Learn Mandarin through Chinese Songs

Dajia hao, wo shi Peggy!!! :D

I just wanted to tell you about a new website I found that can help you improve your Chinese.  Sing Chinese Songs is a great place to learn Mandarin through Chinese songs.  I was surprised to find some of the most well-known Chinese songs in their playlist.  The most distinctive feature of Sing Chinese Songs is their karaoke style music player.  Having Mandarin lyrics and pinyin play simultaneously as the song goes along is especially thoughtful.  Beginners may find singing along with the pinyin a bit challenging; Sing Chinese Songs has got it all thought out!  There is “complete lyrics with the instant dictionary” in every song; so you can study characters in the lyrics before singing along.

There is even a feature that helps you study recognize the characters and its meanings word by word.  Once you have become familiar with the lyrics, you can take on a new challenge with the Mandarin characters by pressing the button to hide the pinyin. 

Moreover, in every song there is a profile of the singer for us to learn Chinese popular culture. It’s a helpful and informative online resource for Mandarin learners.  Every language should have a website like Sing Chinese Songs, to help us sing in that language! 

Let's learn how to sing Chinese songs~~~ :)

4.5 out of 5 stars! 

Peggy Lee

Book Review for LiveABC’s Illustrated Chinese-English Dictionary

LiveABC’s Illustrated Chinese- English Dictionary is a book designed for all Mandarin learners. Page by page, it covers commonly used Mandarin vocabulary with its English definition and colorful illustrations. Differing from most language learning textbooks, instead of listing a catalog of vocabulary with its literal definition in another language, Illustrated Chinese- English Dictionary takes its learners journey back to the stage when children begin to learn their vernacular tongue through the indication of an object. Such a learning technique should be applied by all second language learners, that we should learn vocabulary by building a perception of illustrations rather than memorizing lifeless word definitions.

While most learning tools for Mandarin simply present Putonghu(普通話) spoken in Mainland, China, to my surprise, Illustrated Chinese- English Dictionary covers a broader literal meaning in Mandarin; it clearly displays pinyin(拼音) along with simplified written characters and zhuyin(注音) with traditional characters in divided columns. Thus, learners are allowed to compare the great similarities and the slight differences between Putonghua(普通話) and Guoyu(國語).

Moreover, Illustrated Chinese- English Dictionary comes with two CD-ROMs; it provides an access to interactive learning with its designed software for its users. This way, learners are encouraged to listen to MP3 track for a more accurate pronunciation in Mandarin.

With all its advantages, Illustrated Chinese- English Dictionary is highly recommended for both beginners and inter-mediate level learners.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 Stars. 

Happy Learning! :)

Peggy Lee