Learn a Little Chinese... before heading for the Beijing Olympic Games

Have you ever wanted to learn Chinese (Mandarin) and haven't found the time or someone to teach you in the convenience of your own home? Today I found a website that will help you do just that. Making Mandarin Manageable offers electronic flashcards, interactive programs, recordings and many other resources to help you help you learn, polish or master Chinese.

 

This is an excellent resource for the thousands of travelers heading to China in the next couple of months for the Olympic Games. It always helps to have basic navigation words when you travel. Things like "take me to, left, right, stop, faster, slower". Believe me, it comes very handy when you are lost.

 

If you have special food needs it is good to know how to describe them, such as "vegetarian, hot, cold". Or learn the basic words for shopping , "too expensive, more, less, how much".

 

The few hours you spend learning basic words will more pay off in the end, especially in areas of China that are far away from the big cities. So, let us recommend that you get basic English to Chinese Translation skills before you are asked to jump over hoops to get yourself understood.