Language World

China

Platform: Mac OS, Windows 95 / Me / 2000 / XP / NT / 98
Media: CD-ROM
Features:

• Award-winning program selected by the U.S. State Department, the Peace Corps and NASA
• Over 800 real-life color pictures and phrases spoken by native speakers
• Curriculum with 12 activities in each of 22 lessons (ages 6 and older)
• Develops all key language skills: Listening Comprehension, Reading, Speaking and Writing
• Previews, tests and automated tutorials that "learn" where you need extra help

Now you can learn a new language with the award-winning method used by the U.S. State Department to train diplomats. Proven effective by NASA astronauts, Peace Corps volunteers, and millions of students worldwide, the Rosetta Stone Language Library teaches new languages faster and easier than ever before.

We all learn our childhood language by associating new words and phrases with the world around us. The Rosetta Stone method replicates this process by presenting vivid, real-life images to convey the meaning of each new phrase. Instead of translating, memorizing, and studying rules of grammar, you actually learn to think in the new language. Vocabulary and grammar are integrated systematically, leading to everyday proficiency. It's the natural way to learn.

The Rosetta Stone Explorer contains 22 lessons for beginning learners with nearly 900 real-life images and phrases spoken by native speakers. It develops all key language skills--listening comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing--while its systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists and drills. Includes previews, exercises, and tests for every lesson, with automated tutorials throughout the program. (Ages 6 and older)

System requirements
PC:

• Windows 95/98 or NT/2000
• Pentium 100 class processor
• 32 MB RAM
• 40 MB free hard drive space
• 4X CD-ROM drive
• 16-bit color display
• 16-bit Windows compatible sound card
• Speech Recognition feature requires a Pentium 100 class processor (or better) and a microphone

MAC:

• Mac OS 8.1 or later
• PowerPC processor
• 32 MB RAM
• 40 MB free hard drive space
• 4X CD-ROM drive
• 16-bit color display
• Speech Recognition feature requires a PowerPC 90 processor (or better) and a PlainTalk compatible microphone

This item can only be shipped within the USA.

Platform: Mac OS, Windows 95 / 98 / Me
Media: CD-ROM
Features:

• Cantonese language learning software
• Study vocabulary, phrases, culture, and more
• Recording tool lets you practice with native speakers
• Games and challenging quizzes make learning fun
• On-screen help available in more than 70 languages

This unconventional language-learning series offers games and quizzes that make the learning process fun, relaxing, and, as such, more successful. Ideal for beginners, Talk Now! Cantonese includes such topics as vocabulary, phrases, culture, and more. A handy print and picture dictionary produces entries with both text and pictorial references. This interactive software title also features a recording tool, so you can compare your pronunciation to that of native speakers (microphone required). Quizzes and a challenging memory game let you test your newly acquired skills. You can also track your scores and print awards to celebrate. Best of all, you can change Talk Now! Cantonese's onscreen help and menus to the language of your choice. With more than 70 languages from which to choose, this software makes learning Cantonese accessible to everyone.

Or Buy in: UK

Includes a 3,000 word mini-dictionary

Click UK or Canada to check for price and availability in those countries.

If you want to visit China, GET THIS BOOK, April 18, 2002
Reviewer: A reader from Tallahassee, Florida USA
You can't learn Chinese from a phrasebook. This book is great because it has the Chinese characters in it. It is well thought out and has color coded sections. I found it great when I visited Shanghai, Hagzhou, and Qingdao. If you don't speak the language you will love this book. It helps you get what you want done. Whether you want to order at a restaurant or find a hotel or get to the train station or many more, you will use it.

Click UK or Canada to check for price and availability in those countries.

very good with a little bit of dedication, April 10, 2001
Reviewer: Stacie from kentucky
I found a few translation mistakes, but most are corrected later on by giving the other correct definition (though you may want a dictionary to be sure which is which). There weren't too many though, and I'm sure most any foreign language book is bound to have a few. What I really loved about this book was that in addition to the pinyin, they also gave the pronunciation piece by piece the way it would really be written in English-it's the only book I've seen that's done that, and for that added help on the pronuciation (which you could very easily mess up using only the pinyin) I would recommend this book.

But it's not only that: it offers most of the vocab you would NEED while in China, and though it doesn't have much to offer in the way of grammar, you can get by with only a little bit of confusion with the words and limited gramatical structure you pick up in the book.

