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In-Depth Reviews And Recommendations - Without The BS

Rocket Chinese Review – Improved But Other Courses Are Better

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Quick Review
Summary: In the past, Rocket Chinese was among the worst online language courses I tried. Fortunately, they’ve made massive improvements to their course and have improved a lot of their weaknesses. That said, I still wouldn’t recommend using it as I think there are better online Chinese courses.

Quality
Pretty detailed lessons with lots of practice opportunities.
Thoroughness
Covers most parts of the language but some of it isn’t done particularly well.
Value
Your money wold be better spent elsewhere.
I Like
The audio lessons balance explanations of the language with getting students to engage.

Lots of opportunities to practice what you’ve learned.

I Don’t Like
The exercises get extremely repetitive and don’t always focus on the most important information.

Other courses do a better job of teaching Chinese.

Sometimes the lessons don’t seem to be very well planned out.

Price: Rocket Chinese costs $99.95 for level 1, $249.90 for levels 2 and 3, $259.90 for levels 1, 2, and 3.

Visit Rocket Chinese

Alternatives

This post details the best online Chinese courses I’ve found.

[Read more…]

Chinese Zero to Hero! Review – A Structured and Affordable Online Course

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Quick Review
Summary: I like Chinese Zero to Hero! a lot. Their courses cover HSK1-6 of the HSK Standard Course textbooks. While it’s not in-depth enough to be the only resource you use, few courses are. It’s a great option for those looking to add structure into their independent study routine or are preparing for the HSK tests. It isn’t meant to be a replacement for a textbook, but those with textbook phobia would really benefit from this course.

Quality 
The videos are very well made while limiting the amount of English and using appropriate vocabulary.
Thoroughness 
You’ll need to use other resources for additional practice.
Value 
The Ultimate Bundle is absurdly good value.
I Like
It’s perfect for someone like me that likes to study using lots of different resources but wants to add some structure.

The videos are well-made with clear explanations. They don’t rely too heavily on pinyin or English.

Great value at a low price.

Covers everything from HSK1 to HSK6.

I Don’t Like
If you don’t use other resources with this course, you’ll struggle to get enough practice.

 Works best used alongside the HSK Standard Course textbooks and not as a standalone course.

Price: There are several different options to buy the courses. You can choose the ultimate bundle which gives you access to everything for $219. The HSK 1 – HSK 4 bundle costs $134 and the HSK 5 – HSK 6 & Path to Fluency bundle costs $109.

You can also purchase each HSK level individually. HSK 1 & HSK 2 cost $29 each, HSK 3 costs $36, and HSK 4, 5, & 6 cost $64 each. As each HSK level is made up of a few smaller parts, those smaller parts can also be purchased separately.

Use the promo code “ALR10” to save 10% off any course at Chinese Zero to Hero!

Visit Chinese Zero to Hero!

Alternatives:

ChineseFor.Us and Yoyo Chinese are two other popular online Chinese courses.

Complementary Resources:

ChinesePod would be a great complement to Chinese Zero to Hero! because it’ll provide lots of listening practice to reinforce the vocabulary and grammar points you’ll learn in this course.

The Chairman’s Bao or Du Chinese – Both of these apps provide articles you can use for reading and listening practice. They’re organized by difficulty level, making it easy to find interesting content that fits your interests.

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Memrise Review – Useful But Don’t Overuse It

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Quick Review
Summary: Memrise is one of the most popular language learning apps around. It’s basically a gamified flashcard app. It’s a good way to help build vocabulary and beginner students would benefit the most from it. While it can be very useful, it’s important to not try to use it as your main tool for learning a new language.

Quality
The app is extremely well designed, but courses are user-made, so quality can vary.
Thoroughness
There are courses covering tons of topics, but you’ll need to use additional resources.
Value
Free and very useful. Awesome!
I Like
It uses spaced-repetition software making it easy to learn new words and review them periodically.
It’s a bit more fun than traditional flashcard apps.
There are tons of different courses to choose from.
I Don’t Like
 I personally prefer other flashcard apps that are less gamified (Anki or Pleco for Mandarin).
It should be used with other resources, not in isolation.

Price: It’s free. The Premium Plan costs $9 per month or $59 per year.

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How To Learn Mandarin Online – My Advice For Getting Started

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Start learning Chinese with this resource guide.

How should I start learning Chinese?

Most people start studying Chinese with whatever resource they happen to stumble upon. It’s hard to know what you should focus on and where to find quality materials. This post will help give you a clearer path forward.

The beginning may feel like a daunting, exciting and confusing place to be. But don’t worry, everybody started where you are now. There are tons of courses, apps, and websites out there that will make learning Chinese much easier.

This isn’t a long-term study plan. It’s a guide to take you from knowing absolutely nothing or very little and get you up to the lower intermediate level.

For some, this may only take a couple of months. Others will lose motivation and never get beyond this stage. Before we begin, you’ll need to think about a few questions.

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Fluenz Mandarin Review – Don’t Waste Your Money

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Is Fluenz Mandarin worth paying for?

Quick Review
Summary: Fluenz is an old-school (CD’s) course for learning Chinese. It’s made for absolute beginners and designed to teach you the basics. But, it’s not very good and is one of the most expensive products you’ll find.

Quality
You can download after purchasing or get the CD version. It’s obviously dated.
Thoroughness
The content only covers the absolute basics and doesn’t even include Chinese Characters.
Value
It’s old enough that you might find a copy for cheap at a garage sale or free from the library. Otherwise, it’s far too expensive.
I Like
Maybe it’s better than Rosetta Stone? I don’t know or care.
You could learn basic Chinese from using it.

I Don’t Like
Extremely expensive and not as good as free products.
Doesn’t cover much content and moves very slowly. It doesn’t even introduce you to Chinese Characters.
The course is clunky and dated. It’s obviously quite old.
It has an odd emphasis on typing pinyin.

Price: Fluenz Mandarin 1 + 2 + 3 costs $298 on their website. It’s slightly cheaper on Amazon.

View Fluenz Mandarin on Amazon

Alternatives: I’m not going to bash a product without at least providing some alternatives. ChineseFor.Us has the most comprehensive beginner course for learning Mandarin. Yoyo Chinese is one of the most popular and best-designed websites for online Chinese courses. Their courses go from beginner up to the intermediate level. ChineseSkill and HelloChinese are two free apps that are better than Fluenz and will provide a nice introduction to learning Chinese.

Fluenz is one of those leftover products from an earlier generation of language learning that, in my opinion, is extremely overpriced and not particularly effective.

Ten years ago, Fluenz may have been one of the best products for learning Chinese on the market. However, in 2017, there are better free resources. Not to mention the countless affordable apps, websites, podcasts and tutors that will help you learn Chinese much quicker.

They spend a fair amount of effort comparing themselves to Rosetta Stone and explaining why they’re better.

I don’t know if Fluenz or Rosetta Stone is better and I don’t particularly care. Both are very expensive for what you get. I wouldn’t recommend either of them.

Let’s find out why I’m not a fan of Fluenz and what would be better to use in its place.

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