It’s cool to speak Chinese. And if you don’t believe me, watch this video. It’s loaded with famous actors like Keanu Reeves and Bruce Willis speaking snippets of Chinese in different movies, sometimes with hilarious results. Don’t miss the final clip near the end of the video. It’s priceless (Warning: It contains plenty of swearing.)
Aug 262011
Aug 212011
I have recently been learning the parts of the body in Chinese and came across a fun interactive lesson I’d like to recommend to you. This lesson, which is courtesy of LanguageGuide.org, shows a picture of the human body. You simply move your cursor over the appropriate body part to hear the Chinese word as audio. The body part is also shown in Chinese and pinyin. Here’s the link.
And while we’re on the topic of body parts, here’s a video that will also help you learn Chinese body parts vocabulary.
Is Yangyang the best Chinese teacher teacher online? In my opinon, yes, she probably is. Here are a few reasons why.
Yangyang clearly has a passion for teaching Mandarin Chinese. She has dedicated a lot of time to teaching Chinese and has excellent credentials and experience.
She has the best Chinese instructional videos for beginners on the internet. These videos are extremely well produced and she was born to be in front of the camera.
Her website is excellent with superb resources such as her lists of common Chinese mistakes made by English speakers.
Her English is superb and her pronunciation excellent.
She makes learning fun.
And she is extremely organized.
I don’t know Yangyang. I’ve never met her and never even emailed her. But I admire her passion for teaching Mandarin Chinese. Yangyang, keep up the good work!
Aug 192011
I purchased a Chinese-English visual dictionary when I was in Hong Kong earlier this year. What a wonderful book! This Chinese dictionary is beautifully designed with pictures and the corresponding simplified Chinese characters, pinyin, and of course English.
My Chinese friend said the book would be “great for kids”. But then she started browsing and discovered a few words even she didn’t know. The book contains over 6000 words and phrases.
I don’t use this Chinese-English dictionary as my primary source of translation (I use an iPhone app for that) but instead leave it on my coffee table and browse it from time to time.
If you are visually oriented like I am, I suggest you pick it up. I paid HK$144.40. The printed price is GBP8.99.
The book is published by Dorling Kindersley. You can buy it at Amazon and other online bookstores.