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Easy Learning Mandarin (Collins Easy Learning Audio Course)
 
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Click here to listen to a sample from Collins Easy Learning Mandarin. [Windows Media Audio]

Easy Learning Mandarin (Collins Easy Learning Audio Course) [Audiobook] (Audio CD)

by Rosi McNab (Author, Series Editor), Wei Jin (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Easy Learning Mandarin (Collins Easy Learning Audio Course) + Easy-peasy Chinese: Mandarin Chinese for Beginners (Book & CD) + Mandarin Phrasebook (Lonely Planet Phrasebook)
Price For All Three: £14.83

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Product details

  • Audio CD
  • Publisher: Collins (7 Jul 2008)
  • Language Chinese
  • ISBN-10: 000727176X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007271764
  • Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 13.5 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 12,203 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #6 in  Books > Languages > By Language > Chinese
    #10 in  Books > Reference > Language > Translation & Interpretation
    #32 in  Books > Audio CDs > Languages

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Product Description

Product Description
This exciting new Easy Learning language course allows learners to take on board all of the Mandarin they will need while abroad without the need for thick textbooks and complex grammar. 3 audio CDs and accompanying colour booklet make language learning fun, fast and flexible. The 3 audio CDs guide learners through a series of 12 short units. Each unit introduces 5 new key words or phrases before expanding on the basic vocabulary with practice activities, memory tips and culture and etiquette advice. An accompanying 48-page colour booklet provides full transcripts of the CD conversations as well as helpful hints to guide the user through their learning experience. Unit 1: Hello Unit 2: Excuse me Unit 3: Where's the bar? Unit 4: Over there Unit 5: What would you like? Unit 6: Have you got any!? Unit 7: Can you help me? Unit 8: I want to go to! Unit 9: Have you got a room? Unit 10: It hurts Unit 11: I want to make an appointment Unit 12: What's it like?

About the Author
A well-known figure in the field of language learning, Rosi McNab has produced bestselling courses and materials for Collins, Heinemann, Pearson Education, Hodder Education, BBC and Goethe Institut. Her hugely successful and ground-breaking books are currently used in primary and secondary schools across the UK and abroad.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Easy Learning Mandarin (Collins Easy Learning Audio Course)
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First Thousand Words in Chinese
4% buy
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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Fine -- as far as it goes, 17 Jul 2008
By Steve Benner "Stonegnome" (Lancaster, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
This CD-based language course is fine, as far it goes. It is an excellent introduction to Mandarin for those wishing to accustom their ears to the language and to learn a few key phrases for helping to cope with the essentials of a short trip to China. The pacing of the course is good, with plenty of opportunity for you to review your progress in the comprehension of snippets of Mandarin spoken by a variety of different speakers. It also uses a variety of different techniques to help a Westerner get to grips with the essentials of this difficult language. Some seem to work less well than others -- the mnemonics, for instance, for remembering key phrases struck me as being somewhat forced on occasions, and so while I could recall the mnemonic key (I had no difficulty remembering to think "gin and tonic" at the appropriate time) that key frequently did not unlock the appropriate phrase of Mandarin within my brain (the gin and tonic didn't help). But at least the variety of techniques means that there are probably sufficient for there to be something there that will work for you.

Where this product falls down, of course, is that in common with all other CD-based courses, while it is easy for you to test your comprehension of what is being said on the disc, there is no way to assess whether or not your own pronunciation is approaching anything that would be understandable to a Mandarin speaker! Given the vast difficulty that the Western brain has in picking out many key components of Mandarin, I would say that, unfortunately, this is a major drawback in this case. Nor does the material extend very far into conversational Mandarin -- it only touches the basics of exchanging greetings, asking directions, getting food, drink and accommodation, etc -- so it runs the risk of the falling into the standard phrase-book trap of teaching you how, for instance, to ask directions somewhere, without really equipping you with sufficient vocabulary or understanding of the linguistic elements to make much of most of the replies you're likely to get in reality! And finally, as an aural-based course, backed up with minimal written material in the accompanying booklet, it does not tackle any aspects of written Chinese, so it does nothing to equip you for reading signs or other written materials on a visit.

In summary, then, this is a good introduction to the basics of spoken Mandarin but it is no substitute for real tuition in a proper interactive language learning environment. It may, however, provide you with enough confidence to make a trip to China and to talk to people while you are there and so immerse yourself in the best interactive Mandarin learning environment possible!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars As painless as it gets - a very accessible introduction!, 11 Jul 2008
By R. WEST-SOLEY "raldon" (Birmingham, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
It was interesting to see Collins get involved in the language course market, and appropriate too, given its long history of excellent foreign language dictionaries. This, like its Polish sister product (and no doubt the other languages in the series, which I haven't tried) is aimed at total beginners, but I also found it a fantastic refresher, having studied a (very) little Mandarin before.

