I think that input and exposure will be the key factor that determines whether I can learn to speak Mandarin, as I don't live in China or at the moment have any contact with Chinese speakers. I suppose that I could learn to read and even write Mandarin from books and other printed material. But no matter how hard I study, I will surely need to listen to Mandarin to understand the spoken language and once I can hear it in my head I can progress to making myself understood.
I think that input and exposure will be the key factor that determines whether I can learn to speak Mandarin, as I don't live in China or at the moment have any contact with Chinese speakers. I suppose that I could learn to read and even write Mandarin from books and other printed material. But no matter how hard I study, I will surely need to listen to Mandarin to understand the spoken language and once I can hear it in my head I can progress to making myself understood.
Podcasts are an amazing way to pick up input. There is far more material available than on a CD or two included with a book and it looks like the material is going to keep on coming and is more likely to be upto date. It is easy to fit podcasts even around a busy schedule.
The best I have found so far are the huge number of podcasts available at www.chinesepod.com and the growing number available at the blog of Serge Melnyks. There are many many hours of listening practice which are going to be a great benefit to my learning.
Do try, I am sure you will find both useful.
Thinking about podcasts and language learning has given me a couple of ideas, but I will leave those to develop for my next post.
1 comment:
As convenient as podcasts are, you really ought to try to get a conversation partner or a tutor if there's any way you possibly can. I'm all for input, but you need at least some external monitoring and correction.
Post a Comment