Learn Chinese

I could tell you the best thing to learn Chinese is just to go to China, join a language program there and talk to lots of people – and it would be absolutely true. But not everyone has the time and/or resources to do so, so here’s my advice to all of you.

There is a website called ChinesePod, where you can learn Chinese with the help of mp3 lessons. You can use them on your iPod or mp3 player, or just stream them from their website. Let me give you a quick review of their service and explain why I recommend them.

The concept
ChinesePod has a few different levels, ranging from Newbie for total beginners to Advanced or Media for people, whose Mandarin is already fluent and who are just looking to sound more “local”, as the Chinese say.
You download as many lessons as you like. Each lesson consists of a conversation followed by a detailed break down of the sentences heard, explanation of grammar patterns and vocabulary used.
The teachers
On all levels, there is always at least one Chinese native speaking teacher. The lower levels have an English-speaking teacher to co-host. All teachers have a good and clear pronounciation and show excellent knowledge of grammar and language didactics.
The lessons
…are very authentic conversations, with commonly used expressions.
The resources
…on their website are amazing: vocabulary flash cards, review PDFs, discussion boards with swift responses and much more. For some subscriptions they even have teachers that will Skype you and talk to you on a regular basis.
The pricing
As you may have guessed, ChinesePod is not free. They have different price models. The cheapest is Basic, where you get only the basic tools for currently $14 / month. I started with this one, but enjoyed the lessons so much, that I chose the Premium subscription for $29 / month, that gives you access to all kinds of excercises, expansions, the flashcards and so on. I highly recommend this one.