How I Turned My iPhone Into My Own Personal Mandarin Tutor tagged: , , , , ,

How I Turned My iPhone Into My Own Personal Mandarin Tutor

Posted by Mike in Languages

As a few of you know, I am currently trying to learn Mandarin. In fact, it is one of my top goals to be conversational in Mandarin by January. Thanks to going to school full time (while also working full time), I am closing in on my goals, but it’s not easy. I’ve tried practicing Mandarin with my girlfriend, but it just doesn’t work out – our relationship was built in English in the USA and I’m too hard of a student for her :). I’ve tried getting language partners, but our schedules don’t match up or the meeting turns into more of an English lesson than anything else. However there is one thing that works for me…

My iPhone has become my new Mandarin tutor. It never makes fun of my pronunciation. It never misunderstands me. It pushes me when I want to be pushed. It takes it easy on me when I need an ego boost. It is never late for an appointment and it doesn’t mind when I get distracted by something else. It teaches me without going off on tangents and it always presents to me what I want to learn.

Let me tell you the steps that I took to create my nearly perfect Mandarin tutor.

Pre-Step: Get an iPhone or iPod Touch

If you don’t have one already, you’ve got to get your iPhone. I’d recommend getting one outside of China as they are very expensive here. I recently bought one on eBay to have shipped over to China. By doing so, I saved over $100 USD. The next step is to set your iPhone so that you can use your iPhone in China. Follow the linked guide in the last sentence.

Step 1: Get Your Mandarin iPhone Apps

My iPhone is currently loaded with four applications that have, at one point, helped me with my studies. They are presented below:

  • Pleco:  The ultimate iPhone Mandarin application, in my opinion. I upgraded the free product to the Basic Bundle ($49.95 with the option of a 30% student discount) and I haven’t looked back since buying it. There are multiple dictionaries included in case there is a dictionary translation that doesn’t make sense to you. Also, the flashcard system is excellent as it has smart cards set to present you those that are new to you and hard to you more than those that are easy and/ or old to you. Finally, there is writing integration to allow you to practice writing characters. Find out about the Pleco program here:  http://www.pleco.com/pleco2ip.html
  • DianHua: For those who don’t want to spend the money on the Pleco program, you can also have a similar program with Dianhua. Dianhua offers an audio flashcard upgrade for only $4.99 that I would recommend. It does a lot of what Pleco does, however there is only one dictionary rather than the three offered by Pleco with the Basic Bundle, the flashcard program doesn’t offer as many options, and there is no writing functionality. Read more about Dianhua’s iPhone application here: http://dianhuadictionary.com/
  • LianXiShuZi: For those of you who need a bit more practice with your mandarin numbers, this is the application for you. For $1.99, you can test reading, listening, and reading numbers so that the numbers eventually become natural to you. This is created by the same makers of Dianhua. Find out more at http://www.jsqllc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67&Itemid=59.

Step 2: Activate the Mandarin Characters (Hanzi) on Your iPhone

For those of you looking to type text messages or e-mails in Mandarin, it is necessary that you activate the Mandarin language on your iPhone. To do so, follow these steps:

  • Go to “Settings”
  • Go to “General”
  • Go to “Keyboards”
  • Go to “International Keyboards”
  • Scroll to the bottom and click on “Chinese Simplified”
  • Turn on “Handwriting”
  • Turn on “Pinyin”

Now, when you begin a text message, look to the bottom left side of your iPhone keyboard next to the space button. You should see a globe. Click it once to allow you to draw characters with your finger. For those who can’t write Mandarin (you may wish to check out Skritter for an awesome tool on writing Mandarin), click the globe one more time to activate the pinyin setting. Type out the pinyin (phonetics) and the Mandarin characters will show. To get back to English, click the globe one last time. For those that don’t care about writing, just activate the Pinyin setting so you can type the Chinese characters.

Step 3: Download Some Audio

I now have my iPhone loaded with Pimsleur Mandarin courses as well as audio from my textbooks. The Pimsleur courses go at a nice relaxing pace to allow me to multitask while having Mandarin fresh in the background. I’ve even begun to listen to Pimsleur Mandarin audio while in the gym (no stranger than listening to the 80’s dance music they normally play in the background at my gym).

Step 4: Putting it All Together

If you see me walking down the street alone, I’m typically in my own little Mandarin-Learning world with my iPhone. I’ve got audio streaming in the background and I am quizzing myself using Pleco. Apart from being extremely nerdy, this has served me well in helping me to read Mandarin and improve at listening comprehension.

To be honest, I’d be lost without my iPhone…however iPhone learning isn’t perfect.

The Missing Piece: Speaking Coherent Sentences

So, I now know how to read and say a lot of words and I can even comprehend basic sentences. But, what I can’t do is put this all together is fully coherent sentences. I’m waiting for an iPhone application that touches on Mandarin grammar.

Maybe I do need a real person to help me? Hmm…

Any suggestions or comments? Please leave them below!