Rebecca Hallengren asked:


While learning any language it is very important for a person to be able to understand the basics of the language one desires to learn. This increases the ease and confidence of learning a new language. Thus when one learns a language as difficult as Mandarin Chinese, it becomes all the more important that it is done with the help of the right methods and tools.

While a person is willing to learn the language online there are various options that he may consider. Websites such as Loquella, which follow the Foreign Service Institute methods, are the best the place for learning a language. Mandarin Chinese is taught by making the students learning to read, speak, and write fluently. Thus it requires a lot of listening to the proper pronunciation as well as read the lessons simultaneously, which eventually enables the student to speak the language properly using the typical dialect.

While learning the Mandarin language the students are also taught the phonetics, vocabulary and grammar. For every language it is very important to learn the grammar correctly as it is the basis of learning a language. And it applies in the case of Mandarin language too. While learning online, the learner may download the Mandarin Chinese mp3 audio files and listen to them while reading the lessons. This helps him to learn the proper pronunciation as well as the phonetics.

At Loquella standard Mandarin Chinese is taught. Loquella has also introduced the ‘Pinyin characters’ into the lessons. The Chinese characters are put directly under the Pinyin text thus it becomes easy for the students to Learn Mandarin while they read through the material.

While learning Mandarin Chinese at Loquella, the learner has the option of learning the Pinyin in four different options. Thus learning becomes more enjoyable at Loquella. The various language drills makes the student repeat and practice the lessons thoroughly. Thus they can adapt the language perfectly and equip themselves with the confidence of speaking and understanding the Mandarin language appropriately.

The flexibility of learning the language makes Loquella popular among students, businessmen, executives as well as travelers. Learn Mandarin course has been designed to appeal to everybody’s purpose.

While practicing on Mandarin Chinese, Loquella puts extra emphasis on learning the pronunciation. The language drills, which are a part of the course, provides further emphasis on increasing the students vocabulary.

Mandarin Chinese can be learnt following proper instructions that are given on the website. One has to remember that the course alone cannot suffice hard work and dedication on the part of the student. Rigorous training and constant listening, reading and writing make the student confident enough to converse in the Chinese language fluently.. Loquella offers all of these features which make learning Mandarin Chinese a pleasurable and not arduous task.

Farazila Abu asked:


Nearly 1/4 of the World’s Population speaks the Chinese language. The language is spoken not only in China, Taiwan, and Singapore, but it is also spoken throughout Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe. Traditional Chinese culture, from martial arts, Confucianism and Chinese cuisine has an enormous influence on East and Southeast Asian nations. Currently, Chinese language classes have the highest enrollment in American universities and colleges. Today China has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Those who can speak Mandarin Chinese proficiently will find jobs in various fields such as business, government, international relations, information technology, tourism, education, translation and much, much more.

Previously a state-controlled economy, the Chinese government introduced market-oriented economic reforms in the early 1980s. Now only a third of its economy is directly controlled by the state. China is strong in manufacturing and agriculture, but its service sector is slowly catching up, accounting for 32.5% of the economy. China’s cheap labour costs have turned the country into ‘the world’s factory’, manufacturing most of the world’s clothing, electronics and household items. In 2005, China’s global trade surplus was at US$102 billion. China is also one of the largest importers in the world, buying cars, high tech products, raw minerals, machineries and equipment, chemical and petroleum. However, China’s shrinking agricultural still employs over 40% of its workforce and keeps China as the largest agricultural country in the world.

China GDP per capita is US$6800, making China the second largest economy after the U.S. China’s recent gain in trades has upset many trade protectionists, particularly in U.S and Europe, who have been pressing China to revalue the yuan to soften China’s competitive pricing edge on its exports. In 2005, they achieved a moderate success when China unpegged the yuan to the dollar, driving it up around 2% against the greenback

A slightly more expensive yuan doesn’t mean bad news for visitors, China’s continuing economic reforms are bringing in more competition in virtually every sector, resulting in lowered prices and better services. The increase of living standards in China also means better infrastructure, improved transportation systems, better healthcare and environmental protection, all of which are good news if you’re living in China. So if you want to be part of a fastest growing economy, you have to be in China an on order for you to be successful in China, you have to master the Chinese Language

If you are serious about mastering the Chinese language and learning to speak Chinese fast, please click the link below and check out this highly rated online Chinese course. This Chinese language course is currently the best on the internet and you will be guaranteed good results fast.

