Product Description

MANUFACTURER WARRANTY: 90

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #646 in Software
• Brand: TOPICS Entertainment
• Model: CS-384d
• Released on: 2003-07-28
• Platforms: Windows XP, Windows 98, Windows Me
• Format: CD-ROM
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 2.00 pounds

Features

• PC: Pentium(166 MHz recommended), Windows® 95 and higher includeing XP, 16 MB RAM (32 MB RAM recommended)
• 90 MB HD (110 MB recommended), 2X CD-ROM drive (12X CD ROM drive recommended)
• 16-bit Windows - compatible sound card, 640 X 480, 256 color graphics card (1024 X 768, 65,536 color graphics card recommended) Microphone and speakers or headset, Internet access and e-mail address r
• Topics
• Shipping New Version 2.0 - PC

From the Manufacturer
From the publisher of the Instant Immersion language line comes Instant Immersion Chinese Deluxe, a comprehensive approach to language study focusing on listening, reading, and writing. Emphasizing the Euro Method--the best process for learning to speak a foreign language quickly--this eight CD suite combines an immersion environment with brand-new curriculum that will quickly move you from a beginner to an advanced student.

Start your study by mastering Hiragana, Katakana, and basic Kanji with the entertaining Blackbelt Chinese CD-ROM an effective combination of mah-jongg and video game animation. Continue with the four CD-ROM series from Europe’s language-learning software. The advanced speech recognition feature coupled with the unique speech analysis technology (S.E.T.S.) evaluates and corrects your pronunciation, ensuring you develop correct oral skills. To round out your study, reinforce your vocabulary lessons with the three, companion, audio CDs. Developed by linguistic experts, each audio lesson utilizes the same learning methods used in university-level language programs.

From the publisher of Instant Immersion language line comes Instant Immersion Mandarin Chinese Deluxe, a comprehensive approach to language study focusing on listening, reading, and writing. Emphasizing the Euro Method--the best process for learning to speak a foreign language quickly--this eight CD suite combines an immersion environment with a brand-new curriculum that will quickly move you from a beginner to an advanced student.

Start your study with the four CD-ROM series from Europe's language-learning software. The advanced speech recognition feature coupled with the unique speech analysis technology (S.E.T.S.) evaluates and corrects your pronunciation, ensuring you develop correct oral skills. Next, polish your Mandarin Chinese with the entertaining Blackbelt Chinese CD-ROM, an effective combination of mah-jongg and video game animation. To round out your study, reinforce your vocabulary lessons with the three, companion, audio CDs. Developed by linguistic experts, each audio lesson utilizes the same learning methods used in university-level language programs.

Features:

• 3,000 words and 800 characters
• 400 exercises
• Spoken Error Tracking System (S.E.T.S.)
• Interactive dialogue
• Dictation
• Comprehension
• Listening
• Writing
• Pronunciation
• Speaking
• Conversation
• Vocabulary
• Grammar
• Cultural traditions

Blackbelt Chinese

Combining the strategic game of mah-jongg with video game animation, Blackbelt Chinese is an amazingly effective method for learning characters, words, and their sounds. Journey amidst scenic mountaintops to Lang Tu, the martial arts school of the mind, where you’re challenged to defeat the enemy and earn the honored blackbelt. With your teacher close at hand, you will move from beginner to intermediate level, building a solid foundation of traditional Mandarin Chinese skills.

Beginner and intermediate levels:

• 480 foundational characters and vocabulary in thematic groups
• Chinese white, red, green, purple and black belts
• Learning and challenge mode for learning ease and fun!

BONUS! Three Chinese audio CDs from the audio language line.

Continue your study away from the computer with the three Chinese Audio CDs from Instant Immersion. Developed by university professors and linguistic experts, each lesson fully prepares you for interaction among native Mandarin speakers.

Beginner and intermediate (four CD-ROMs)

You set the pace for learning with these personalized beginner and intermediate programs. With entertaining instruction on 13 key activities including vocabulary, grammar, and phonetics, you will quickly start speaking, reading, and writing Chinese. Each lesson plan allows you to focus on concepts you need help with most. Simply modify each activity by adjusting the difficulty level of the exercises or create a personalized program by targeting specific subjects. Additionally, the advanced speech recognition feature and unique spoken error tracking system (S.E.T.S.) monitor your pronunciation and intonation, ensuring you develop correct verbal skills.

Interactive lessons on:

• Dialog
• Picture/word association
• Chinese/Pinyin association
• Chinese/English association
• Fill-in-the-blanks
• Mystery phrase
• Word order
• The right word
• Dictation
• Crossword puzzle
• Sentence pronunciation
• Grammar rules consultation
• Glossary consultation

Customer Reviews

Definitely not for beginners !!!!
Unfortunately this is not a good software.
1. There is no system in presenting information (lessons not really lessons)
2. They could combine all 5 interactive CDs into just one! Each of them has no more than 140MB and "Black Belt" CD has just 25MB! So, all that "8 CD set" is nothing but an advertising trick!
3. There is a Chinese(pinyin)-English dictionary but there is no English- Chinese one!
4. Could not find any info about how to write Chinese characters
Overall, may be good for those who already know at least 300 characters and currently studying Chinese (like in college or with a native) but for independent study - below average.

Good vocabulary builder
This program doesn't seem to be good for absolute beginners, but it's good for expanding your vocabulary. It took me a while working with other programs for learning Chinese before I was ready to make good use of this one. Dictionary part of it is awesome because you can see how the words are written in Chinese characters as well as in pinyin. It has lots of fun games to test your comprehension and a lot of the material is focused on testing your knowledge of Chinese characters.

The program does teach some dialogues as well as grammar and it is helpful for making sure you're pronouncing the words correctly, but for me the greatest benefit of this program lies in helping one to learn lots of words and characters. You get to learn about 3000 words and 800 characters and the best part about all of these words is that you get to hear them and you get to play with characters through lots of fun games. It really does help to retain the information.

bit of a con
As another reviewer said, this "deluxe 8 cd" stuff is misleading. The core part of the software is the "Tell Me More" 4-cd set. However, there is only 1 lesson on each cd (total = 4 measley lessons). If you click on the "choose a lesson" icon, you are presented with a choice of...one lesson! Pathetic! If you buy the proper "Tell Me More" pack, you will have only 1 cd but it will contain loads of lessons.

Also, I was really interested in learning to speak and listen, not so bothered about reading and writing. Speaking and listening only makes up about 5% of the software, so it's not very useful in that respect. Also be aware that the characters are all simplified Chinese characters, so if you wanted to learn traditional characters, keep away. If your main interest is learning to read simplified Chinese,then this is not bad,otherwise I think it's not much use, and putting so little content on so many cds is really dishonest, and I think Topics shouldn't be rewarded for such trickery. My advice is: don't give them your money!