User Comments - dorothycowling

Posted on: Whatever, I Don't Care

ChinesePod lessons are the best, especially now that we are getting all these fabulous video versions. Being able to see the face of the speaker is so helpful!

Some of us don't have access to the internet whenever we want to practise. So, I'd like to suggest that a PDF version be made available of lessons, from elementary up, showing the characters and English translation, but without the pinyin. This would help those of us who want to wean ourselves off dependence on pinyin. Of course, I am not suggesting that this replace the present version, but be in addition to it.

Posted on: I'm Just Not That Bothered

I really like the new page setup. It is so much easier now to re-play the dialogue or lesson while looking at the dialogue on the RHS of the page. Thanks for another improvement to this wonderful learning resource!

Posted on: Booking a Flight Over The Phone

 The visibilitý of the characters against the yellow background is very clear!

Great lesson and lots of fun.

Posted on: Would You Like Some Tea?

Thanks Gwilym. You have done a good job! One thing though, I can read the white characters, but I find them a little bit fuzzy against the aqua background. I don't dislike the background but the edges of the characters are a bit indistinct. Would the characters look clearer if they were black instead of white?

Posted on: Would You Like Some Tea?

Just remember, friends, that this is a newbie lesson. Pinyin and translation would help us understand what you are saying.

Posted on: Would You Like Some Tea?

I love the format also! It's much easier to follow in the video than when only listening to the sound-track.

I would prefer to have the pinyin font this small, because Roman letters are very easy for English speakers to recognise. Having the characters much larger than the pinyin highlights the characters for me and makes it easier to recognise them next time I see them. I can easily read the pinyin on my computer screen and on my iPod mini. I do agree that the purple colour is a little difficult to see against the background, but it's not impossible.  

For me it is important that you continue to make the non-video format available as well because I can then listen on my phone and use the app. I guess this means that the structure of the lesson has to work equally well in both media.

It would be great to have this format for elementary lessons also. Thanks ChinesePod team!

Posted on: Buying Souvenirs

Thanks for the replies! I realise that I have learned quite a lot already. 

I realise also that learning Mandarin is a long journey and that persistence pays off in the long run. I guess I needed a bit of reassurance at this stage in my learning. Let's keep encouraging one another!

Posted on: Buying Souvenirs

Oh dear, I have been spending at least an hour a day on ChinesePod for the last year and I still fail badly in the placement test. I cannot fill in the blanks on most of the first questions in the test. 

Do I stay on Newbie lessons until I can do better, or do I just keep on going on elementary and early intermediate lessons? I enjoy these much more than the Newbie lessons.

Have other poddies any suggestions for me?

Posted on: What time do you get up?

我在七时三刻开始工作。Wǒ zài yījiā qī shí sìshíwǔ kāishǐ gōngzuò.

Is this natural Chinese for 'I start work at a quarter to eight'?

Posted on: Can Your Kid Speak Yet?

Wǒ xuéhuì de dì yī jù zhōngwén shì ‘jīntiān tiānqì bùcuò’. Zài jīchǎng zuò zài fùjìn de rén shuí kànle zhōngguó. Zài yīngyǔ wèn nǐ, shì nǎlǐ lái? Láizì zhōngguó. Wǒ shuō jīntiān tiānqì bùcuò. Tā jiě wǒ!

 The first sentence I learned in Chinese was ‘The weather’s nice today’. I was sitting in an airport near a man who appeared to be Chinese. I asked him, in English, “Where are you from?” He replied, “From China”. So I said, 今天天气不错。He understood me!

I also would appreciate comments! Thanks friends!