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Hope you will speak Chinese fluently in the Future. Good luck!!

Sujoy Chakravarty asked:


Studying Chinese languages getting progressively more popular among foreigners. Every year many foreign students are showing great eagerness to make their way to China for learning Mandarin. Mandarin, which is commonly speech as ‘Putonghua’ is becoming more attractive to them. Interest in studying Mandarin is growing dramatically. Record number of students are coming from America to China only for learning mandarin.

Mandarin, the official language of China is also the most extensively spoken language in the world. One fifth of the world population speaks some form of Chinese language where Mandarin is one of the certified languages of United Nation. For political purposes and international business also learning Mandarin language is getting more significant.

After opening its door for the foreign investment China is swiftly becoming a world financial power where more than 874 million people use Mandarin as their first language. What about the history of Mandarin? In nineteenth century the language was used mainly in court and also by the people of upper class. Then in Beijing it has concentrated largely.

Now the people of China are progressively more conscious of the need to learn Mandarin as the language is quite important for getting many jobs and also for different studies where work is reasonably concentrated.  Students are coming from other countries with eagerness to study abroad in China as learning Mandarin has loads of profession opportunities. One who can speak mandarin has high demand both in Government and private sectors. For international business purpose Mandarin speaking people are getting more advantages than others. For teaching, healthcare and social services, journalism and many more other jobs Mandarin knowing people are getting more rewards.

In China there are many language institutes with highly organized study abroad programs for the foreigners who are interested to learn Chinese languages. There are many reputed Chinese Universities and Schools with inexpensive Chinese language program. Beijing, Hong Kong, Kunming and also other parts of China has many known Chinese language schools with highly structured study abroad programs particularly for the foreign students who are having interest in Chinese language study.

Learning Mandarin in China is undeniably a great experience for the students as they are free to travel around many places and can also learn more about Chinese culture and economy.

Mandarin Hour asked:


In 1980s America, students were offered language courses as young as 12 years old. Move on to the year 2000, and this decade’s children are way ahead of the game. Schools across America have made foreign language a requirement to graduate and also start the students as young as 5 years old. Beyond that, they aren’t just offering the usual French, Spanish, Italian and German – they’re offering the language of the present, and certainly the future – Mandarin Chinese.

Learning Mandarin Chinese at an early age has shown that children grasp the language more readily. This is because at a young age, the brain has the ability to compartmentalize various languages correctly. This allows the child a greater chance to attain the native pronunciation and grammar. Not only has research shown that learning a foreign language enhances cognitive development, but overall basic skills performance in elementary school children as well.

There’s an overall lack of self-consciousness when learning a language at an earlier age. Children are more apt to try out new words and phrases then when they are older, when there is the tendency to be afraid of pronouncing the words incorrectly. The spontaneity leads to learning to speak Chinese with a quicker fluency.

If you’re looking for additional ways to assist your child in learning Chinese, new types of technology which weren’t available in the past can help students outside the classroom. The Nintendo DS, for example, has a product which guides you through a Chinese language tutorial. And with the innovation of the web, it’s become easier to learn Mandarin online.

 

Groshan Fabiola asked:


Chinese is a very interesting language to learn to speak and write. It is also relatively simple to learn to speak Chinese as well as learn to read and write Chinese at a fundamental level of understanding. Chinese is based on a simple structure language and learning the Chinese character structure helps a lot in learning to speak Chinese. The Chinese language uses varying tones to give different meanings to a word. As soon as you start to learn the Chinese language, you will realize that it is not just a language. When you learn to speak Chinese you are shown a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and way of life.

