Learning Chinese

[CJF]

What's the best software I can buy to teach me Mandarin?

[SamuraiJack]

What's the best software I can buy to teach me Mandarin?

There's some Mandarin mp3s that you can download called "Pimsleur's"... just to let you know though, some of the phrases sound ominously like the phrases a white guy uses to try to hit on girls in Asia.

"Would you like to come to the hotel with me?"

[jaehwan]

What's the best software I can buy to teach me Mandarin?

I have my doubts about software in general. I think you're best off following a book and getting a Chinese friend to help you through it. Although if you have an mp3 or CD, it's probably useful so that you can practice repeating phrases and memorizing idioms.

[Jayth]

My school uses Chinesepod from www.chinesepod.com. I like it a lot.

[t-tocs]

Heard Rosetta Stone is very good.

[Weeping_Lady]

I took Mandarin fall semester and it was very interesting. On the written and reading part I did pretty good for what I was taught. I'm a bit shaky on the tone part. I scored lower on the oral tests. I keep getting my 3rd and 4th tones mixed up.

I'm not taking anymore in school, but I do practice on my own with my Chinese textbooks and the help of a free website I use to hear the tones and for flashcards. Here it is: http://www.sayjack.com/login.html you can use it as a guest. Other than that, the Chinese staff at my university welcome me to come and practice with them.

[kimtae]

Downloading files may be illegal so don't click here:
http://www.mininova.org/search/?search=mandarin
But if you do, use peer guardian.

[kkun]

+1 for peer guardian, unfortunately it doesn't support my 64bit Vista yet. ><!

I've heard good things about Rosetta Stone but I don't know of any success stories as of yet. I am currently trying one language using this software but haven't had much time to get past lesson 1. So my opinion on it still is TBD. =P

[Freckles]

I have the Rosetta Stone software for Mandarin, and I think whether or not you'll find Rosetta Stone useful just depends on how you learn.

When I'm learning a language, I want to work with phrases and sentences right away and see them broken down and the grammar explained; I build my vocabulary as I go. Rosetta Stone is the opposite of that. At the basic levels it is nothing more than picture/word association- which can be good for memorization and vocabulary building, if that's the way you learn best. I find the pace too slow.

Chinese Pod is a good resource, but in order to make the most of it you need a paid subscription. I personally haven't found any online resources for Mandarin that I've really really liked. Zhongwen Red has recordings of their dialogues, and they break down sentences for you. They don't give any grammar explanations, but if you're intuitive you can pick up on it as you go through the dialogues. Do recommend.