CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Hey everybody!

So, I've been able to speak some Japanese and Chinese for quite some time now. But, I would like to brush up on my Chinese some more... And the family members that speak it are typically not easy for me to get a hold of (not to mention, live pretty far from where I am).

So, I was wondering if anybody knew of some good (preferably free) ways to teach myself Chinese?

(I would say Japanese too, but since somebody else posted a thread about it, I might as well just follow up on that one instead of post another! XD)

It's easy to self-teach reading Chinese characters (well, not easy, but simpler), but for verbal education there's no substitute for immersion.

My cousin is an "English teacher" (cough cough) at a small town in Red China. He's as white as I am, while his wife is second generation Chinese-American, but he speaks better Mandarin because of his training. However, her Mandarin dramatically improved when they moved because it had to. Their children are of course totally bilingual.

Yes, I would imagine as much. I'm pretty good with picking up on languages I read, though... Would anybody know of some good ways for me to hear the language until I'm able to find somebody to immerse with (so I know I'm pronouncing things correctly)?

And thanks for the tip. I'll probably want to find some Chinese people in this area that speak it...

The internet i'm sure has a few free options that you can find. smart.fm would probably help.

Play on Google Translate for hours upon hours

Another way that may be helpful is to rent or borrow TV series produced in either Taiwan or China (preferrably with English subtitles).

Keep in mind that there are some cultural-linguistic differences in the way some phrases are pronounced / used between the two places.

Although it may not help you speak it much better, it would help with your listening skills quite a bit, and from there you can practice saying the phrases like the actors / actresses.