If you’re trying to learn Chinese then I can’t stress enough how you should be using ChinesePod.

Whenever someone first asks me how to learn Chinese I tell them to start there. I started learning Chinese with their podcast lessons in June of 2006 and I still use them on a daily basis. In my opinion, it’s the BEST resource you will find for learning Chinese.

ChinesePod is part of Praxis Language and is based in Shanghai. It was founded by Ken Carroll, a very experienced linguist and entrepreneur, who’s one of the first people that started trying to revolutionize the way people learn language.

They create daily podcast lessons for learning Chinese and offer all kinds of tools and resources for learning. I always download their podcast lessons and put them on my MP3 player and listen to them in the car. Then I review the PDF lesson files that accompany them later on to further remember the content and learn the characters.

I started using ChinesePod right before I went to China in 2006. I didn’t know a single word back then, but ChinesePod was able to teach me from knowing nothing to being able to say what I needed when I first arrived in Beijing. Each lesson is usually focused on a specific topic and they’re always very practical and entertaining. They teach you how to speak Chinese like a Chinese person would speak it. Their lessons are better than any textbook out there, and you have the freedom to choose topics from among thousands.

Study anywhere you want to on your own schedule.

So, pretend if you’re in China and you need to do something like get a hair cut. If you’ve never experienced going to a barber or hairstylist in China, then you’ll probably feel completely lost. Instead of just going without any knowledge or preparation, you can just go to ChinesePod.com and search through their lesson database for “Hair Cut”. Listen to the podcast lessons about hair cuts and you’ll have a better understanding of what to expect, and you’ll probably be able to say what you need to say. This is just one example, but I think you get the picture. You can even put the lessons on your phone or other handheld devices in case you want to review at any time.

Hosts: Ken, Jenny, and John. No robots.

The ChinesePod staff are also really friendly and interested in what they do. You’ll like the hosts of ChinesePod, such as Ken, Jenny, John, and Connie, for their vast knowledge and insight into China and the Chinese language. They’re not just some robots or scammers trying to take your money. They’re all really cool people at ChinesePod and they’re really interested in helping you.

With a basic subscription to ChinesePod you’ll get all these features.

• Expert Teacher Instruction
• Relevant, Daily Lesson Podcasts
• Ultra-convenient Content Delivery
• Vibrant Community of Learners
• Lesson Review Suite
• Vocabulary Study Tools
• Reference Resources
• Speaking Practice
• Classroom Integration

ChinesePod is much better than most of the classes out there you can take, and on top of that it’s WAY cheaper. I’d recommend just starting with the Basic subscription, which is only $9 a month. You won’t regret it. This isn’t like throwing money down the rat hole.  If you’re serious about learning Chinese then I think you should definitely try it. All the Newbie lessons are free without a subscription so if you’re just getting started then there’s really no excuse for you to not try it.

You could, in theory, go from knowing nothing to being fluent by just using ChinesePod. Of course you need to apply your language in real life, but almost everything you’ll probably ever need is there.

If you haven’t already, go get your free trial now.