And just in case it doesn't mention it in the description: this is Mandarin Chinese: which is spoken in Beijing, and not the Cantonese which is spoken in Hong Kong.

Click UK or Canada to check for price and availability in those countries.

One of the best Chinese-English dictionaries around., July 29, 1999
Reviewer: licylate@yahoo.com from Sydney, Australia
This is an excellent Chinese to English dictionaries containing over 7300 characters and 120,000 entries thereunder. The definitions are clear, concise and accurate; the print is sufficiently large, and, more importantly, clearly printed. The dictionary itself is not inordinately large, so as to be inconvenient to carry around. It is well bound, and the paper is of high quality; the book is surprisingly thin for one of some 2000 pages. The arrangement of the characters is by the traditional Kangxi radicals, by far the best method of arranging a dictionary; included is a table of characters whose radicals are difficult to identify, thereby making it easier to find these characters. In short, this is by far the best medium-sized Chinese-English dictionary available that I've seen.

Click UK or Canada to check for price and availability in those countries.

This new edition of the Oxford Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary has been extensively revised and updated to reflect the most recent developments in English and Chinese. An ideal tool for study, the dictionary now provides authoritative coverage of over 26,000 words and phrases from every major field of reference, including science and technology, in addition to core general vocabulary. Simplified and orthodox Chinese characters are used throughout the dictionary, and thousands of examples illustrate and expand on how and when a word can be used. Also including a guide to the most commonly used radicals and an additional key to the pronunciation of Chinese, this dictionary is an indispensable reference tool.

Click UK or Canada to check for price and availability in those countries.

Written in a reference-and-practice format, Basic Chinese introduces beginners to the fundamental elements of the language. Comprehensively written, this book covers simple sentences and elementary grammatical categories. Basic Chinese is the first volume in a two volume set; learners may follow with Intermediate Chinese. With keys to the exercises and a glossary of lexical terms, this grammar and workbook is perfect for individual or classroom use.

Click UK or Canada to check for price and availability in those countries.

Easy Chinese Tutor (Level One), is designed for those who want to learn the Chinese language on their own with the help of a computer. As an individualized tutorial program, ECTutor can also be flexibly used to supplemental regular instruction. ECTutor is far superior to its predecessor, the Easy Chinese (Level One), in both content organization and the number of learning tools. This program is unique because it is based on the author's own instructional model that was specifically created for teaching Chinese as a second language.

ECTutor is intended to help the learner develop a solid background in basic Chinese. Although it also teaches the learner to speak Mandarin Chinese, its emphasis, however, is on the written language.ECTutor differs from other Chinese language programs in at least the following ways:

First, you learn Chinese one step at a time. Each step is small, gradual, and manageable. You will never be overwhelmed by the amount of material to be learned at any given time. In fact, each step consists of no more than three new characters.

Second, learning is very precise, you know exactly what to expect and what to accomplish. Since the program is self-paced, you can move as fast as you can. Or you can take as much time as you want to thoroughly learn the material provided in any given step.

Third, learning is highly structured and systematic. By design, each Chinese character in the learning sequence has a special role to play: to build up and expand your language network. Thus, you don't just learn the characters or words in isolation; you learn them as the necessary components in the formation of a network of links, connections, and associations. It is assumed that the more links you have in your language network, the more efficient you will become in the acquisition of the Chinese language.

The first course (ECTutor I) is designed for those who have never studied the Chinese language before. It assumes no prior background in the Chinese language. The second course (ECTutor II) is now available.Other features of this self-study or tutorial course include the following:

1. Shows both traditional and simplified characters in the same course.
2. Emphasizes all four areas of language learning: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
3. Offers a variety of learning tools, exercises, and tests.
4. Shows several different ways to learn a Chinese character.
5. Uses diagrams and boxes to explain sentence structures.
6. Includes both pinyin and zhuyin in the Mandarin version.
7. Provides templates for printing hollow Chinese characters.
8. Provides numerous logical cues and examples to facilitate learning.
9. Is based on sound learning and instructional principles.

great for the price, June 26, 2002
Reviewer: ericaford from New York, NY USA
This program offers a lot of value for how much it costs. It is the best audio Chinese program you can buy in its price category. Pimsleur did a good job on this one. I particularly appreciated how they explained how to pronounce the pinyin equivalent of "ren." They said that this was pronounced not with a R but a cross between an R and Y. As you know, Mandarin is a language that does not always map 1 to 1 over to English. This great explanation on how to pronounce a difficult word for Westerners learning Chinese typifies the thorough research Pimsleur did to create this program.

