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Hey y’all –
Do any of you guys use language podcasts for Chinese? Looking to improve comprehension, expand vocab a bit, etc. Essentially, looking for something to do on the subway other than play QQ dou dizhu… Since it can get pretty packed on the subway during rush hours (when I’m on the subway, unfortunately) writing is out, so something that doesn’t require a whole lot of interaction with the touchscreen. Hence, podcasts….
Thoughts?
googe’in will quickly give you ‘the’ payable podcast. If there’s any chance you’re as cheap as me you might want to get some GBs copied of them from a friend.
for a couple of beers. I could be that friend 🙂
As for “the” payable podcast, do you mean ChinesePod?
It’s not that I’m averse to paying (though I wouldn’t say no to freebies…), it’s just that I don’t want to shell out money on crappy products while I test out five different products, so I was wondering if anyone had any experience and had found a favorite.
Which ones do you use?
yeah, ChinesePod.
if you don’t mind paying, I think their online services are pretty good. though I find sometimes their longer podcasts with the banter and explanation on them can be kinda a drag, there are versions with only the dialog too.
I think you can get a trail with them, though I guess it’s limited.
the offer’s there: if you wanna come to mine with a hard disk or laptop and a couple of cold cans, I think I can dig out a couple of GBs mixed levels for you, I live just off the metro. PM me.
ChinesePod pretty much owns the Chinese language learning podcast space – there are some alternatives, but the ones that I’ve tried are scattered and can’t really compete. ChinesePod is owned by Praxis (which manages language podcasts in tons of languages) so they really know what they’re doing. They have a lot of beginner lessons for free download, or you can find a torrent with everything.
An alternative that I found a few months ago is Sexy Mandarin, although it might be videos only.
In case you haven’t heard of it, I really like Popup Chinese. I think the dialogue is more interesting and colloquial than ChinesePod. The downloads might be free, but I pay the yearly subscription because it’s an all around decent product. It probably doesn’t have nearly as many podcasts as ChinesePod, but has well over 1000 and is a good alternative…
Also, if you’re looking to work on your writing Skritter just came out with a brilliant iphone app for that.
Quote:Also, if you’re looking to work on your writing Skritter just came out with a brilliant iphone app for that.The Skritter app is incredible, I just wish it were cheaper. I’ve heard of people just signing up for a month and downloading everything before canceling their subscription, but it still has to be really good for me to use that over Pleco flashcards.
From what I can tell from the Popup Chinese I found in the iTunes store, seems a little advanced for my lackluster skillz… Popup Chinese it is – for now, at least.
Thanks for the recs, fellas.
Quote:The Skritter app is incredible, I just wish it were cheaper. I’ve heard of people just signing up for a month and downloading everything before canceling their subscription, but it still has to be really good for me to use that over Pleco flashcards.As someone who pays the $9.99 a month for Skritter, I only think it’s worth it if you use it on average at least a half hour a day. It only comes out to the cost of one hour with a 60rmb tutor a month, so I’d say it’s worth it. Also if too many people just download the content then cancel the subscription, then you get the same problem you had over at the Big Love Music Festival and eventually we won’t have nice apps/music festivals like this anymore, but to each their own I guess…
Those pleco cards are definitely solid!
Quote:Also if too many people just download the content then cancel the subscription, then you get the same problem you had over at the Big Love Music Festival and eventually we won’t have nice apps/music festivals like this anymore, but to each their own I guess…Right, I would love to support Skritter but for me the options are either sign up for a month and use the app or contribute nothing to it since I use Pleco on the regular. Anytime I learn a new word it goes straight into Pleco as a flashcard. The advantage of Skritter seems to be the the improved character input method.
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