User Comments - stevemisch
stevemisch
Posted on: Mysterious Visitor
June 6, 2009 at 1:38 AMGreat teamwork Ken and Jenny. Jenny adds the awesome proununciation and bicultural handholding, while Ken thinks just like me and anticipates my (foreigner) thoughts about the language.
Posted on: Homesick
June 4, 2009 at 12:27 AMKen and Jenny, this is SUPER HELPFUL when you take 30 seconds at the end and have Jenny repeat, one mo' time, the key words. If you could do it on ALL LESSONS it would be awesome!
Posted on: Why are You Studying Chinese?
June 2, 2009 at 2:51 AMI noticed that when I'm trying to learn a new word I focus on the pinyin and am proud if I remember it, MINUS THE TONES. Then it occurred to me that this is how I learned English. Since most of us enter with this primordial handicap, might I ask that the TONE SYMBOLS be made MUCH LARGER, partly to give them greater EMPHASIS in the foreigner brain, but also for those of us, a bit older, that have trouble seeing these really small tone marks--that leave really small tone marks in my brain?
Posted on: Dinner Guest
June 1, 2009 at 2:00 AMShenyajin, Thanks so much for this LARGE CLARIFICATION of a seemingly small point--a small epiphany for me. I always new this meant "you're welcome," but I didn't know why or what it literally meant until this lesson (and they didn't point it out).
And, I actually do find it useful to translate literally, to understand the construction, then I can throw the terms around more casually/interchangably. Thanks again. stevemisch@hotmail.com
Posted on: Dinner Guest
May 30, 2009 at 3:25 AMOMG...I just realized that this "ke qi" is the same as "you're welcome," "bu ke qi." Is this so?!? Monumental! And you guys didn't point that out to us simpletons?
And, similar, but not same as "bie ke qi?" First means "not formal," second means "don't be formal?"
Posted on: Big Bed
May 30, 2009 at 2:01 AMWould be helpful if slightly less banter from Ken, and in this saved 30 seconds use a quick vocab review at the end like you've done with some lessons. The banter DOES make it more approachable, but if it was trimmed a bit your warm personalities would still make it inviting.
For example, details/specifics are useful--there was no explanation on why "ge" was used with standard room and "jian" was measure word with big bed room.
And just banging out the key vocab really cements it. Thank you.
Posted on: Hong Kong Visa Run
March 24, 2009 at 1:43 PMHave you ever noticed that when you go to click on the "matching" exercise you always have to click on it twice? Or is it just me?
Posted on: This room is too small
March 23, 2009 at 2:47 PMVocab review with Jenny at end of lessons really useful summary and takes only 25 seconds.
Would help if accent marks would be bigger for those of us over 50 :-)
Similarly, the exercises with numbers for the tones is annoying--I never do them...to awkward.
Any lessons to be learned from Pimsleur would be great if applied to your programs--their lessons go in really comfortably and stick well.
Posted on: Mysterious Visitor
June 6, 2009 at 1:39 AMKen, thanks for clearing up the difference between building # and floor number--I was confused for a long time about this.