVDs that contain popular Chinese songs with Hanzi, Pinyin and English subtitles. The market is saturated with terrific Chinese karaoke products, but as a rule they only display Hanzi subtitles. Alas, I have yet to come across a DVD that contains a wide selection of Chinese popular songs with the requisite Pinyin and English subtitles. Ms. Lin's book is the closest thing I have found so far to the Holy Grail of Chinese language learning - the perfect storm of audio and visual information.
What makes this book so fantastic is the soul of the author, which permeates every page and every line. There are many books out there to teach you Chinese, with accompanying CDs, and most of them are factually and phonetically accurate. But few convey the spirit and joy of learning Chinese like Ms. Lin's little book (granted, at 400 some odd pages "little" might not be the appropriate adjective).
Although there are many excellent products on the market for teaching you the "science" of Chinese (Living Language's "Ultimate Chinese" and Tuttle's "Chinese-in-a-Flash" are just two examples), few products communicate the "art" of Chinese like "Learning Chinese Through Song and Rhyme."
I heartily recommend this beautiful book for anyone out there who wants to begin their Chinese language studies or reinforce the skills they have already acquired. Buy it today, and hurry home to download the accompanying audio files. Sing along with Ms. Lin on "Liang Zhi Lao Hu," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star," "Lily of the Valley," "O, Susanna," "Rock-a My Soul," "London Bridge Is Falling Down," and my personal favorite, "Study War No More." Your family and friends will be amazed at just how "kuai" you have "xue le" the subtle and elusive tongue of the Middle Kingdom. Your "Lao Ban" will offer you a handsome raise, and your "Yin Hang Jia" will forgive all your debts. This book is that magical! :)
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