Mandarin Chinese is the main language in Mainland China. While there are a number of dialects spoken throughout the Chinese provinces, it is best to learn mandarin Chinese because it is the most recognized dialect. Mandarin Chinese is used on a day to day basis by over 50% of the population. The number of users of Mandarin Chinese is constantly growing which is why you should learn to speak mandarin Chinese rather than learn to speak another dialect of Chinese.

More and more people around the world learn the Chinese language for many reasons. Some of these include: helping to improve their chances of employment, helping them negotiate internal business agreements or enhancing their travel experiences. Mandarin Chinese is also the second language of over 40 million people of Chinese descent throughout the world and so it is the natural choice when it comes to deciding to learn Chinese and what form of Chinese to learn.

In addition, it is now easier than ever to learn to speak mandarin Chinese. You can hire Chinese language tutors online or learn Chinese for free online. It’s one of the best ways to learn mandarin!

If you want to find out more about learn mandarin or about learn mandarin chinese or even about learn chinese please follow these links.

Jeff Lillie asked:


The world is shrinking. The overall economy is becoming increasingly global. Diverse cultures are just a plane ride away. The Internet is connecting communities all across the planet. It makes more sense than ever before to learn new languages in order to participate, communicate, and prosper. And Chinese is an ideal language to choose. In fact you can learn to speak Chinese easier than you may think.

Learning Chinese may seem extremely challenging to most Westerners. After all, it is extremely different than many more familiar languages such as French or Spanish. So why should you try to learn Chinese? There are plenty of reasons. Over 850 million people on the planet currently speak Mandarin Chinese. China is increasingly becoming a significant economic force with many emerging opportunities for the global business community. China represents an ancient and rich culture that has and will continue to have a huge impact on Western society.

So how can you learn Chinese? You could take a college course or find a language tutor, but those represent some of the more time-consuming and expensive options. Or, you could study at your own pace in the comfort of your own home with a special language program that can readily be purchased on the Internet.

Of all the language programs out there that can you can use to learn to speak Chinese, the one I would highly recommend is “Rocket Chinese”. Rocket Chinese is downloadable for less than $100. With it you can learn this new language quickly through a series of audio lessons, memory games, and quizzes. Unlike many competitive products, they offer access to a member’s only help forum. You can choose a free 6-day trial of the product and there’s a money back guarantee.

So whether you’re looking to travel, grow your business, communicate better, or just expand your mind, check out the Rocket Chinese Language Program.

Susan Lee asked:


Many people faced with the task of how to learn mandarin fly into a absolute panic. The symbols look so strange to none Chinese speakers, and the words sound nothing like the languages we may be accustomed to. But there are shortcuts to learning Chinese that will have even the most rookie student speaking this unique language in no time.

You can overcome the first issue – those strange-looking but beautiful symbols by separating speaking Chinese from the act of reading it. Admittedly Mandarin doesn’t use the Roman alphabet, or technically, any alphabet at all. Those symbols are called characters, and there are a lot of them. But fortunately, many English speakers learn to speak beginner Chinese without learning Chinese symbols, because Mandarin can be written in a Western alphabet called Pinyin. This greatly helps people like you not speaking Chinese with how to learn the Chinese language faster!

The second stumbling block – the sound of Mandarin words themselves can be explained by realizing that Mandarin is very dependent on pitch and tone. For example, the sound “ma” said in a high-pitched tone could mean “mother” in a different tone, it could mean “horse.” Thus, it’s very important that learners concerned with how to learn Chinese approach this mysterious language in a way that allows them to hear the words and phrases pronounced. Rocket Mandarin is a excellent language learning program for this reason; it will help you learn the Mandarin language in the quickest and most effective way and you could learn to speak basic Mandarin within 8-weeks.

When deciding how to learn Chinese, you must know which type of Chinese you need to study. There are quite a few variations of Chinese; whether these are dialects of a single language, or related but separate languages like Thai and Korean, for instance, is difficult to say. Two of the most commonly used variants of Chinese are Mandarin (the standard language of both the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan), and Cantonese (more commonly spoken in Hong Kong). But each language variant is totally unique from the others, and a Cantonese speaker cannot be understood by a someone who speaks only Mandarin.  

