| If I complete all 90 Pimsleur lessons... | |
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| Oct 26, 2006 15:46 |   |
 | If I complete all 90 Pimsleur Mandarin lessons, how well will I speak? Like a 5 year old? ...a 10 year old? ...high school kid? Does anyone know? I'm on lesson 6 ... and they are not getting any easier. |
| Oct 26, 2006 17:07 | #1 |
| Are u regretting not taking up Mandarin when u were younger ? It is not an easy language to master. Anyway good effort. The best way is still to get a native Mandarin speaker and converse with her only in that language. |
| Oct 26, 2006 18:01 | #2 |
| No regrets about studying. I am just surprised at the level of difficulty...and would like to know if I will be able to communicate when I return to China next year. ...or if that is an unrealistic expectation. |
| Oct 27, 2006 07:56 | #3 |
| Hi, Sure you'll be able to communicate but it probably won't be much more than survival Chinese. most folks will be happy that you can say anything at all. Just learn to say. I don't understand and I'm not clear about what you said. Because they will be sure to rattle off so much in response to your effort that you will not understand it. Most Chinese speak incredibly fast and they rarely if ever slowdown for our benifit. I've used the Pimsler, actually must get back to listening to it on the bus but I'm on the second CD now. All the best |
| Oct 27, 2006 21:28 | #4 |
| I'm also listening to Pimsleur, but very intermittently... Actually I think the accents are authentic and so you will probably be able to speak with reasonable intonation and using the tones which is the main thing. Also the language is 'useful' in everyday situations. You will sound like an adult!! Jabarootoo is 100% spot on. It is when the Chinese reply to you that you will have problems. Even after repeatedly asking my friends to slow down, they seem unable to... thus any reply may be virtually unintelligible. Nothing, really, short of being in this environment can improve your listening skills. I might add that I think my listening skills are my strongest now... simply because I would go and sit with my market friends and listen for hours, understanding virtually nothing... but it was all at 'normal' Chinese speed (ie: fastforward!!) Of course the other issue is dialect and regional accents. There are so many and they differ from town to city to province. Moving down to the South has been a real lesson for me in how putonghua dilutes into something that barely resembles Chinese to me. Griz, don't lose heart. Chinese is immensely difficult and progress seems slow but even by learning you're doing so much more than most people. The Chinese will be delighted with any attempts you make to engage them in conversation... and you can't beat that feeling of saying something in a different language and have someone else understand you... it's priceless. Continued good luck to you. |
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