We were running the video camera the other day when Aric asked me to describe in 3 minutes what ChinesePod is. My anwswer (on that particular day!) came down to this: it’s a unique way to learn a language, born out of our particular combination of technology plus methodology that we use.
My little description rambles a bit (it was unscripted) but that’s what came to mind.
To be honest with you, I find it really difficult to get the idea across briefly. I didn’t mention community, the economics of it, or the people behind it, or about a dozen other things I could have mentioned. In fact, I only just touched the surface of what it is. (I’m not trying to make it sound mysterious.) Is ChinesePod really complex? Could you describe it in a much shorter way (if you were that way inclined)? What do you think?
I’m doing so many interview thse days that I feel I have to get better at the sound bite. I’ll work on my Version Two if you give me your feedback.
Ken Carroll
Ken,
Here’s my verbose attempt to describe Chinesepod:
Chinesepod broadcasts Internet Mandarin lessons using the latest and most effective teaching methods to simplify and accelerate the student’s acquisition of Mandarin speaking skills while introducing the student to the richness of the Chinese culture, present and past.
Ken … In some podcast I was reviewing, Jenny mentioned the tendency to avoid embarassment in certain situations. Though maybe acute in Asian cultures, it’s true of any one. Then it hit me … THAT’s probably one of the major selling points of podcasts. You don’t know if I’m making a fool of myself, garbling the pronunciation and spending 3 weeks getting “ni hao ma” down. If I take a formal class, I’m announcing that I’m going to try to master this thing. I’m committed and there’s no backing out (without embarassment or absorbing a financial hit). That’s a daunting prospect. People might pause and ask: “Do I really want to expose myself to possible snickers and grins? What if I’m in over my head? I don’t have the slightest idea if I can survive past the first few weeks. Maybe I’ll never make a connection. Maybe I’ll take Spanish instead.” But podcasts provide anonymity! I can test the water and no one is none the wiser. I’ll know soon enough if Mandarin pronunciation is realistically within my grasp. I’ll know soon enough what I can expect to achieve and what this language is going to demand of me. If I’m confident I can handle it, then I’ll let other people know. Maybe I’ll even take a formal class.
Art, you packed a lot of stuff in there very well!
FDW, I think you’ve hit upon an important point - perceived risk. The affective factor is huge in language learning. Only the true extrovert is undaunted by the prospect of embarassment in the language class. Thx for pointing that out.
Amazingly, I’ve seen teachers who were totally oblivious to this issue. Some of them have spent a lifetime humiliating the poor suckers who wanted to try to learn a second language. For me, as a learner, it would be a major issue - I’d be a nervous student if I thought I was going to be constantly called on to ‘perform’.
Ken Carroll
So we should call the oblivious teachers “Mandarin Soup Nazis?” No soup for you! (or should it be No tang for you!) Seinfeld lives on….
ChinesePod is “a fun, slightly addictive and very convenient way to learn Chinese”.
An additional comment to FDW’s. Absolutely I agree with his point. And also I recall from long long ago when I was in Grad. School in Physics I was asked to take Russian. It was in the Liberal Arts school and the learning style of language is very different from Physics. In a bricks and mortar school we were expected to study and perform daily. Physics, each class was once per week. Even today if one were to take Chinese in an evening class one is expected to be ready each class. No doubt the reason one would take the class in the evening is one is already leading a life with many commitments. There is no “pause button”.
Chinesepod gives you the opportunity to hit the ‘pause button’ as well as reschedule when you want to learn.
I think this is a serious point for all post traditional school students. Our classroom is on planes, trains, bikes or a comfy chair where ever, when ever we can fit it in. And with a global Chinesepod community, you can go on line and talk when ever you wish.
Mike in Jubei
Mike in Jubei
I find chinesepod much more entertaining on my daily commute and a wonderful learning experience.
ChinesePod: No Tone for You! *lol*
Some of these sound decidedly like a mission statement
Do you have one? I should look at the about page more often…
Will,
I have a real issue with missions statements. I think it’s almost impossible to make them truly interesting or motivating. Maybe its just me…
Ken Carroll
Chinesepod is a virtual classroom for learning Chinese for the highly motivated. They are the ones who like their realworld counterparts are still showing up for class in the last week of term when all others have dropped out. What good about Chinesepod is its convenience and the sense of community that provide a meeting place for like minded strugglers like myself as well as the linguistic gymnasts.
The other day I checked out Learnchinesepod.com to see if anyone was in that space and sure enough there are a more convenional set-up there with a Chinese teacher with his classes up on the site as podcasts. The material was a bit dry and the format was lots of repetition with the students. It made me notice how like a ‘chat show’ the format of Chinesepod is and in fact on Saturday it does turn into one. This edutainment format is important to keep us coming back and certainly putting Jenny’s picture on homepage is a step in the right direction.