Conversational Cantonese Chinese: Learn to Speak and Understand Cantonese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster’s Pimsleur)
This Conversational program contains 8 hours of interactive audio-only instruction, effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions.
What is the Pimsleur® difference?
The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Cantonese Chinese structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Cantonese Chinese can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.
The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren’t given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only these pieces — dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.
When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.
With Pimsleur you get:
- Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
- Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
- The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
- 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.
Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever — without textbooks, written exercises, or drills.
Conversational Cantonese Chinese includes the 10 lessons from Pimsleur’s Basic Cantonese Chinese plus an additional 6 lessons.
The 16 lessons in Conversational Cantonese Chinese are the same first 16 lessons in the Pimsleur Comprehensive Cantonese Chinese Level 1.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars I could understand almost immediately!
I am trying to learn Cantonese because my son-in-law’s family speak it and I want to encourage my daughter to learn it. I was amazed that I could understand some of what he said within a week.
5 Stars WOrks really well
I listen to it on the way to work. I am up to lesson 12 and it really works. Not enough vocabulary for general use, but it gets you off to a wonderful start. I now know the chinese girls at work often talk about eating.
I rcommend it over Berlitz or the other brands. This is taylored to the cantonese language and it teaches you in a natural way.
Warning. If you have the Basic Contonese, the first five discs are the same.
4 Stars Started learning at age 21 in college, now studying again at age 51
Although the conversational Cantonese used is correct…many of the word phrases could be greatly improved with more commonplace word usage and phrases. A small written booklet - written in the romanized Yale system for conversational Cantonese would be most help for those of us 21yrs. and older:who’s native tongue is English.
5 Stars Fun, easy and effective, even if you’re not a kid
I’m in my 50s and an absolute beginner at Cantonese. The speakers are clear and easy to follow, the words and conversations are useful right from the start, and the 30 minute format is manageable. I play the disks on my way to work.
Each lesson incorporates what you learned on previous disks into the new conversations, so there’s plenty of reinforcement while you learn new words and sentences–no need to feel overwhelmed. I’m on Lesson 9, and on a recent visit to Chinatown I was already able to understand some words and phrases.
A little booklet tells you how to use the disks and how you’ll know when you’re ready to advance to the next lesson. Although the instructions suggest one lesson per day, I find I usually need 3-5 plays for each lesson before I feel I’m ready. You might need more or less repetitions. I feel confident that I’ll be “conversational” in basic Cantonese in a few weeks.
I’m really pleased with this product.
2 Stars Too painfully slow to maintain interest
I’ve listened to many a language tape for several languages, and while I’ve never adored any of them, this one is just too painful to listen to. The first few discs consist of a voice saying a phrase, then silence while you repeat, then another phrase, silence, then back to the old phrase, silence, etc. Lots of long pauses and repetition, which could be helpful for someone, but was completely unappealing and boring for me.
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