Thomas Friedman’s latest opinion piece in the New York Times starts like this:
After attending the spectacular closing ceremony at the Beijing Olympics and feeling the vibrations from hundreds of Chinese drummers pulsating in my own chest, I was tempted to conclude two things: “Holy mackerel, the energy coming out of this country is unrivaled.” And, two: “We are so cooked. Start teaching your kids Mandarin.”
There’s probably a good deal of truth to his last point. So to keep your kids (or yourself) competitive in the global marketplace, we’re highlighting a series of free Mandarin podcasts, all of which can be permanently found in our Foreign Language Lesson Podcast Collection. And, as a quick aside, I should note that Rosetta Stone is currently running a sale (through the end of August) that will let you get 10% off their audio products, which includes instruction in Mandarin and many other languages. (Click here for more info)
- Chinese Lessons with Serge Melnyk iTunes Feed Web Site
- Weekly lessons in Mandarin that get very strong reviews from iTunes users..
- Chinesepod.com iTunes Feed Web Site
- A series of well-reviewed lessons that will let you learn Mandarin on your own terms.
- Survival Chinese iTunes Feed Web Site
- Learn the phrases you need to get by while traveling in China.
- Chinese Learn Online iTunes Feed Web Site
- A dialogue-based introduction to Mandarin Chinese. Load them on your iPod and get up the Chinese curve.
- iMandarinPod.com iTunes Feed Web Site
- A more advanced podcast, this series of lessons teaches Chinese by talking about Chinese culture or what is happening today in China.
- Mandarin Chinese Conversation iTunes Web Site
- A language series put together by TimesOnline.
- Mandarin Chinese Feed Web Site
- 10 Lessons by the US Peace Corps. Make sure you visit the site and download the PDF that accompanies the lessons.
- World Learner Chinese iTunes Feed Web Site
- Another in the mix of possibilities.
http://www.cslpod.com has daily Chinese podcasts at varying levels, and is one of the best in my opinion.
Thomas Friedman is a very persuasive purveyor of bad ideas, ideas that are adopted by the “environmental activists” and politicians and imposed on Americans as government policies.
Thomas Friedman on America’s Energy Dilemma:
http://www.communati.com/steve-lee/american-energy-delemma
Thomas Friedman also recently spent time in Denmark (on the New York Times expense account again)
http://www.communati.com/steve-lee/bad-ideas
Thank you for the interesting pages.
http://www.LittleLinguistsAcademy.com
Great site for kids
Chinesepod produces great podcasts. Even though I already live in China, I frequently listen to their podcasts to pick up new vocabulary and supplement my classroom learning. Still, any real progress in a foreign language requires a speaking component. For people not living in China, I think http://www.italki.com is great site for finding lots of native Chinese speakers who are eager to do language exchange. Its a good, free way to check your pronunciation and acquisition of the language and to develop confidence in speaking.
There are also an increasing number of companies in China which are teaching Chinese online; however, the lessons aren’t free.
I would recomand http://www.cslpod.com
free and interesting, got everything I want in chinese learning.
We are working on a great online textbook for standard Chinese at http://www.daydayupchinese.com, and of course it is entirely free
friedman was correct, I’d recommend the popular childrens book that focus on teaching kids chinese, example would be http://www.mandyandpandy.com/
I think that the audio tracks that this children’s language book has will be very useful