Finding a Mandarin class that does not involve writing

October 15, 2019 3:58 PM

Deets: I took a year of Mandarin in college so I have a basis, but not much, to go on. I am specifically looking for a class, not an app, because I think human interaction is really important for language learning. My brain is really not wired for the writing plus it's not my primary interest. Is a class that just teaches you the spoken part a thing that exists? I am in the the (east) bay area so there is certainly a Chinese population, which might work in my favor. I do not know if, as in NYC, however, the population here primarily speaks a language other than Mandarin.
posted by less of course to Education (4 answers total)

It sounds like you want a language exchange setup. Bay Area has predominantly Cantonese speakers (though I'm sure you'll find Mandarin speakers too) but if you're willing to do this online, there's no end of language exchange sites where you can find English-learners eager to speak with you. It won't be formal instruction, but it sounds like you wouldn't mind that. You could also get a private teacher and just say that you just want to operate in pinyin (I think you will need some kind of written script, if only as a crutch to get your head around the sounds).

having said that, Pimsleur Chinese 1-5 is solid and gets you to decent beginnerish conversational level and as per Pimsleur praxis, it is all done by sound, with no written component at all. IIRC they recently started subscription on their iPhone app, which was a huge improvement over having to fork out hundreds up front, so you could try it and see how you get on.

Have to say, past a certain level IMO it'll become very hard to avoid learning characters, since there are so many words that sound the same, and also how much more material it opens up for you, e.g. access to Weibo, non-English news and cultural productions, and also just being able to find your way around China or other Chinese-speaking regions, read a menu etc. (presuming of course that you actually want to interact physically with places rather than just speak the language from afar)
posted by idlethink at 5:36 AM on October 16, 2019

Best answer: I did a bit of searching for classes taught in pinyin and this sort of class looks like it might work for you? "The focus of our classes is on practical spoken Mandarin taught in pinyin, with some simplified characters included for reference. ABC's communicative method means students will be speaking and interacting in Mandarin throughout the lesson, while engaging in conversation and lively interaction all in Chinese."
posted by corvine at 5:41 AM on October 16, 2019

iTalki connects people who want to learn/practice a language with teachers and tutors. The cost varies depending on the person's qualification. It's not in person, but it is face-to-face, usually using Skype or a similar platform.

I also encourage you to review or build some on the basics of writing that you already know. This would allow you to use more training materials like apps or textbooks or worksheets in the future. I work with language teachers and while most of their classes focus on speaking and listening, students need to learn at least the basics to also learn from their textbooks--and most textbooks switch at some point to being primarily in the language they are learning (except for explaining grammatical concepts--at least in the novice and intermediate levels).
posted by carrioncomfort at 6:45 AM on October 16, 2019

I'm going to second italki. If online classes work for you, it's much much better than classes. Cheaper, more convenient, more efficient, more fun. I'm pretty anti-class honestly, unless it's truly the only way to work study into your life. Plus, an italki teacher will be willing to cater themselves to your needs.

FWIW, I got conversational without being able to read or write, though I used pinyin flashcards extensively. I then learned to read, though still can't write. You can definitely get conversational without reading. It gets hard to move past that without being able to read native material...it's not impossible, but it will get harder and harder and require a lot more active work on your part. I'd say do italki classes for a while, then perhaps approach the characters in a different way. IMO, writing isn't super necessary. And as I said before, classes are awful, and there are now lots of great tools and methods to tackle studying the characters (Anki, skritter, outlier Chinese, Mandarin companion, and on).

But I heartily encourage you to take that off the table and focus on speaking with a native on italki. That's what I did and it worked wonderfully. I will add though that the lack of study materials will put more of a burden on you to structure your learning. Totally doable though.
posted by wooh at 11:04 AM on October 16, 2019