In addition to practicing with a good audio-based program such as Rocket Chinese, it helps a lot to befriend a native speaker to chat with. This is true when learning any new language, but it’s a very important factor in how to learn Chinese. Have you ever heard someone say an unfamiliar name on the phone, and failed to understand what they were trying to say to you? This is because you can’t see the movements of their mouth as they say the words. With so many Chinese words dependent upon tone and the slightest variation of pronunciation, it helps so much to have a native Chinese speaker to watch as well as hear.

You say you don’t know any native Chinese speakers? I’ll bet you do! Is there a Chinese restaurant nearby? If its proprietors speak the variant of Chinese you want to study, make them your new best friends, because they’ll definitely will help you on how to learn Chinese! Is there a Chinese community in your area? In all likelihood, there will be Chinese people there. Look on the Internet for forums and meet-ups featuring Chinese language and culture. And as a last plan, you can learn a great deal from viewing Chinese movies.

Practice at least 30 minutes a day! You’ll never sound like a native Chinese speaker, but before you know it, you’ll be able to speak conversational Chinese with ease. And your friends will never know that only a few weeks ago, you had no idea how to converse Chinese!  Finally pay a visit to www.ecpod.com and you can make a lot of Chinese friends to test your Mandarin.

 

sarah asked:


Study Chinese and experience the unique Chinese culture during Summer holiday. Learn Chinese and practice the language on a daily basis in authentic real life environment. Plus the Real Life Instruction held once a week developed by Allied Gateway is specially designed to enhance your spoken language ability. Transcripts and certificate available. Electives include Chinese painting, Taiji Boxing, Chinese Knot and calligraphy.

Classes are divided into 3 basic levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. A placement test will be conducted after enrolment at the university.

Curriculum are designed to meet the needs of each proficiency level and the program length to ensure you progress rapidly and able to communicate in Chinese in a more effective and efficient manner.

www.MandarinSummerCourse.com

www.ChinaMandarinCourse.com

Beginner Class Main Courses

Introductory Chinese, oral Chinese, listening comprehension and introductory Chinese reading

Intermediate Class Main Courses

Intermediate Intensive Chinese, Chinese Reading, Chinese Pronunciation, Fundamental Writing, Intermediate Chinese Listening Comprehension.

Advanced Class Main Courses

Advanced Chinese, Advanced Chinese Extensive Reading, Advanced Spoken Chinese, Chinese Literature, Applied Chinese Writing, An Introduction to Chinese Culture.

All the classes integrate all the different skills of the language: listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, phonetics and vocabulary. All levels offered Practical, concise and up-to-date materials are used

Electives and Activities

Electives: Chinese painting, Chinese calligraphy, Lecture on Chinese knot, Lecture on Taiji boxing

Activities: Huangpu River Night Cruise, acrobatics show, Shanghai museum, Shanghai museum of Chinese medicine.

Placement Test

Classes are divided into 10 levels so that you will be placed in the right level that suits you the most. An overall placement test including reading, writing, speaking and listening is carried out at the beginning of the program.

Evaluation and Certificates

Small quizzes will be carried out now and then to test the progress made by students. At the end of the Program, a test will be conducted. Participants will receive official diplomas and certificates including transcripts at the end of the Program.

Accommodation

Campus Standard (Double/Single)

All the rooms are furnished with TV, bed, telephone, desk, chair, lamp, private bathroom and air-conditioning. There are communal kitchen and laundry room on each floor. Single and shared occupancy provided. Internet connection is provided.

Homestay

Live with a local family. You will have your own room, with closet, bed, airconditioner and desk. Public shared facilities include kitchen, sitting room and bathroom. Breakfast & dinner is included.

Homestay Exchange

In addition to the conditions provided the same as homestay, you are oblidged to exchange in English with the house owner for one hour per day.

