User Comments - stevemisch

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stevemisch

Posted on: Character Mind Map: 上 up
July 27, 2020, 11:03 AM

The Joe Technique is very useful and he’s stumbled on something profound. Most of us Lao wai don’t naturally do tones correctly, but his hand technique for tones connects in with my brain in another, physical way. Well done! Also love these practical, 30 minute lessons, when I want the satisfaction of completing one, but don’t have the 2 hours a normal lesson takes me.

Posted on: Character mind map: 打 hit
July 25, 2020, 01:53 PM

Great lesson and format! Also, it’s very useful when your teachers tell the derivation of words, making them easier to remember, because more logical. Two additional examples that could’ve been used: da3 dian4hua—does the mean “make electric voice?” And bing1jiang1 is from “ice” bing1?

Posted on: Character mind map: 心 heart
July 25, 2020, 06:38 AM

Yes, I agree that the format is very useful and keeping subtitles up for maximal viewing time, rather than have them disappear quickly is very useful. Sometimes a short lesson is also useful when tired. By the way, your APP seems super slow to open and wastes learning time so website slow too, but faster.

Posted on: Character Mind map: 包 bag
July 24, 2020, 05:34 PM

Yes, better when you leave the subtitles with pinyin up for a greater percentage of the video lesson. I would even suggest keeping them up until replaced by next subtitles—gives us more time to read and reread them. Logical lesson with great examples of variations.

Posted on: Love amid COVID-19
July 23, 2020, 08:40 AM

Would help if you’d leave the subtitles on the entire time, until replaced by next subtitle. I kept trying to study them while they’re talking, but then they’d disappear far too quickly. Good lesson and good topic!

Posted on: Can you hear that?
December 21, 2014, 04:46 AM

When I listen to lesson it just keeps repeating the first 38 seconds again and again. When I try to download it (radio quality) it's super super slow, effectively won't download (like I've tried before). I live in Shanghai. :-(

What can I (you) do?

Posted on: Tumble Dry or Air Dry
December 20, 2014, 11:51 AM

Following earls lead: 

  • New concept of bǎ just slipped in without an explaination during the lesson (later in grammar, but opportunity missed to explain)
  • In Fill in Blanks many errors like no one even read it.
  • 4. No blanks 
  • 6. Used "de de" twice in a row
  • 6. Also got tones wrong gànyījī instead of gānyījī
  • 8. No blank and in sentence have "bìyào" while in choice you have "bìyāo"
  • 10. No blank and again use bìyào in sentence but in choices have bìyāo

All this is so confusing and annoying to us as students when it should be clean and logical (enough confusion later in real world).

Your business model seems to be market like crazy so you have a huge revenue base, hire a few star teachers like Jenny and Elliot, but then totally scrimp on staff to do the daily heavy lifting of writing and proofreading.

Can I have a partial refund? The company (not the teachers) seem mainly money driven.

Posted on: Tumble Dry or Air Dry
December 20, 2014, 01:47 AM

Thank you earls! I see the errors have still not been corrected. Does anyone proofread before launching?

Posted on: Checking out the Forbidden City
December 18, 2014, 02:08 AM

Jenny and Elliot, you are my two favorite teachers, but Dudes, you're slipping on this one. I've been a long time C-pod student (yes, and still Elementary....), but what the heck is zánmen? Never heard of it. No explanation? And, in that same sentence qù blah blah kàn kan qù structure was interesting and would have been sweet to comment on it (using qù twice like that). Otherwise, great lesson.

PS I've found standing during lessons (parts that don't require typing) and walking around while repeating the sentences out loud, to be very helpful--Happy feeling and seems to soak into my brain better.

Posted on: Borrowing Money From a Friend
December 05, 2014, 03:54 AM

  • Would be very helpful to elaborate a bit more on Zhèyàng a (meaning "I see"). I've been studying a long time and don't remember seeing that before--it was skipped over in the translation portion.
  • In both the expansion and the quiz you use "hái" instead of huán.
  • The genuinely sweet nature of Jenny and Elliot, conveyed in the kind intonation of their voices, makes learning easier. 
  • I listened to a TED talk recently about how to learn language and the speaker suggest finding a language "parent" who would listen to you, try to understand your meaning, use words that you'll understand when talking and, critically, NOT CORRECT YOUR MISTAKES. 
  • This is one key reason that I prefer Cpod to a teacher--I find that I tense up in front of a teacher that corrects me (or friends) and all learning ceases. The computer doesn't care if I sound stupid or still don't get it after five hearings. I can tap out five more hearings, or 20, and no reproachful scowl....