Dear GOT'ers


I have decided to try and learn Mandarin Chinese. I figure that it will help me eventually in practicing law and also to enjoy a trip to Shanghai that I am planning.

I have engaged a tutor here in Manhattan (And by the way, universitytutor.com has a ton of tutors in just about every subject for a ridiculously low price -- my tutor is only 20 bucks an hour. She also looks like Lucy Liu, but that's a subject better left for 0A2 v. 6.0)

Anywhoo, I am going to purchase some software to help with pronunciation, etc. My friends had good luck with Rosetta Stoner for Italian and French -- but the reviews of the Mandarin modules were surprisingly poor. Can anyone speak to rosetta stone -- either for Chinese or anything else -- or any other language program? I'd be very appreciative for any guidance.

Thanks.

I cannot personally, but a friend of mine has been learning Mandarin through the Rosetta Stone program and speaks highly of it. He does, however, have the advantage of having a wife of Chinese descent to help him practice.

Having taken a bit of Chinese in college and used Rosetta Stone to study Korean, I'd cautiously recommend against it. You need a really sound foundation in reading in order for Rosetta Stone to really work, and I think it would take you awhile to get your reading abilities to the point that Rosetta Stone will be particularly affective. I can say that I tried to use the program prior to learning how to read Korean script and it confused me more than anything else. Once you get a bit farther along in your studies it might be worth it, but until you can read a bit more than "ni hao ma" and "wo he pijiu" I'm not sure it will be worth it, considering the cost. That said, if you only intend to use it to review what you've learned in your tutoring sessions, it would likely be extremely helpful. I can say that it has helped my Korean immensely, and I'm so lazy I only use it for about forty minutes a month.