I'm wondering the same. Did you get it yet?
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I did end up impulse buying it - figured it's $25 lol. Haven't really gotten into it yet, but I'll share my initial impressions.
Like others have said, any serious learning will need to include talking to people who know the language. I had some experience learning Mandarin in a class as a teenager for about 2 years and I'm using this mostly as an edutainment product to brush up on some basics. I'll probably enroll in a similar class to the one I was in when I was younger when I have the time/money.
I would compare this to the random Excel learning modules you can take at some office jobs, if you've seen anything like that. You get a series of videos covering different topics. I haven't engaged with this enough to get to the Homework sections - but I'm guessing it's just some kind of multiple choice questionnaire. There's obviously no actual interaction with the teachers, like you would have with an online class through a university or other type of school.
Overall - there's probably worse things that you could spend $25 on, but this alone isn't going to teach you Chinese. The retail prices they list are absurd, though ($100 per module!!!!). No idea what the cultural learning modules are like, but they have one about lol - I don't think it's included in the Humble Bundle so I can't check how
it may or may not be.
That's a fair assessment. For that price I may still check it out myself. Other courses I am aware of such as ChinesePod are also absurdly priced, it's a bit crazy. Apparently this one is a companion to the official HSK Standard Course books so I'm gonna check if I can get these on Z-lib first.
Good call on the HSK books, don't forget to snag the workbook, too.
I saw some post where someone mentioned snagging a bootleg of ChinesePod somewhere, but I haven't personally looked around.
加油 on your studies!
Can’t comment on this but I suggest hellotalk. It’s free and Chinese people will talk with you and teach you as much as you want.
It may or may not be good, but you really need to incorporate actual natural speaking and writing into your curriculum. HelloTalk has been mentioned and is a good choice for talking with strangers around the world (although you'll have to pay for some basic features like translating messages in app).
Another option is iTalki, which is a language learning marketplace. You find a teacher you feel chemistry with and for a fee, they will teach you anything from elementary to advanced language skills as well as just casual conversation to practice the language. Usually the instructors are actual teachers or have the qualifications to be an official instructor in their country, while others are just enthusiasts who understand how to teach. Many instructors will provide demo lessons for free or for a small fee in which you go and discuss goals and get an overview of the lessons. Usually they use real textbooks from schools inside the country. It's usually pay per lesson, so you don't need to buy a shit ton if you get busy or do something else.
I've done both. I did HelloTalk before they charged for translations and I've paid for lessons on iTalki for a couple months. I think both are good options - one for casual conversation and messaging, the other for a more concrete understanding of the language.