Rocket Chinese Community

Hi I'm Richard,

I got interested in Chinese by way of a friend at work, she is chinese and comes from HK. She advised me to learn mandarin instead of cantonese as it has fewer tones and is supposidly easier to learn. I don't know about that, but as i think cantonese has 7 tones and i struggle with 4 she is probably right!

I have been studying via another audio course for about 14 months so know quite a few words already, but as usual there is still plenty to learn and this course is certainly stretching me and adding extra dimension to my language skills. After my last course finished I was worried how to proceed but Rocket Chinese is very very good and the web site support and cultural updates make you feel part of a team, I am really enjoying learning! Especially now we are starting to cover writing, I would love to be able read and write a bit.

I travel a lot to Singapore and hope to be there for longer periods soon so i should be able to use my chinese, even though everyone speaks english!

Hi there,
that's great. I hope your friend will practice Chinese with you as well.
If you have trouble with tones you should have a listen to the Bonus Audio Lesson on tones. I hope you find it helpful.

Enjoy the course and have fun on your Chinese learning journey!

hi guys,
i'm thea, i'm 21 and I'm from australia. I learnt mandarin at school when i was a kid but i've forgotten most of what i knew. I'm doing this course because i'm going to china for 7 weeks early next year, i'll even be there for the chinese new year festival. i think that being able to communicate with the locals makes the trip so much more enjoyable. Also I think learning chinese will be fun and this its a great way to put off doing my uni homework

Ni hao

Wo jiao Jhansen. When I graduated from college I had a list of goals - learning a new language was the very first thing on the list. I picked Cantonese. I tried and failed using 'traditional' methods.

After many many years, I learned about online programs available and did some homework. I landed on Rocket Languages.

So far, I've made more progress in my first day than I did in the other programs in one week.

My career background is in Medical Laboratory Science, but I'm leaning towards business and I feel learning Mandarin would benefit me greatly by opening more doors of opportunity.

See you around.

Zaijian

Jhansen

Hi I am David,
I have travelled to China four times now, and on the last visit married my Princess. I live here in Australia and am trying to learn Mandarin to be able to discuss life with her family. We anticipate she will move here next year to live with me.
I was welcomed into my new wifes family with much respect and I intend to show them I am serious in learning the mother tongue. I have reviewed many teaching programs and found this to be one of the most compatible with my current busy lifestyle. It is easy to connect to and has many levels at which i can learn.
In my travels to China is was lucky enough to trek through a village called Stonetown, and have stayed in Xianfan,Wuhan,Xian, Bejieng, Nanjing, Hangzhou. I also spent three days in a watertown called Xitang.
Forget Venice (i have been there too), this would have to be the most romantic place on earth. The town is built on a small river, and is clean, cheap and full of activities. It is about an hour out of Shanghai by train and then bus then short walk, but heaven on earth. China has many great attractions to see and i am in awe of the sheer size and population. My study of Mandarin is a commitment i have made to understanding a beautiful culture and land.

Ni hao everyone,

I'm from Scotland and I've been to Hong Kong and Shenzhen on a number of occasions. I've always been fortunate that my friends from HK have been with me in China, however on one occasion I went for some reflexology. The pain was excruciating and I couldn't tell the poor girl how sore it was!! This is just one reason for learning the language. Ultimately I'd love to move out there someday (I'm an aerospace engineer). My soon-to-be wife and I are heading out to HK (her first visit) in 4 weeks time for our honeymoon, so fingers crossed she falls in love with the place as much as I have.



P

We will all cross our fingers for you! Enjoy the trip!

Hi Mick, I never thought I'd be learning Mandarin! I am 51 years old of cantonese heritage having been born in Papua New Guinea. Indeed I believe my ancestors went there around 1890 or 1900, some by accident and others as indentured labourers for the Germans. Anyway here I am in Sydney Australia. I can speak some Cantonese, although it is rather poor. Needless to say I cannot read or write. Our Prime Minister was the catalyst for me - I thought, if he can then surely I can and should be able to as well. My wife, who is also from PNG has learnt at Uni and is pretty good at it. My daughter has just returned from Beijing having spent 3 months at the Beijing Cultural and Language University. So .... I have a bit to catch up to! I chose this course because of the English explanations that are given during the lessons. I don't think I could cope otherwise. Maybe if I get really good at it, I might journey back to China and discover my roots. We'll see.

Ni hao,

I want to learn Chinese because my wife is Chinese and her parents live in China and can only speak Chinese. It will be important to be able to speak with them and to help our future kids one day to speak with them.

Well to be honest, I would tell you the story but I think everyone already knows it. I am Ricky, the Rocket Chinese BLOG contest winner. In order to win, I had to share this story.