Chinese is easier to learn than most people imagine, but it must be clearly explained. For example, one of the biggest challenges for Westerners is the fact that each syllable must be pronounced with one of five very different tones. Two words can have the exact same letters, like ma, but they can mean either mother or horse depending on which tones are used. While these tones are very difficult to learn by simply listening to them and hoping to imitate them, a simple, common sense explanation in English (comparing familiar English sounds with each tone) can go a long way to mastering them and to navigating the many exceptions and changes that govern their use.
Using English can make all the difference in understanding "measure words," a key concept in Chinese that is absent from Western grammars. There is no way a learner can grasp when and how to use the right "measure words" unless the concept is explained and practiced in English. Mere imitation of expressions is simply no substitute for a good understanding of what's going on.
The Fluenz recording engine helps people hone their use of tones through self comparison, which makes far more sense than voice recognition systems that are so finely tuned to the five tones that it becomes very difficult to get it right. While voice recognition has advanced in recent years, its use in the learning of Chinese by English speakers can actually hamper learning by forcing them to meet impossible standards. Beginning Mandarin speakers should first focus on being understood, not on achieving a perfect pitch.
What can be accomplished by the end?
By the end of Fluenz Mandarin 1+2+3, you'll be able to construct sentences as complex as "I'll give you a call after my appointment tomorrow so that we can plan what to do about the meeting. It's going to be on Friday now, not tomorrow."
1. Build a Strong Foundation
Fluenz Mandarin begins by teaching how to form questions and statements that are useful on day one, and that can be intuitively understood by English speakers (i.e. "The check, please," "I want this dish"). The Fluenz team felt this was more relevant than phrases such as "The man in running," typically found in other programs. For example, after only the first four sessions of level one, learners are already able to have effective conversations in a restaurant.
2. Describe Location and Directions
The program then shifts to describing and asking about location. In this way users can learn the basics of how crucial verbs work while advancing their vocabulary related to transportation and travel. Instead of memorizing words and pictures, Fluenz users actually get to understand how questions and phrases such as "Where is the hotel?" and "I'm going to the museum" both work and are used in everyday life.
3. Gain Confidence With Your Verbs
Mandarin verbs can be easier to learn than expected because they don't require conjugations, femmenine or masculine endings, and no plural agreements. Because Fluenz has been designed from the point of view of English-speakers learning Mandarin, the program takes advantage of this fact to accelerate the learning process.
4. Valuable Descriptive Terms
Because language without description lacks life and color, Fluenz puts great emphasis on how to add this important dimension to your interactions. Plus, when traveling or living in China, nothing is going to be more helpful than "bigger," "smaller," "less expensive," and those other adjectives that both make sense to English speakers and are easily used in forming sentences.
5. Building Blocks of Sophisticated Communication
Since the key to fluency in Mandarin is being able to use all of the most common parts of speech, Fluenz covers a wide range of central grammar issues. Learning key elements in Mandarin such as word order and commands, you'll be able to correctly form ever more complex sentences and express yourself with solid, confident Mandarin.
6. Understand Directions and Transportation
Giving and receiving directions is both a way to continue building the essential tools of Mandarin communication and a way to develop the skills anyone traveling will always need. Fluenz creates a path that gives English speakers complete control over the critical vocabulary and structures for asking questions, indicating directions, negotiating transportation, and explaining locations, all within the very specific circumstances of contemporary China.
7. Easily Handle Numbers and Time
After thorough workouts enabling learners to talk about location with ease, Fluenz makes sure you master numbers and, therefore, time. From counting to telling the time, Fluenz users gain control over a wide range of time-specific communication. Once time and location are joined, it becomes possible to form complex questions and statements in a variety of situations, such as planning trips or making appointments..
8. Understand Directions and Transportation
Throughout the program, your ability to interact in shopping situations is steadily improved. Fluenz works on the critical verb "to want" in the very beginning, and soon enough you learn how to ask about prices, make comparisons between different items, and express exactly what you're looking for. By the end of the program, you'll be able to handle shopping, ever important price negotiations in markets and shops all over China, and other purchasing situations with ease.
9. Make Plans with Conditions and Possibilities
Fluenz gives you the tools to make detailed plans, whether a lunch date with a friend, a business meeting, or travel abroad, using the nuanced tenses that allow you to express condition and possibility.
10. Discuss Family and Describe People
As your Mandarin becomes more complex and flexible, conversations will move from basic needs and wants to sharing personal stories and background. Beyond telling stories, however, the vocabulary used to describe family can translate into a multiplicity of scenarios and give you the capacity to describe people whether looking for someone in a restaurant or talking about your favorite movie star.
From dining situations to making plans with friends, being able to express your opinions and preferences is a key component to everyday language. The program introduces the verbs that will empower you in shopping and negotiating situations ("I prefer the blue one"), making plans ("I think we should go tomorrow if it isn't raining"), and discussing an endless number of topics from politics to sports ("I wish I could play tennis, but I think I'm a good soccer player").
12. Mandarin for the Workplace
Fluenz Mandarin has been used by executives who work at Microsoft, Intel, HP, by students at the Harvard Business School and other universities, senior personnel at UNICEF and other international institutions because they were either going to China or were already working there. Fluenz equips you with the tools to handle scheduling, negotiation and formal conversations, while providing you with the strongest possible foundation in the language from which to expand your vocabulary to suite your field of expertise. Most importantly, you'll be learning how to engage in conversations from day one, which means you can start using your Mandarin in the workplace right away.
13. Advanced Concepts
Once you've established a foundation in how the language works, it is time to add more life to your Mandarin by expanding not only your vocabulary, but also your comfort with a variety of familiar expressions and sentence structures. As the program progresses, you'll acquire tools to hold conversations with the present progressive, the simple past and the past participle, the use of conditionals, relevant vocabulary, a number of all important "measure words", expanding vocabulary for descriptions, and a great deal of emphasis on word order. The more advanced sessions focus on work-related activities, such as making appointments and visiting factories.
14. Ideal for Communicating Wherever People Speak Mandarin
While Mandarin is an ancient and beautiful language, it is also the means of daily communication for over a billion people. Fluenz Mandarin has been designed to strike the right balance between its legacy and its dynamic nature, providing a firm basis for travel, living, and further study in China and Taiwan, and to communicate with the ever larger number of Mandarin speakers in Macau, Hong Kong, and communities from New York to Singapore.
12. A Winning Team
Sonia Gil's experiences learning Mandarin in China and Yi Wei's native mastery of the language provide the ideal tutoring experience for English-speakers.
A few selected screenshots. Click to view larger versions.
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 The Fluenz leverage learning approach is far superior to any competitor, especially for adults. |
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| As an American-born native Cantonese speaker, I've found Fluenz to be the ideal segue to learning Mandarin. Sonia's instruction has been both helpful and effective. |
* All corporate names, trademarks, and institutional affiliations are for identification purposes only, and do not constitute any form of approval or endorsement of Fluenz or its products.
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