User Comments - John
John
Posted on: Directory Assistance
May 24, 2007 at 4:28 AMsuper6i, Great point! It's little discoveries like that which helps the vocab stick. (It's actually true only for 1 and 4, though... :( )
Posted on: What's that smell?
May 22, 2007 at 2:34 PMC'mon guys, let's keep the language relatively inoffensive. (I had to remove a few comments.)
Posted on: What's that smell?
May 22, 2007 at 5:45 AMI love how when you listen to the whole podcast, you hear that sound effect 6 times. It cracks me up.
Posted on: Paying Child Support
May 19, 2007 at 7:21 AMWho are you talking about there, Jenny? Hmmm? HMMMM???
Posted on: Chinese Wedding Customs
May 17, 2007 at 7:04 AMWow, I have to say that this is a totally FASCINATING discussion. I really have to express my sincere thanks to all you users who are speaking up because you get the system and you feel it works. AuntieSue, Lantian, Henning, Man2Toe, LeiGaoRui, wei1xiao4, and rajat, your sharing of your personal experiences and continued support for ChinesePod really keeps us going. That said, we don't feel that we have no room for improvement. I read your comments. I hear you. No one at ChinesePod is saying your frustration is invalid or that your feelings count for nothing. We are taking everything into consideration. What we decided a while back is that creating a new level to bridge the Ele-Int gap was not the way to go. The decision I made is to provide enough challenging Elementary lessons and accessible Intermediate lessons in order to make the transition easier. I get the impression that some of you think ChinesePod crossed this "Ele-Int Gap" issue off our To-Do List long ago. This is not the case. Ken, Jenny, and I meet before every recording session to discuss the "meat" of the lesson, and difficulty level is one of the first things we look at. In fact, just last week, we pruned an Intermediate lesson way down (making it one of the shortest we've had in a while) to make it more accessible. I have also been nagging Jenny about speaking more slowly when she forgets. In the same vein, we are always looking at more ways to push Elementary learners to their upper boundary. (More simple stories are on the way.) This whole difficulty level thing is not easy. There are a ton of variables and even more opinions. Please rest assured that we are listening, and this issue is always at the forefront in the lesson creation process. I make sure of that.
Posted on: Cold Beer
May 17, 2007 at 2:32 AMlvbin, "how many drinks or lessons about drinks does one need before they become classified as a 酒鬼?" Heh, maybe ChinesePod does have a slight 酒鬼 (jiǔguǐ) tendency in our lesson design. :) I'll take your question seriously, though. The answer is pretty subjective. Our Chinese staff says that a 酒鬼 (jiǔguǐ) just drinks often (basically every day), and to the point of getting drunk (or close to it). It's pretty much the same as an alcoholic in the West. The difference is that in China it doesn't yet have such a strong stigma attached to it.
Posted on: Chinese Wedding Customs
May 15, 2007 at 9:01 AMWe have been over and over the whole "gap" issue. It's true that Jenny does speak rather quickly in some of the intermediate lessons. This is not an example of an easy intermediate lesson. We are still working on creating easier Intermediate lessons as well as more challenging Elementary lessons to help close the gap. As I've mentioned before, you have to put in a lot more time to get from Elementary to Intermediate than you do to get from Newbie to Elementary. That probably contributes to the frustration as well. Thanks for the tips, lvbin!
Posted on: Chinese Wedding Customs
May 15, 2007 at 8:57 AMgaylon, Yup, 闹洞房 (nào dòngfáng) is in the vocab for this lesson. Let's see... Last time I saw it, they made the bride and groom get in bed, under the covers, and strip, throwing their clothes out for everyone to see. Then the guests would playfully try to pull the cover away. (People were taking pictures as well, of course.)
Posted on: Chinese Wedding Customs
May 15, 2007 at 8:55 AMhuomao, You're right. It cannot be coincidence. MUAHAHAHA...
Posted on: Playing the Stock Market
May 25, 2007 at 6:09 AMChand, Yeah, aren't these topics awesome?? :)