User Comments - alwingate
alwingate
Posted on: Turn on the Light, Turn off the Light
December 30, 2007 at 1:46 PMEd Young. This is a Newbie section. Are you working for the CIA or will you let us in on your Character-eze? Loved everything about this lesson. CPod integration of units sparkles, repitition with variation. Just what I need to learn this very difficult and beautiful (to me) language. I am thrilled. Steve Jobs, Apple CEO declared his mission statement as being thus: "Our goal is to delight our customers." I am indeed delighted with CPod. I give it five stars.
Posted on: A Present from Santa Claus
December 26, 2007 at 5:41 AMMerry Christmas everyone. C-Pod is really firing on all cylinders. The differentiation in instruction from level to level has enabled me to learn at a much faster rate. Keep up the good work; striving for improvement and the continual refinement of the product works wonders. If you are NOT a Premium member you don't know what you are missing. Wish list: Pinyin for expanded sections. Portablility for premium content. Santa, where are you?
Posted on: World Records
December 12, 2007 at 3:41 AMDear Ken, Jenny, John and Amber, There is a definite rhythm to the Chinese language. I would like to see an exercise which addresses this most vital of elements in any language. Phrases in a sentence can be grouped in lexical chunks which enhance the pronunciation as well as the understanding of the language. As far as I can tell CPod does not address this issue in a comprehensive way. Sometimes the transition sentences are read well for an elementary student and at other times only an advanced or intermediate student could repeat the sentences. We are talking elementary here. Success comes from feeling successful. Repeating a phrase is a successful expression of learning. The inability to do so leaves one feeling frustrated. If you have heard this with some speakers, you know what I mean. My Chinese teacher showed me this simple but remarkable language technique. There are barriers to learning. One of the barriers to learning is hearing the language. Most great orators where not speed readers. Examples: Winston Churchill, John Kennedy, (Chang Kai Shek, Mao Tse Tung, don't know, you tell me) To me, it is essential to the understanding of language. Phrasing and emphasis also create impact. Let the word go forth...
Posted on: World Records
December 12, 2007 at 3:23 AMAmber, Just wondering here. When you use the phrase get into university, is this the Chinese equivalent or is the word equivalent to "being admitted to" or is there another word for that. Also, is this a function of maintaining control of vocab for elementary students in order to facilitate the learning of the Chinese language?
Posted on: World Records
December 11, 2007 at 7:03 PMMerry Christmas.
Posted on: World Records
December 11, 2007 at 7:02 PMThanks to all the more advanced students for using Pinyin in the Newbie and Elementary sections. It can be overwhelming when reading a post with a bunch of characters one does not understand...even two perhaps.
Posted on: World Records
December 11, 2007 at 7:00 PMAlso, just a cosmetic thing: Calling a module: The Fix is rather negative: implies something is wrong, broken or in a drug related manner perhaps, you know getting a Fix. But, this is picky, and I don't mean to be petty because that is not my attitude at all...just a thought I had the other night...Maybe I have too much time on my hands...
Posted on: World Records
December 11, 2007 at 6:56 PMHi Dave. Yes, I do remember that feature being available where you could export a text file or such. (Sorry, not a programmer, so I may be a bit amiss). That feature was also in a previous version of ChinesePod. I don't know where it is now. Also, Amber. Thank you for modulating the Expansion modules for Elementary students. I am learning so much more now. The Expansion modules are at the very center of my learning experience here. It is crucial. I can now say most of the sentences rather easily. Before, when the pace was at a more advanced level, I was stuck. Again, thanks for making C-Pod more useful. The expansion modules are primarily the reason I subscribe to CPod. That along with the PDF files I find very compelling. Of course, the dialogues are free. However, there is not a complete learning experience in the dialogues alone. At least not for me. Also KEN. Please consider making CPod more transportable. As in the case with David W, the transportability of content is important to me also. And thank Jenny for her great articulation of the Chinese lessons that even an old coot like myself can understand. Best, al Teacher
Posted on: World Records
December 11, 2007 at 7:49 AMHey Dubya, Used to be the ability to download the entire premium lessons using Firefox including sound and graphics. That changed, but it sure was nice to be able to do that and study on the road etc. I don't know about the vocab feature, but the expansion modules are where I put a lot of my emphasis. Since there has been some adjustment to the necessary, in my opinion, definition of language into lexical chunks and rhythm of speaking my rate of learning has increased. I asked Ken to look into the possibility of allowing the downloading of all the Premium sections in the form of flash or MP3 files. I would be interested in the creation of a section to discuss the ability to learn, the methods etc. Since it appears that the pace for Newbie's and Elementaries sometimes an abitrary decision there needs to be discussion about difficulty levels and learning theories. I know that Ken has mentioned many times the beauty and rhythm of the Chinese language. His description of lexical chunks intrigues me. I must say though the whole mnemonics thing throws me. However, I am continuing to look for better ways of learning. Now, I am using a program which will capture sound and so this is the way I create portability. It is extra work, but worth it. Also, I bought a program which will slow down speech without loosing tone and rhythm to help with the speed factor in the reproduction of the expansion sentences. Sometimes I feel like the readers are just that and are paid by the word. However, one thing all businesses ought to remember is the results are what count. And if a person is successful or even feels successful they will stay with a program. I love Chinesepod and watched it grow over the past years. But, for my money you cannot beat the team of Jenny and Ken for the ability to teach. They are superb. And, that is what keeps me coming back to ChinesePod. I don't know how big the Newbie/Elementary group is. I would think that many who are learning Chinese for the first time really need to feel successful and that the efforts on the part of the C-Pod team might concentrate on this segment as well as the more advanced learners. Anyway, those are some of my thoughts. Perhaps things can only improve when a rare exchange of ideas in an atmosphere of openmindedness prevails. In the discussion learning problems the phrase "oh, I thought this issue was closed" and "why don't you listen faster" are at best unhelpful. Learning is an intriguing process. I hope to continue learning to the last breath, so that when I kick the bucket, I won't notice.
Posted on: Cold from Biking
January 25, 2008 at 7:58 PMI am not sure I can express this accurately. I going to give it a try to solicit feedback. First of all, I do enjoy the C-Pod approach to learning Chinese. It is elegant, humorous, developemental all the good stuff. However, my learning obstacle is this: I don't know the structure of the language well enough to create my own sentences. That's it. I try to create a conversation and I am stuck with structural problems. Any solutions? Thanks Al