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Beginners’ Chinese: Track 1

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Do you want to learn some basics in Mandarin Chinese? The tracks presented here are designed to give you a taste of Mandarin Chinese language and culture. You’ll hear short conversations where people greet each other, introduce themselves and their families, describe where they come from and what they do for a living. You’ll hear them talk about sports, ask for directions, buy things, order food in a restaurant, invite someone to dinner – or simply share their experience of learning Chinese. You’ll also find a track to help you with pronunciation and the use of tones. Finally, there’s the chance to listen to interviews in English about Chinese-speaking cultures. Our guide to the language and culture of mainland China is Dr Kan Qian, who is chair of The Open University course: L197: Beginners’ Chinese
You can also download transcripts for all the tracks.

By: The iTunes U team (The Open University,)

  • Duration 50 mins
  • Updated Friday 4th June 2010
  • Introductory level
  • Posted under Languages
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Track 1: Beginners' Chinese

A short introduction to this album.


© The Open University 2010


Tracks in this podcast:

Track   Title Description
1 Beginners' Chinese    A short introduction to this album. Play now Beginners' Chinese
2 Beginners Chinese: Pronunciation and tone    Mandarin Chinese speech sounds and tones. Learn how to pronounce Chinese vowels, consonants and the four tones. Play now Beginners Chinese: Pronunciation and tone
3 Beginners Chinese: Numbers from zero to ten    Learn to ----- from zero to ten in Chinese. Play now Beginners Chinese: Numbers from zero to ten
4 Beginners Chinese: Greetings and names    Greeting each other and asking about each other’s names. Play now Beginners Chinese: Greetings and names
5 Beginners Chinese: Where do you live?    A short exchange where two people chat about where they live. Play now Beginners Chinese: Where do you live?
6 Beginners Chinese: Greeting friends    Useful expressions such as ‘long time no see’ to greet friends. Play now Beginners Chinese: Greeting friends
7 Beginners Chinese: Nationalities and the place you come from    Talking about nationality and what part of the country one comes from. Play now Beginners Chinese: Nationalities and the place you come from
8 Beginners Chinese: Describing people    Describing someone’s name and profession. Play now Beginners Chinese: Describing people
9 Beginners Chinese: Professions and ages    Describing someone’s profession and age. Play now Beginners Chinese: Professions and ages
10 Beginners Chinese: Family    Talking about one’s family. Play now Beginners Chinese: Family
11 Beginners Chinese: Dates    Discussing the day of the week. Play now Beginners Chinese: Dates
12 Beginners Chinese: Daily activities    Describing daily activities. Play now Beginners Chinese: Daily activities
13 Beginners Chinese: Sports    Describing the sport one can play. Play now Beginners Chinese: Sports
14 Beginners Chinese: Food and drink    Common words for food and drinks. Play now Beginners Chinese: Food and drink
15 Beginners Chinese: Placing orders    Ordering food and drinks in a restaurant. Play now Beginners Chinese: Placing orders
16 Beginners Chinese: Asking for directions    Asking for directions politely. Play now Beginners Chinese: Asking for directions
17 Beginners Chinese: Role-play: buying and selling    Play the role of a customer to buy something. Play now Beginners Chinese: Role-play: buying and selling
18 Beginners Chinese: Inviting someone for dinner    Inviting a friend and giving instructions. Play now Beginners Chinese: Inviting someone for dinner
19 Beginners Chinese: Learning Chinese    Sharing experience in learning Chinese and paying complements to others. Play now Beginners Chinese: Learning Chinese
20 Beginners Chinese interview: Forms of address and professional titles    Interview in English: Discussion on how Chinese people address each other in public places and how professional titles are used as forms of address. Play now Beginners Chinese interview: Forms of address and professional titles
21 Beginners Chinese interview: How do friends and colleagues address each other    Interview in English: Discussion on how friends and colleagues address each other. Play now Beginners Chinese interview: How do friends and colleagues address each other
22 Beginners Chinese interview: Tonal language    Interview in English: Discussion on how best to learn the tones. Play now Beginners Chinese interview: Tonal language
23 Beginners Chinese interview: Chinese characters    Interview in English: Discussing Chinese characters. Play now Beginners Chinese interview: Chinese characters
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