[EDLING:221] Learning Mandarin and Spanish by MP3 and Skype

[Francis M. Hult]

World Hum

Learning Mandarin and Spanish by MP3 and Skype

Learning Chinese is a long road: After nine months of full-time study in 
Taipei, I’m still grappling with getting my tones right and suffer the 
occasional blank look from the clerk at my local 7-Eleven. While I’ve learned 
grammar and characters in the classroom, I’ve found another, less traditional 
source a big help with day-to-day conversation: Chinesepod.com. It’s the go-to 
site for most Mandarin students I know, offering free, daily podcasts that 
introduce dialogues on useful topics like how to break up with your boyfriend. 
Lessons, given by podcast “hosts” who banter like DJs, are downloadable in MP3 
format, so you can drop them into your iPod and go; more devoted students can 
sign up for voice lessons via Skype.  

Full story:
http://www.worldhum.com/weblog/item/learning_mandarin_and_spanish_by_mp3_2007061
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