Airport Transfer

Allied Gateway provides free airport arrival-pick-up service for program participants. Our staff will meet you at the arrival gate after you get your luggage and take you to your accommodation. You need to provide us with correct flight information – flight number / flight date / airport name 2 weeks before your program starts. To make sure smooth transition, you will be provided with Allied Gateway contact number before you come to China in case of last minute changes.

What Is Included

Tuition Textbooks Certificate and transcripts Accommodation Allied Gateway Real Life Chinese Instruction Weekend sightseeing excursions and electives Airport arrival-pick-up Orientation package Map of Shanghai and China Small Chinese-English and English-Chinese dictionary Mobile card & pre-paid card (optional) Map of campus and the surrounding area Shanghai metro map English/Chinese menu 24-hour/7-day Allied Gateway emergency contact card Mailing address in both English & Chinese Survival Chinese booklet Orientation on campus and the surrounding area Bank account setting-up Mobile purchasing Visa obtaining support Money exchange assistance Assistance with travel arrangements 24-hours/7-days emergency support On-site on going assistance from Allied Gateway

How to Apply

To apply, you need to meet requirements below

1. Above 16 years old

2. Be in good health



Offer study in China Chinese Language course, Mandarin course, Chinese language training, Mandarin training, Chinese Medicine course, TCM course, Acupuncture course, Acupuncture training, Tuina training, Tuina course, Tui na course, Qigong course, Qi Gong course, Chi Kung course, Chi Kung healing course, Tai Ji course, Chi healing course, Taiji healing course, Tai Ji healing course, Taiji course, Kung Fu course, Wushu course and Martial Arts course in China.

 

Ken Cheong asked:


The Chinese Language and dialects Each province, each city and even each village speaks their own dialect. There are hundreds of Chinese dialects in China so much so that each dialect speaker is not likely to understand another dialect speaker from another village or city. Fortunately, Mandarin, the official dialect, is understood by all dialect speakers.

Let’s learn a few useful basic and common Mandarin words and phrases that will help you break barriers with your Chinese friends.

How are You? -Ni Hao Ma

Also commonly shorten to Ni Hao.

This is likely to be the first Mandarin phrase that you will ever learn. Useful as a greeting or a ice-breaker. Suitable for use with all ages and professions.

Thank You -Xie Xie.

Another polite term that is easy to remember and use.

Very Good -Hen Hao.

This is useful when giving praise for a job or task well done. Also useful as a reply to anyone who says “Ni Hao Ma?’ to you.

Ni Hao Ma? -How are you?

Hen Hao (Very Good)

No Good -Bu Hao

This is useful when there is a need to comment on a shoddy or incomplete job or task. Can also be used as a reply to Ni Hao Ma? but may not be such a good reply.

Ni Hao Ma? -How are you?-

Bu Hao (No Good)

Very Expensive -Hen Gui.

When bargaining at the shops, this is the best term to use when driving a hard bargain.

Don’t want or -No Bu Yao.

This is the best term to use for touts – street hawkers who approach you at every tourist stop to ask you to buy things. Bu Yao….will stop them in their track.

This is beautiful -Hen Piao Liang.

Use this phrase to praise something that is nice or beautiful. May also be used when meeting a pretty girl too!

Taxi -De Shi.

De Shi is the correct term but you should be understood even if you use the English word for Taxi. They sound alike anyway.

Good Bye or See You Again -Zai Jian.

Well, I guess this is another term that will be easily understood even if the English word is used.

Excuse Me -Jie Guo.

There is always a crowd in touristy areas. There are so many Chinese who wants to see the same monuments too. Rather than push your way through the crowd, using the term Jie Guo may just open the path ahead for you!

Receipt -Fa Piao.

Always ask for the receipt or Fa Piao at the shops or from a taxi. This may be useful if you need to complain about a fraud or shoddy product. Also useful if you leave behind your bag or camera in the taxi.

I don’t want -Wo Bu Yao.

Useful when refusing a tout or when offered a drink too many at the Dinner table.

