- - - Hey
students...it's very simple really. You must learn those inflections
(tones), those verbs and new vocabulary and how to use them
effectively. Chinese is not a phonetic language. The
pronunciation is not related to the writing of Chinese words (characters).
A special tool called Pinyin (pronouncing the sound) is created for people
to learn Mandarin pronunciation. Pinyin is a way to transcribe Chinese
characters so people can pronounce it. The writing of Pinyin is similar to
English alphabet.
If you listen carefully you will find Chinese is a very beautiful
language as it has more musical sounds (vowels) than noise (consonants).
Except for nasal sound like "n" and "m", all Chinese syllables ends with
vowels. So we call them "Final Sounds". The consonants at the beginning of
a syllable are called "Initial Sounds".
Most of Mandarin sounds are Easy for English speaker
to pronounce but some sounds are Difficult and require more practice. So
practice daily. Speak out loud. I learned in grad school that you will
make 250,000 errors before you become "minimally proficient" in Chinese...so do not be afraid to make
errors. Practice. I used to tell my students that errors are "lessons in
wisdom." So get started today and make lots of
errors and "get them out of the way!"
My best students were never hesitant to speak up and to try new
utterances. You do the same and you will succeed! So get busy and check
out all these helpful sites below that are aimed to help you become
proficient in Chinese. They
practically do your homework for you.
GOOD LUCK
Maplandia for China from GOOGLE China Google Satellite map that maps China locations.
Maplandia.com enables you to explore everywhere in China through detailed
satellite imagery - fast and easy as never before.
Chinese Character Flashcards A Java applet to assist in the learning of Chinese characters.
Currently the 1,000 most frequently used characters are in the database
but I hope to add more as time goes on. Test your pin-yin and Cantonese
romanization. Also shows English translation.
BiShun Learn Chinese Characters with Animated Stroke
Order.
China Travel/Shanghai Expo 2010 China Travel has selected 14 hotels that are well located
around the site of Shanghai Expo 2010 as well as the best possible price.
Cantonese: Cantonese is
spoken by about 66 million people mainly in the south east of China,
particularly in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. It is
also spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and
among Overseas Chinese communities in many other countries. In many
schools in Hong Kong and Macau, Cantonese is the medium of instruction,
though the students are taught to read and write standard Chinese, which
they read with Cantonese pronunciation. Cantonese is also the main
language of business, the media and government in both Hong Kong and
Macau.
Kids Learn Chinese
Online Games Here are some fun and
interactive online games that teach kids Chinese. I made them for my own
kids to play with to learn Chinese, and I hope you and your kids will have
fun with them as well.
A Chinese calendar has been in
continuous use for centuries. It predates the International Calendar
(based on the Gregorian Calendar) in use at the present, which goes back
only some 430 years. Basically, a calendar is a system we use to measures
the passage of time, from short durations of minutes and hours, to
intervals of time measured in days, months, years and centuries. These are
fundamentally based on the astronomical observations of the movement of
the Sun, Moon and stars. Days are measured by the duration of time of one
self rotation of the earth. Months are measured by the duration of time of
rotation of the moon around the earth. Years are measured by the duration
of time it takes for the earth to rotate around the Sun.
Attn. Users: I will now put all NEW SITES at the top of this
column.
This page provides access to online courses for both Cantonese
and Mandarin, information about Chinese characters and writing,
Chinese/English/Chinese dictionaries, current events, cultural
information, grammar, vocabulary activities, tutorials, podcasts &
blogs, Free and Fee-based software, other selected resources and general
information.
Providing a
collaborative resource center for Mandarin teachers and learners.
Featuring - Free downloadable two-year program that can be used in
classrooms (including voice files).
A new FT series examines the growing
influence of China and its impact on economies and markets around the
globe. FT correspondents on five continents write about the financial,
military, diplomatic and cultural dimensions of the country grise, with
video reports and interactive graphics..
Welcome to Learning Chocolate
Welcome to
Learning Chocolate! This Chinese web site aims to help students to
memorize vocabulary in an easy and efficient way, by using pictures,
sounds and games. Try the games and enjoy learning, like eating
chocolate. Nice new site!
This one provides an instant translation as you type | It is a great site...check
it out! Talk about a site that does your homework...here it is!
"This may be one of my all-time
favorite sites." Jim B your webmaster here.
* * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Like the one
above, this site rates very high
It is called ===> FREE TRANSLATION
Welcome to the K-12 Chinese
Language Classes. You can navigate this online classroom by clicking the
following lessons. From book 1 to book 7, you will learn how to read and
write in Chinese. To test your mastery of the lesson material, click the
quiz.
This dictionary
contains over 40,000 entries. Each dictionary entry has this pattern :
Chinese (traditional-simplified) - Pinyin - English. Pinyin is Chinese
written in Western script.
Chinese History for
Beginners
Condensed China is an introduction
to Chinese history. It exists to inform, enlighten, and attract netizens
interested in China.
These Mandarin Chinese lessons have been
designed to provide practical travel vocabulary and a foundation for
basic conversational skills through a simple listen and repeat format.
Don't get frustrated if you find some of the phrases difficult to
pronounce at first. Many of the sounds will be new, and saying them may
be a challenge in the beginning.
Free
Mandarin Chinese Lessons with sound
These Mandarin Chinese
lessons have been designed to provide practical travel vocabulary and a
foundation for basic conversational skills through a simple listen and
repeat format.
Sounds, Grammar, Vocabulary and more. Great
site. Don't miss it.
Mandarin
Network
Mandarin Network is one of the first
online companies to focus on teaching the Chinese language with over 100
different video lessons.
Chinese-Tools/Free
Online Mandarin
Learn Mandarin Chinese
quickly and easily! 40 online lessons with audio, including reading,
speaking, writing, modern vocabulary, grammar, calligraphy, examples and
exercices. All texts and dialogs in mp3 format for download.
Welcome to Learn
Chinese Website. This website will provide some methods and skills to
people who learn Chinese. Hope the website can help you to overcome the
difficulties to study Chinese language and Chinese
characters.
You will hear the
main dialogues at normal conversation speed. This may seem quite fast
initially, but if you work through the exercises as listed below you
will soon understand each word, and will also be able to apply what you
have learned to real situations. .
Learn Chinese via Live
Online Lessons. When you learn Chinese with us, you can actually see and
talk with our Chinese teachers (not pre-recorded)! Our lessons are
conducted live using Video Instant Messengers such as Skype.
Live the
Language Mandarin School specialises in offering full immersion Chinese
Language Courses in Beijing. Ranging from two weeks to a full academic
year (two semesters), they include Home Stay Options, learning Kong Fu
in Chinese and intensive Mandarin Classes. Upon completion of the course
free internship placements with Chinese Companies in a full Chinese
Language environment are offered.
Mandarin sites
GOOD LUCK 
...
Attn. Users: I will now put all NEW SITES at the top of this
column.
Aussie Educator for the Chinese Language
Online Chinese Site w/Sound
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