What is really important with a 3 CD audio-only course is that the speakers are likeable, as you'll be spending quite a lot of time with them; and here, Collins have hit a good balance, with a nice, informal discourse with friendly voices, although still holding to a solid course structure. This contrasts nicely to the sometimes rather dry nature of Mandarin courses on the market - a nice, fresh approach which won't scare anyone off.

The language itself is served up in manageable, bite-sized chunks, with some good advice about optimal learning times thrown in. In fact, it's the advice offered on general language learning techniques which makes this course as valuable as the actual language content does. In fact, if you know most of the language on the CDs already and are using it just as a refresher, you might still benefit from the hints and tips offered for learning. And for a total beginner, this way of setting the new learner off on the right track is invaluable - you're less likely to stumble and fail by feeling overwhelmed - and less likely to give up. As far as language learning goes, it's as painless as it gets, and very rewarding!

The units cover a nice big slice of language across a range of topics, which should serve as a good basis for a trip, or as the foundations of your first steps into studying Mandarin. Each one follows the standard intro - drill - recap mould, with lots of interaction and speaking out loud encouraged. If you do need to see the written word (and you don't need to at all if you don't want to with this course), there is a handy booklet included - small enough to shove in your pocket as a simple phrase book when you're travelling, too.

With an emphasis on communication rather than perfectionism, this is a modern, thoroughly useable course. Again, it ticks all the boxes - well done Collins. Teach Yourself must be getting worried!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Hard language to grasp on basic terms, 10 Jul 2008
By P. McCauley "Xander" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
This is a language where giving you small bits to learn wont do you any good. I have done an extensive course in mandarin, and it was very hard to grasp certain things like the various tones for the same word. It took months of hard graft to really get it, and understand it.

Learning only basic conversational items from a cd is a different method now. I went through this and to be honest it just expects you to learn to repeat phrases. Thats all. No one there to check if you are pronouncing it right (which you really need for tonal aspects), and is not suited for this level of language complexity.

I would suggest if you want to learn this language to go out to China and live there and learn it first hand, or invest in a one on one teacher who can teach you and give you the needed feedback (which a cd cant).

Sorry for this harsh review, but its not easy to make such a complex language easy learning, especially by making someone repeat phrases off a cd.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Does well to bridge the gap
Mandarin is such a different laguage to English, this step by step guide tries hard to bridge the gap and succeeds to a large degree. Read more
Published 5 months ago by S. Smith

3.0 out of 5 stars Typical of "Not-so-easy Learning"
Most home learning packs are great in theory but not so effective in practice. And this is no different. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Scott Hart

2.0 out of 5 stars Not so easy learning Chinese
I have listened to this a number of times and whilst I found it interesting/fascinating to properly listen to Mandarin for the first time, I cannot say 2 weeks on I can even... Read more
Published 6 months ago by kcampbel

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm worried I may be missing something
I don't feel that this product is as "revolutionary" as it self proclaims. It's a very limited course with only a thin booklet as accompaniment. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Julie Cutler

5.0 out of 5 stars Good service, innovative approach
This product was delivered quickly, even with the trans-Atlantic shipping. From what I've seen so far, I like the use of mnemonic techniques, and I am looking forward to working... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Birch East

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to Mandarin
This 3 CD set comes with a small booklet to follow each chapter as you go. A user certainly won't be an expert after using this but it is definitely a really useful introduction... Read more
Published 10 months ago by M. Young

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent primer!
The first thing I noticed about this course is that the booklet is very helpful. The first few pages give tips and a pronunciation guide for Pinyin; a latinised version of... Read more
Published 11 months ago by K. Jamison

5.0 out of 5 stars Mandarin made easy - er
I ordered this as my daughter is adopted from China and we thought It would be fun to learn some mandarin.
It wasn't.
It was hard.
Very Hard. Read more
Published 11 months ago by M. A. Kelly

3.0 out of 5 stars Mandarin - intro for beginners
The Collins Mandarin is excellent as an introduction to the language and for acquiring enough Mandarin to buy things, be polite, wish people good morning, good afternoon etc. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Elaine Simpson-long

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy-to-follow guide to learning a not-so-easy language
I've learnt French, dabbled in Italian, so for a challenge thought i'd try my hand at something a bit different. Read more
Published 11 months ago by H. Dennison

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