Chinese Language Learning Software: 3 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Chinese Language Course

Want to learn Chinese online? Great! There are lots of wonderful programs to choose from. Unfortunately, lots of not so wonderful programs have also been thrown into the mix. There are also programs that may be good for some but not so good for others, including you. So, how do you weave your way through the mess and find the program that's right for you? Ask the 3 questions below and you will find the Chinese language learning program that's best for you.

Question 1: Does it Offer a Free Trial?

This is pretty straightforward, but it's important. Never purchase a program that doesn't offer a free trial. All reputable programs have them. Plus, to get the information I am going to outline below, you need to get inside the actual program.

Question 2: Does it Cover the 4 Core Language Learning Components?

A good Chinese language learning program will cover each of the four core language learning components, which are reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Even if your main goal is to speak the language, you can't neglect the other three components. Why? Because together they greatly improve the quality of your learning. For example, it would be very difficult to learn how to pronounce Chinese tones if you didn't first learn to read pinyin.

Learning to write? That's a great way to master Chinese grammar, which is something you'll need to understand if you want to speak in a fluent and natural way. Perhaps most importantly, your brain learns in different ways, and if you stick to just one learning style, you will become fatigued and bored. If you mix things up, on the other hand, you will stay fresh, and you will retain information much better, when compared to focusing on just one core learning component.

Why have I made this point? Because I have seen, lately, a flood of new web-based programs that focus, almost exclusively, on audio programs. It's Podcast this and Podcast that all over the place! Don't get me wrong. The audio component of any online Chinese language learning system is the bread and butter of the program, so it's fine that companies focus on it. Before putting your hard-earned money on the table, though, make sure you're getting a complete program, one that offers reading, writing, listening, and speaking instruction, not just a bunch of MP3 audio files.

Question 3: What's the Price Structure

There is something that drives me absolutely crazy, and it will drive you crazy too--tiered pricing. I found a program like this just the other day. It was a subscription-based program that was just a few dollars per month. Pretty reasonable, it seemed. But then I logged into the classroom and found that I could access only the audio programs. I was blocked when I tried to download the dialogues. I was denied when I tried to access the learning games. The door was slammed in my face when I tried to enter the forum.

Those things were only for "Premium Members." Well, some of those things, anyway. Other things were open only to "Gold Members." To access the full course, I learned, you had to pay $25 per month, or $400 a year (if you didn't pay annually the price was higher). That's absurd! The best Chinese language learning software programs on the market can be purchased outright for about a hundred bucks.

Am I saying to avoid all subscription-based services that have tiered pricing? No, but here is what I am saying. When looking at these programs, look only at the most expensive option. That is the only one you can use. All other options are just teasers.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right Chinese language learning program is important. Choose a good one and you'll have a successful learning experience. Choose a bad one and you'll wind up confused and frustrated. To ensure that you choose a good one, take advantage of free trials, use programs that cover the four core language components, and be suspicious of tiered pricing schemes.

Looking for Chinese software? Read my Rocket Chinese Review. I take you with me step-by-step as I learn with the software (lots of screen shots).

Have a great day!

Ryan Wiley
Founder
The Live in Asia Blog

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English Course Selection Strategies: Group Vs One-On-One

The most time-efficient way of learning English is with a private tutor alone. The teacher can choose the teaching materials and methods to fit to your personal needs and level.

You learn faster when you get full attention and when the teacher corrects your mistakes - not others' mistakes.

When a teacher teaches English language for a group of students he or she selects a level for the teaching. There is only one student in any groups whose English level is the closest to the selected teaching level.

If your English is better than the teacher's target level, you feel bored and waste your time. If you are below that level, you do not understand everything and feel frustrated. That's why many students drop out from groups.

And that is only the starting level of the English course. There is also a pace the teacher and the group moves and the teaching method and material cannot fit to everybody's taste either.

Briefly, if you are not the only student in an English course, you waste your time, feel bored or frustrated and cannot get enough tailor-made attention. That's why 6-12 years of English learning in primary and secondary schools produce no result in most cases. And even worse, many students develop a negative attitude to language learning.

It is not the student or the teacher's fault. The language education system is dysfunctional. Not just here in Hong Kong where I live and tutor English but all over the world. You cannot combine "free", mass education with efficiency.

2-person English group learning

When a student is motivated, 1-to-1 learning is very effective. When I have 3 students in a group the group often breaks up after a few lessons if the difference between the best and slowest students is too big. So a 3-student group is usually the border case, the gray zone that may or may not work.

Two-student groups work well most of the time especially if the students are at the same level, like the same learning methods and learn at the same pace. Even if one of them is significantly better than the other but they are very good friends and the better student is generous and patient, the lesson is productive.

So taking an English conversation course with your friend is a good idea, especially if both of you want to learn. I usually design the lesson to the level of the weaker student.

Group price seems cheaper but it is not

Some people choose group English course for making friends and having fun. But the most common motivator is usually the cheaper price.

But the cheaper price is just an illusion. Yes, you pay less tuition fee in a group than in an individual lesson. But you pay for the improvement of your English and not for the time you spend in the classroom.

If you calculate the tuition fee for the individual attention, the tailor-made teaching and your English improvement for a large group versus an individual, private class, the one-on-one lesson is always cheaper.

If you learn with one friend together, the price per person is much lower than if you take the lesson alone and the benefit of the learning is the same or just a little bit less. That is, a two-person group can be the best solution for your English course selection.

Zoltan Gregor lives in Hong Kong and tutors English for adults and secondary school students. He teaches English conversation for one, two or three people at a time. Visit: http://www.englishconversationcoursetutorhk.com/
If you want to improve your job interview skills, you can practise it with him. See the details at: http://www.jobinterviewcoursehk.com/

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