Click UK or Canada to check for price and availability in those countries.

Learn Mandarin Chinese at home or on the go with the most complete, up-to-date program available! Developed by the experts at Living Language, this deluxe course has everything you need to speak and understand Mandarin Chinese, with sections that will help you begin to read and write Chinese characters. Ultimate Mandarin Chinese combines conversation with grammar and culture in an easy-to-follow, enjoyable, and effective format.

Click UK or Canada to check for price and availability in those countries.

With Pimsleur Language Programs you don't just study a language, you learn it -- the same way you mastered English! And because the technique relies on interactive spoken language training, the Pimsleur Language Programs are totally audio -- no book is needed!

The Pimsleur programs provide a method of self-practice with an expert teacher and native speakers in lessons specially designed to work with the way the mind naturally acquires language information. The various components of language -- vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar -- are all learned together without rote memorization and drills. Using a unique method of memory recall developed by renowned linguist, Dr. Paul Pimsleur, the programs teach listeners to combine words and phrases to express themselves the way native speakers do. By listening and responding to thirty minute recorded lessons, students easily and effectively achieve spoken proficiency.

No other language program or school is as quick, convenient, and effective as the Pimsleur Language Programs.

The Comprehensive Program is the ultimate in spoken language learning. For those who want to become proficient in the language of their choice, the Comprehensive programs go beyond the Basic Programs to offer spoken-language fluency. Using the same simple method of interactive self-practice with native speakers, these comprehensive programs provide a complete language learning course. The Comprehensive Program is available in a wide variety of languages and runs through three levels (thirty lessons each) in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. At the end of a full Comprehensive Program listeners will be conducting complete conversations and be well on their way to mastering the language. The Comprehensive Programs are all available on cassettes and are also on CD in the six languages in which we offer the Basic Program on CD.

Click UK or Canada to check for price and availability in those countries.

Platform: Mac OS, Windows Me / NT / 2000 / XP / 98 / 95
Media: CD-ROM
Features:

• Award-winning program selected by the U.S. State Department, the Peace Corps and NASA
• Over 3500 real-life color pictures and phrases spoken by native speakers
• Curriculum with 12 activities in each of 92 lessons (ages 6 and older)
• Develops all key language skills: Listening Comprehension, Reading, Speaking and Writing
• Previews, tests and automated tutorials that "learn" where you need extra help

Learn a new language with the award-winning method used by the U.S. State Department to train diplomats. Proven effective by NASA astronauts, Peace Corps volunteers, and millions of students worldwide, the Rosetta Stone Language Library teaches new languages faster and easier than ever before.

We all learn our childhood language by associating new words and phrases with the world around us. The Rosetta Stone method replicates this process by presenting vivid, real-life images to convey the meaning of each new phrase. Instead of translating, memorizing, and studying rules of grammar, you actually learn to think in the new language. Vocabulary and grammar are integrated systematically, leading to everyday proficiency.

The Rosetta Stone Level I program offers a comprehensive course of study for beginning learners, leading to intermediate proficiency. The program contains over 3,500 real-life images and phrases in 92 lessons and more than 250 hours of mastery instruction in listening comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing. Systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists and drills. There are reviews, exercises, and tests for every lesson with automated tutorials throughout the program. (Ages 6 and older)

System Requirements:
PC:

• Windows 95/98 or NT/2000
• Pentium 100 class processor
• 32 MB RAM
• 40 MB free hard drive space
• 4X CD-ROM drive
• 16-bit color display
• 16-bit Windows compatible sound card
• Speech Recognition feature requires a Pentium 100 class processor (or better) and a microphone

MAC:

• Mac OS 8.1 or later
• PowerPC processor
• 32 MB RAM
• 40 MB free hard drive space
• 4X CD-ROM drive
• 16-bit color display
• Speech Recognition feature requires a PowerPC 90 processor (or better) and a PlainTalk compatible microphone

Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.