User Comments - John

Posted on: Podcast Language 2

Guys,

Lots of feedback here, so I'd like to respond to a number of issues:

1. The addition of PDF's to Qing Wen is part of a much larger AMS (Academic Management System) project. This project has dragged on way longer than planned, but the good news is that it is very nearly complete, and we should see the changes (for example, difficulty levels on Wing Wen and PDFs for Qing Wen) in June.

2. Yes, this "podcast language" series is long overdue. Part of the reason for this is that we actually did extensive research into the exact language used in the podcasts. The language Jenny uses in the podcasts is natural and unscripted. This is good, because we give you the real deal. It's a bit messier from a planning perspective, however. At the same time, I have been talking to lots of different users about how they've progressed through the levels on ChinesePod. It took a long time to collect all the data, interpret the results, and create the Qing Wen shows.  The good news is that not only will we have a very useful Qing Wen series, but we can also make sure that the same language addressed here also appears on other Elementary lessons (which addresses bobt_2062's beef.)

3. Parts of speech are notoriously difficult in Chinese, but that's not the reason we don't include them in PDFs and on the site. The real reason is related to our dictionary data, and how this data interacts with our lesson creation process. It's quite complex, and is currently lower priority than other projects such as the long-awaited AMS upgrade.

Posted on: Buying a House

zhenlijiang,

If you can remember 光棍儿 by "shiny stick" than I'm happy! :)

Posted on: Buying a House

Changye,

Welcome back!

I agree that the tenant bullying is a problem. Fortunately I've never had to deal with it. Now my wife and I are "home owners" (房奴, actually, still working on that mortgage), though, so I am lucky to have escaped the landlord bullying (and swapped it for bank bullying?).

Posted on: Introducing Shen Yajin (Helen)

Great to hear different voices on News & Features! (It's also great to take an occasional break from it... hehe)

Posted on: Funny Rice

The "onion joke" was in a lesson (appropriately titled) Dumb Joke. I love that lesson too!

Posted on: City: Mumbai

paulinurus,

Thanks!  I appreciate you taking the time to offer your suggestions.

Actually, what I try to do in Intermediate lessons is two things: (1) engage in a conversation with Jenny, and (2) respond in a way that helps the listener infer the meaning of what Jenny has said.

Translating/mirroring everything Jenny says would be both tedious and also not as helpful for listening comprehension. It's really not easy to maintain the perfect balance between #1 and #2 above, and I recognize that at times I might do too much #1 and not enough #2.  I will be more careful in the future.

Posted on: Pregnancy Series 6: Shopping for the Newborn

From what I've seen, there's a lot of "pink for girls" and "blue for boys" in China, but since I don't have any children, I'm probably not the best one to ask.

Posted on: Zombies: Deader than Ever

mickeytoon,

If I understand you correctly, you're asking for a zombies vs. ninjas lesson? :)

Don't worry, I'm all for the weird lessons.  Ninja assassination, Godzilla, abducted by aliens, the drug dealer... these were all my ideas.

Posted on: Zombies: Deader than Ever

I just got back from a long weekend (五一 vacation). I missed a lively discussion!

I agree that you don't need the word "zombie" in your everyday life, but if you continue with your Chinese studies, sooner or later they will come up in conversation (trust me!).  And the other phrases are useful.

That said, this is probably the last you'll see of zombies for a while on ChinesePod, but we can definitely do other series!

Posted on: Getting Old Isn't Easy

Rich,

Thanks! I didn't make the connection with the publication dates, but maybe you're right... hehe