Please visit us at: www.chinese-culture.net for more such useful aticles

Beth Butler asked:


As a mom of two school-aged children, I feel the impending end of summer and the excitement and nervousness of a new school year. Many parents are concerned with having enough funds this year in the family budget for the normal back-to-school spending frenzy. While children concern themselves with the social aspects of the educational journey connected with the school year ahead. It is amusing to witness the differences between the two areas of concern, anxiousness and nervousness.

Often times this part of each year marks a renewed commitment to learning something with more intensity, more mastery than ever before. Be it on the part of the parent saying to himself or herself that they will stay more involved with the studies of their children, thus lending their wisdom and experience towards these endeavors. Or be it the child vowing to apply himself towards a particular area of studies he knows he has been slacking off in or the student who truly hopes to master a new language during the school year.

I will never forget sitting within earshot of a family one day at a local diner. The two teenage sons were discussing with their parents the coming school year and what types of classes they would be hoping to register for. The eldest son seemed keen on discussing his foreign language selection. He had chosen German, and the parents were still questioning him on why he felt that to be the best choice out of the languages offered at his high school.

It was all I could do not to turn around and provide my depth of wisdom and personal experience with having Spanish as my second language for more than thirty years. Here I am living in a country where Spanish is the most requested language program still to date, and this young man was adamant about German being the perfect selection for him. If I had heard foreshadowing of living in Germany, working with a company whose corporate office deemed German as a highly recommended second language, and then I would never have felt an urge to offer my two cents.

This particular family paid their bill, left the diner and never received my free, valuable input! I feel compelled, however, to share what was on the tip of my tongue that morning and remains there on a daily basis as I live the life of a person bilingual in English and Spanish.

With more than 45 million people living in our United States of America speaking Spanish as their native language, and with that number growing by more than 2 million annually, I see Spanish as a second language selection crystal clear! Spanish remains the second most widely spoken language in our country, and in the world it ranks as third. Mandarin is first, English is second and Spanish is third.

I know that the talk is wide spread about making certain your child learns Mandarin which is a dialect of the Chinese language. For many reasons, many of which are too political to bring up in this article based on helping parents and teachers, I will not succumb to that thought process or that notion. Why you might ask?

First of all I want to ask you, how often do you walk around your community or travel across this great United States of America and hear Mandarin being spoken compared to how many times do you hear Spanish being spoken? We all are very aware of the increase every year in our cities and our states in the Latino population. And as savvy parents and educators we realize that being bilingual is no longer an option, it is a necessity.

Again, without getting involved in a political debate about immigration and Latinos learning our English language, I want to stress that the point here is related to which language you and your family should choose to begin the school year with, which second language is going to make your travel through life more successful and full of better opportunities. Spanish is the natural choice for most of us, adult and child alike.

Secondly I would be remiss if I did not point out that the country in which Mandarin is spoken, China, continues to add negatively to the pollution of our world while choosing to spend more than three hundred million dollars on the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in which they are showcasing themselves as a world force to be contended with. I find it so unappealing to introduce their language into my home when I feel the ever-increasing dark shadow of their presence in our country.

With all of that being said, as controversial as it may sound to you, I hear parents and teachers around the United States recommitting themselves to helping provide their children a jump-start on becoming lifetime language learners. With that renewed commitment also comes an awareness of the imminent need to speak both English and Spanish in order to communicate, perform and succeed in our communities with our new Latino friends, colleagues and family members.

Start this school year with a positive outlook on what will make the future of your child even better. Latin? I think not in spite of it being the root of all languages. French? Perhaps, should your child be planning on working with a company connected with Europe or in the travel industry. Mandarin? Do not get me started! Spanish? Absolutely the number one choice still of parents requesting what their children receive along with the decisions connected with schools, both public and private.

Make it a great year ahead. Stay connected with your child, his school, her teachers and their studies. The more you show an interest in what they do daily in connection with their education, the more value they place on the time invested towards their future. A future that is proving to be a very global one. Happy educating to all!