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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.
Track 16: Beginners Chinese: Asking for directions
Asking for directions politely.
© The Open University 2010
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Originally published: Friday, 4th June 2010
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- Body text - Content : Copyright The Open University
- Audio/Video tracks: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 The Open University 2010
- Image 'Beginners’ Chinese' - Copyright: The Open University 2010
- Image 'Getting started with Chinese 1' - Copyright: Toa55/iStock / Getty Images Plus
- Image 'Tourist' - Copyright: Dreamstime
- Image 'The number two in Chinese' - The Open University under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'Portales: beginners' Spanish' - Copyright: The Open University 2008
- Image 'The Language of Comedy' - Copyright: The Open University
- Image 'A group of more than 30 Yaqui Indian prisoners being escorted away by Mexican soldiers, Mexico, ca.1910' - Copyright free: USC Libraries Special Collections
- Image 'European day of languages logo 2015' - Copyright free: Council of Europe
- Image 'tea being poured into a cup' - Copyright free: MorgueFile
- Image 'Zachary Richard' - Jeangagnon under CC-BY-SA licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Languages and Employability' - Copyright: The Open University
- Image 'Coloured magnetic letters are laid out on a piece of paper to spell out 'What is language?'' - The Open University under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'how languages further your career image' - The Open University under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
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Publication details
-
Originally published: Friday, 4th June 2010
Copyright information
- Body text - Content: Copyright The Open University
- Audio/Video tracks: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 The Open University 2010
- Image 'Beginners’ Chinese' - Copyright: The Open University 2010
- Image 'Getting started with Chinese 1' - Copyright: Toa55/iStock / Getty Images Plus
- Image 'Tourist' - Copyright: Dreamstime
- Image 'The number two in Chinese' - The Open University under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'Portales: beginners' Spanish' - Copyright: The Open University 2008
- Image 'The Language of Comedy' - Copyright: The Open University
- Image 'A group of more than 30 Yaqui Indian prisoners being escorted away by Mexican soldiers, Mexico, ca.1910' - Copyright free: USC Libraries Special Collections
- Image 'European day of languages logo 2015' - Copyright free: Council of Europe
- Image 'tea being poured into a cup' - Copyright free: MorgueFile
- Image 'Zachary Richard' - Jeangagnon under CC-BY-SA licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Languages and Employability' - Copyright: The Open University
- Image 'Coloured magnetic letters are laid out on a piece of paper to spell out 'What is language?'' - The Open University under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'how languages further your career image' - The Open University under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'London Centre for languages and culture' - Copyright: Pembroke College Oxford
- Image ' A blank name badge hanging out of a jeans pocket' - Copyright: Dmitry Naumov | Dreamstime.com
- Image 'Intermediate Italian: describing people' - Copyright: Hans F Meier/iStock
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