Long-time ChinesePod users are familiar with the Listening Test we developed a while back, as well as our pinyin chart, which provided all the syllables of Mandarin Chinese in all the tones in an easily clickable format. V3 is taking these two resources to the next step.

The most obvious change with the Listening Test and Pinyin Guide are their tighter integration with the user’s experience. They’re both right there on the “Study” page now. (See if you can spot them in the image below!)

Listening Test
In case you’re unfamiliar with our Listening Test, it works like this. You click on a button and you hear a random Chinese statement of a pre-determined difficulty level. If you wish to, you can click again to hear it one more time. Then you must click “Yes” meaning “I understand” or “No” meaning “I don’t understand.” The test gives you new statements based on your responses, roughly zeroing in on your level. (This is a simplified form of the CAT model.)

The test is not multiple choice because we don’t want people guessing. If you’re the kind of learner that feels you understand when you have only 80% comprehension, then fine. Your answers will place you at a higher level and recommend relatively more challenging podcasts. In the same way, if you’re the kind of learner that insists on 100% comprehension of everything, then that’s fine too. You should end up scoring a little lower, and be recommended a level in which you’ll understand closer to 100%.

The last time we presented the Listening Test, we got a lot of great feedback. “Don’t speak so painfully slow at the Newbie level!” some of you said. “Regularly update it so I can take it over and over!” others requested. So we’re doing those things. When you see the new V3 Listening Test, you will notice: (1) that it got a visual makeover, (2) that it’s more tightly integrated into the learning experience, and (3) that it will be updated and improved with time. Be sure to check it out!

Pinyin Guide
As for the Pinyin Guide, on V3 it has finally turned into a real guide rather than being just a chart of syllables. Drawing upon my personal experience learning Mandarin, my experience describing the sounds of Mandarin, and the knowledge I’ve gained in my studies in applied linguistics, I have designed and written a full guide especially for the beginner learners of Mandarin Chinese. The guide specifically addresses all the problematic sounds (as well as the less problematic ones). Use the guide for help in those problem areas, or even read the guide from start to finish to enrich your understanding of the phonetics of Mandarin in a logical, cumulative progression.

The chart of syllables has also gotten a visual makeover. We never really liked the tabs for the different vowel sounds, but the problem was that the chart loaded way too slowly. We decided to do away with the tabs altogether, redesign it for the new V3 look, and offer the pinyin chart as a standalone download. This ensures easy access on your computer anytime, and no wait time.

Whoo-hoo! All this sounds like fun, yes? V3.

-John

Next Up: Practice