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I gave it 3 stars... because it disappointed me so much in comparison to other Michel Thomas products. But stepping back, it still does do something to demystify the chinese language... it makes it a little bit accessible. It is well worth doing if just for that... and you could argue that 4 stars would be OK. But for fans of the Michel Thomas method, this has a big flaw. Michel Thomas himself would always make a very big point of repeating anything that his students said - leaving you with a correct 'lasting impression' of the phrase being said. But not so with this teacher - who also seems to introduce a chinese-speaking 'classroom assistant' which does nothing but confuse the situation. Too many different voices, which I found especially difficult because the sounds are so 'foreign' , I was left unable to tell whether or not I am listening to a student, or an assistant. But much worse still, the teacher lets his pupils get away with making mistakes. And because he fails to 'say the phrase correctly' to reinforce the correct answer... I don't know what's right and what's not. I also struggled with the pacing. Some bits were painfully laboured.... other bits went too fast, with insufficient explanation. So having appeared to slate the product.... I should say that I've accentuated the negatives here. At the end of the day, I do now have a concept of what Mandarin is about... and after just 2 hours study, I can remember a few key phrases, and have some knowledge of chinese language structures and sounds. Which I think is remarkable! Any other method, and I'm sure I'd have forgotten them by now (it is at least 2 weeks since I listed to the CDs) I notice that latest editions have a different cover on the Michel Thomas Mandarin course. I don't know if this is just smartening up the box, or if the content is notably changed... to iron out the flaws I suggest. If you're thinking of buying, you might want to answer that question for yourself.... but even so, despite the bad bits... I'll be amazed if there is a similar course that is as good as this!!Read full review
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