How to Find the Best Online Chinese Language Learning Program
Article by Danny C. Miller
Want to study Chinese online? Excellent! There are lots of wonderful products to choose from. Unfortunately, a lot of not so amazing programs have also been thrown into the mix. You'll also find programs that could be good for some but not so good for others, including you. So, how can you weave your way through the mess and discover the course that's right for your needs? Ask the 3 questions below and you will discover the Chinese language learning program that's most effective for you.
Question 1: Does it Offer a Free Trial?
This is quite uncomplicated, yet it is important. Never buy a program that does not provide a free trial. All respected packages have them. In addition, to discover the data I am going to outline for you down the page, you'll want to get inside the actual application.
Question 2: Does it Cover the 4 Core Language Learning Components?
A good Chinese language learning program will cover each of the 4 core language learning components, which are reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Even if your main end goal is to speak Mandarin, you cannot neglect the other three components. Why? Because together they dramatically improve the quality of your learning. For example, it would be quite challenging to understand the way to pronounce Chinese tones if you didn't first learn to read pinyin.
Learning how to write? That's a great way to master Chinese sentence structure, which is something you should understand if you wish to speak in a fluent and natural way. Perhaps most significantly, your mind learns in a variety of ways, and if you stick to only one learning style, you will become fatigued and bored. Should you mix things up, on the other hand, you will stay fresh, and you will definitely retain information and facts far better, when compared with concentrating on an individual core learning component.
Why have I discussed this? Because I've seen, these days, a lot of brand new web-based software programs that focus, almost exclusively, on! audio p rograms. It's Podcast this and Podcast that all over the place! Don't get me wrong. The audio component of any web-based Chinese language learning program is the bread and butter of the program, so it's okay that businesses focus on it. Prior to putting your hard-earned dollars on the table, though, make sure that you are acquiring a complete program, one that supplies reading, writing, listening, and speaking training, not just a bunch of MP3 audio files.
Question 3: What's the Price Structure
There's something that drives me totally mad, and it will probably drive you mad too--tiered pricing. I found a course like this just recently. It was a subscription-based course that was only a few dollars a month. Fairly fair, it seemed. But then I logged into the course and found that I could access only the audio programs. I was blocked whenever i attempted to download the dialogues. I was rejected when I tried to view the learning games. The door was slammed in my face when I tried to get into the forums.
Those activities were reserved for "Premium Subscribers." Well, some of those things, anyway. Other things were available only to "Gold Members." To gain access to full course, I discovered, you needed to spend per month, or 0 per annum (if you did not pay on a yearly basis the cost was higher). That's absurd! The top Chinese language learning software applications on the market can be purchased outright for around a hundred dollars.
Am I saying to avoid all subscription-based services that have tiered pricing? No, but here is what I am stating. Whenever checking out these kinds of packages, look exclusively at the most pricy choice. That is the only one you'll be able to use. All the other choices are merely teasers.
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