Mandarin Lessons

Chinese Voice Review

by admin on 29/09/09 at 7:59 am

Learning Chinese can be very frustrating to students. There are a lot of things you need to memorize and practice, which is tiring sometimes. But, it does not have to be that way. All you need is the right tools to use for your learning. This is where Chinese Voice comes in. Don’t have time to attend formal classes? Perhaps learning Chinese online is the best option for you.

What is Chinese Voice?

Chinese Voice is an online program that teaches Chinese straight from Beijing. Their teachers are native Chinese speakers that can help students learn the language in an interactive way. There are three programs clients can choose from: (1) Spoken Chinese, which focuses on conversational Chinese that are best for those who wish to use it for their travels, (2) Reading and Writing, which concentrates on the characters as well as speech, and (3) Business Chinese, which is best for those who want to go that extra mile in speaking Chinese. The last program focuses on the use of Chinese in the corporate world, which can be a bit more complicated that conversational Chinese.

Our Analysis

There are a few pros and cons about using Chinese Voice. After comparing it with other programs, here are the results…

PROS

1. Chinese Voice teachers are native speakers, which is why they have more knowledge on the language.
2. The site offers different programs for students to choose from. Clients do not have to get stuck with a program they are not interested in joining.

CONS

1. There are not a lot of tools for students to utilize for their learning. Audio files are only provided for during the virtual class, but there are no podcasts students can practice with anywhere they go.
2. Chinese Voice only allows students to have a “personal meeting” via video conferencing with their tutors once or twice a week. On the most part of the week, students are then left to study the textbooks on their own, which may be a source of a lot of confusion.

Conclusion

Chinese Voice is a good website to refer to if you want to learn Chinese. They provide quality service, no doubt, but they lack certain aspects for the optimum learning of students. Although the program provides textbooks and workbooks, perhaps it would be better if they also have other interactive sources that students can make use of.

If you are more of an interactive learner, perhaps ChinesePod is a better program to try out. They have podcasts that students can listen to anywhere, anytime; as well as online worksheets they can practice on.