User Comments - paulinurus

Posted on: Job Interview

Salary would be one negotiation where modesty may not pay off in the long run. Perhaps reply something like this?

A: 那你期望的薪水是多少？

B: 我觉得我工作的技巧是挺高，期望顶级一点儿的薪水。

I thought John and Jenny did a terrific job in the show... lots of clarification and explanation..thanks guys!

Posted on: Summer at ChinesePod

A few more words on this apparently trivial matter but with some pondering may not be trivial at all. In fact, such a survey is quite bizzare. "Why did Cpod conduct a survey asking poddies whether they prefer lessons to be released at random or in accordance to a schedule?"

Isn't this a bit strange? If I were a newbie or ele poddie and I'm asked whether I wanted to be surprised with an Advanced or Upper Intermediate or Media lesson, I'll be thinking "Are you serious? What the heck are you asking me this question for? It's quite enough for me now grappling with the ele lessons, why are you asking me whether I want to be surprised with the more difficult lessons. They'll be unpleasant surprises logging in to find new lessons that are beyond my capability."

Yeah, it's quite strange for Cpod to have done the survey asking poddies whether they would like to be surprised with lessons that are either beyond them or below them. Must be those heady, whirl wind days when Cpod just started up, or maybe it was just a 可爱 (one of the most used word in Cpod's lessons) act.    

Posted on: Hate is a Very Strong Word

hi go_manly

I've downloaded your dictionary...very nicely done, thanks for sharing.

Posted on: Summer at ChinesePod

pchenery

it's a matter on the approach one takes on learning Chinese at Cpod. For me, knowing the day in which the Intermediate lesson is released will allow me to log in on that day instead of logging in frequently looking for the lesson. I find that there is a lot of materials on Cpod and I can get easily distracted by all the lessons and discussions. If I put a bit more priority and focus in my learning and deal with the Intermediate lesson first and then have fun at Cpod with other lessons and discussions, it will help me learn Chinese more efficiently and faster. Learning is different from one person to another. For me, random learning doesn't work. I'll be here at Cpod for years and still won't be able to speak Chinese with my Chinese friends.   

Posted on: Pinyin Sections 1-2

Good lesson! Looking forward for more.. especially the difficult ones to pronounce such as  z, zh, c, q, r.

Posted on: Job Interview

Why so fast it is not a race! It is a lesson!

I agree with Moti. The dialogue in the Premium tab is unnecessarily fast. Natural conversation and speed is already demonstrated in the main dialogue so there is no need to duplicate the speed in the Premium dialogue, whose purpose (I hope), is for poddies to isten carefully how each word and sentence is pronounced. 

Motti has mentioned this fact several times, and has been largely ignored by Cpod. Not being able to learn pronunciation diminishes an important benefit of a premium subscription.   

Posted on: Summer at ChinesePod

@pchenery

Just curious, did you learn English in school randomly too, no time tables, and being surprised on what subjects taught each day?  

Posted on: Summer at ChinesePod

@bababardwan

"One of the great appeals is that CPod is not a college and thus offers us a different approach to our learning.It allows us a much more free from routine"

Many colleges and professional organizations now conduct their courses online, so CPod's approach is not any different in that students can attend to the lessons at any time or day. Of course, Cpod is not a college where one has to pass exams in order to achieve some standard of education or attain a professional designation, however, it does have five levels of Chinese lessons and all that some of us are asking is to have a schedule so that we know the day when a lesson at our level is published and not have to log in everyday. I think it is a pretty reasonable request and certainly not infringing on the enjoyment of poddies who are frequent posters daily not only for learning the language but also for the socialization. 

@Matt,

I agree... it is a very simple yes/no question and thanks for being willing to conduct the survey. 

@cinese

Yes, some can wait till the end of the week, or even wait two weeks or longer before looking at the lessons. It all depends on one's individual approach to learning Chinese. I like to attend to a lesson when it comes out and have discussions on the board while the lesson is still fresh. Then, if I have time, I'll go back and review the older lessons. 

Posted on: Are You Free?

Raygo, Anne Bancroft was Mrs. Robinson but not her... Dustin was in love with her daughter and didn't give up until she gave up her marriage to be with him. The last scene is a classic... she (in wedding dress) and him sitting at the back of the bus, no words said, no fear of the future, just contented to be running away together.   

Posted on: Summer at ChinesePod

Like RJ I too don't think it is a major issue,, however for the sake of discussion, let's say Cpod is a learning institution (like a college) conducting five distinct lessons a week, wouldn't it be reasonable for students to expect a schedule for the lessons? I haven't come across any learning institution without a class schedule i.e. any one lesson can come up any day in a week.

Although I try and visit Cpod everyday, there are some days when I am unable to, and it is nice to just be able to plan and put one day aside to tackle the Intermediate lesson.