Learn Chinese Now! 9.0

With the modern PC having a variety of possibilities of which traditional language-learning methods could only dream--voice recognition, video dialogues, and so on--the past few years have seen an extraordinary boom in language-learning software packages. However, as picking through this surfeit can be tricky, it is important to find a reliable brand, and the Learn Now! series is definitely among the best software packages.

The program comes equipped with 2 CDs, one of which has various key sections--useful "survival phrases", fun activities, conversations, and practicing speech against the voice of a native speaker--while the other has a thorough grammar tutorial. This combination is certainly a valuable one for people who are serious about learning a language, and the product is clear and easy to use: in role-plays, phrases are highlighted in a box and their English translations placed underneath, while the voice recognition software allows you to measure your own voice against that of a native speaker, and the games hone the things that have been learnt. Sections are tailored to various activities, such as getting around, going out, and business situations, while at any point you can call up a grammar tutorial which explains a particular point on which you are unsure.

In addition to these sections, the part on survival phrases will be of much use to those who have already reached a basic level. There are several practice dialogues based around commonplace situations--in the hotel, the bar, the airport, etc. Although some of the advice borders on the infantile ("When you decide to travel outside the USA, you will probably need a passport"), much of it is useful, and rounds out what is a well composed package for someone starting out on the road to using the language overseas. --Toby Green, Amazon.co.uk

Average Customer Review: ( 10 customer reviews )
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Chinese is extremely difficult to start. It has taken me many hours to get get down the most basic phrases. I found this, along with the Pimsleur programs to be the most helpful.

24 of 25 found the following review helpful:

A very good supplement for the serious student of ChineseSep 30, 2004
By reader
This software is not for the complete beginner. If you are a complete beginner, try Beginner's Chinese by Yong Ho and/or the pricey Ultimate Mandarin Chinese (ISBN 0517708779) instead. The software has 4 'chapters,' two being in the 'beginner' level and the other two being in the 'intermediate' level. The chapters consist of dialogues that are rendered in Pinyin only (NO Chinese characters are used). You can listen to the dialogue and follow along with the Pinyin; you can also click on the Pinyin and the program will display the definition of the word/character. Except for one chapter which contains Chinese survival phrases, all the other chapters are better suited for a college student of Chinese than it is for the person who is doing self-study or one who is a complete beginner. The dialogues are in fact very interesting because they explore various aspects of Chinese culture, but one would have to have one semester of college Chinese before being able to appreciate it; after 2 semesters of college Chinese, one could probably understand 40-50% of the dialogue without looking at the translation; after 4 semesters (that is, two years of college Chinese), one could understand most of the simpler dialogues, but the software is still a very good tool for developing listening skills. Overall, if you are a complete beginner, skip this software; if you are taking college/high school Chinese, and you plan to stick with it either by taking more classes or doing serious self-study, then this software is definitely valuable as a supplement; and I would highly recommend it.

P.S. The grammar section and the Pinyin guide is so basic and lacking in substance that it is basically worthless.

16 of 16 found the following review helpful:

What an amazing ToolMay 30, 2003
By Jane Black
Hi I'm an English teacher who teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) to students in China. Before starting this job I took a Madarin Chinese class and found it very hard. I got this program and using it helped me immensly. I was able to put into practice what I learned in class through this program. This provided excellent practice in pronunciation and contains a very large vocabulary section. The games and media were very good tools to practice and learn with, especially Vocabulous, my favorite game. After the class, when I was in China, I still used this program to help keep my language skills sharp and to expand my knowledge of it. Chinese Now is a very good learning program and it works.

13 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Not so greatAug 25, 2004
By Tang Wuji
I bought this CDROM after I read all the good reviews here.

In my opinion, the method is not that effective.

And it is not thorough since the Chinese caracters are simply ignored.

Maybe the best way to use it is as a secondary source of training, but not more.

Further, like all the CDROM based language method I have tried, the overall design is outdated. But again, this is not specific to LearnChineseNow9.0.

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Best used as addition to other programsOct 24, 2004
By Laura De Giorgio "hypnotherapist"
This program uses only pinyin - no Chinese characters - however Transparent Language has a very decent program for leaning Chinese characters called "Power Chinese" and even though that program teaches you only how to read and write simplified characters, the information is presented in a fun way through playing games and puzzles. One of the programs for learning how to write traditional, or rather, long form of characters is Easy Chinese Tutor (also available through amazon.com).

On the good side with Learn Chinese Now, you can click on every word separately to hear it pronounced slowly (and you can also check your own pronounciation by recording it) - when you got the word, you can click to hear an entire sentence at a normal speed or listen to an entire segment.

The program does have pictures, but they are not really related to the material, so don't expect to see people who are involved in a dialogue actually speaking to each other (as if you were watching a movie) - the only thing you'll find here is several slides.

After learning some basic words and expressions, the program leaps to an intermediate / advanced level and if this is the only program you're using, this leap may feel too much - even though yes, you can still click to hear each word separately.

The program contains as a bonus CD - Unitype, which has two programs Global Office and Global Writer. Global Office will expire after about 15 days, and you'll have to actually purchase to continue using it; Global Writer will still be functional and you can use it to write / type Chinese characters - although I personally much prefer NJStar. In order to use these programs to type Chinese characters, you input characters in pinyin, but you still have to know how the character you desire to use looks like in Chinese, since you'll be offered a selection of characters which are all written in the same way in pinyin (without the use of tonal accents).

See all 10 customer reviews on Amazon.com