Only because my money was invested in this course i stayed.

Introductory indeed, thanks to this course I knew where to start with my Chinese Language acquisition. The sentences given can be used in the real world. But there was a lot to be desired.....

I don't live in a place where I can get much practice face to face and so feel that there should have been more in depth lessons to help what I was learning to stick.

For example, more cultural backgrounds, how one word or phrase could differ in different places, a number of realistic conversations in regular speed not just one scenario using students of the language like myself (I would've been more accepting if the demonstrators weren't so unnatural). There was a lot of things that detracted from the videos.

At times the accent of the instructors from the lesson videos took away from the message, though i wasn't distracted, I wasn't totally present either It took much effort to stay focused. Delivery is important for such a complicated subject.

The App was convenient, I could download the video lessons, and do some of the tests then have them submitted when I had internet access again. But there were some bugs, especially on the new vocabulary page.

The PDF lesson sheets had valuable information in them, I just wish there was a way to have been tested more on those. It was like pouring information into my lap and asking me to learn, and correct myself. I've learned that can hurt language acquisition.

Lastly, the community in my opinion is almost purposeless. I've seen comments sit unanswered and conversations unexplored for months on end. This would have been no big deal if my grade didn't depend on another persons involvement in the course. The final Peer Review was a pain to wait through. One can submit their assignment in 10 minutes but must wait a month for it to be graded by another. I've noted too (because I did it myself) When someone finally does check the assignment they are not obligated to give marks based on criteria. I could just give full marks without checking with no consequence. When I did pay attention to what I was listening to, I heard many mistakes in pronunciation and grammar but could still give full marks because that wasn't the criteria for the assignment. Whats worse is that I'm not aware of other mistakes a native speaker could pick up, and yet...I could still give ...full marks. That needs to be corrected or removed entirely.

Sadly this review is filled with criticism, but only because I believe it has the potential to be better.

I'm really satisfied with the course. It helps you learn all the basic chinese words you need to make short conversatiosn with people.

It's a little frustrating that I need a VPN (because I live in China) for this MOOC. However this course is nicely balanced and timed. I feel i am picking things up. You can download so you can get home/offline practice and the pace is nice and steady (not too fast).

I've used several resources to try to learn Chinese on my own. This course is incredibly well structured, the audio-video content is clear, and I appreciate the ability to get feedback. I look forward to the other courses in this series.

This a great course to learn Chinese for real-life purposes. The pace is perfect for adult learners. It's also fun and not stressful at all.

Excellent! If anyone can teach a 68-year-old "geyser" Mandarin, they deserve 5 stars. Will be going on to next course!

Course was good. Instructor was dedicated and professional. She kept me engaged throughout the course and never let me feel bored. Course content was sufficient and well organised too. My overall experience was fantastic and it delivered everything, I had expected from this course. I look forward to take other leading courses on Chinese too.

Additionally a little focus on the Chinese Script would have a cherry on the cake.

Thank you

Shivam Kumar

I really enjoyed the course! It was easy to follow the instructions and fun to learn. I liked the structure and selection of vocabulary. At the end of the topic, there is a video about cultural differences that I found were important to know. Language knowledge is nothing without understanding the culture. I found all the handouts from the book useful and I will recommend this course to others.

Excellent course! It helps me learn a lot in a best way. The topics including greeting, asking time, shopping, family and ordering food are quiet basic and useful. The causes are well-paced and i like the way the teacher speaks Chinese. The practice and quizzes help me keep track of what i have learned. I will recommend this course to anyone who wants to start to learn Chinese!

Es una excelente forma de aprender desde cero el mandarín. El curso permite entrenar habilidades básicas como el escuchar, pronunciar con entonación y hasta escribir! Recomiendo el curso a aquellas personas que no han tenido un acercamiento anterior al idioma y a la cultura de China. PD: Los tips culturales son una sección muy enriquecedora del curso.

This course is very useful for people who just started to learn Chinese. This course is very good. I have learnt much in a best way. The topics are useful and the vocabulary and grammar that we learn are at HSK 1 level. The quizzes are short and the deadlines motivate you and help you keep track. Thanks to Coursera for providing this course.

For me this has been an excellent program. One may add that since Chinese is a tonal language and English language as practiced today, does not have ways and means to capture nuances of the Chinese language, it takes some time and effort to get understanding of it. I would like to complete the next stages of the course.

Fantastic to gain a quick introduction to basic Chinese. It does not focus on grammar but the vocabulary introduced is highly useful! The ability to practice speaking sentences and vocab and phonetics segments are really handy to build a foundation in Chinese pronounciation.

Thanks a lot to this course of great practicality. Lessons are quite clear and easily-understood. Practice and quiz with each lesson are really good for reviewing. I have acquired some daily and useful expressions through 3-week study.

This course is very helpful. You have given us some of the most important phrases that we might use in everyday basis. I really recommend this course for anybody that's interested in Chinese and eventually become fluent in Chinese.

This is a very useful course for people who wish to learn the basics of Mandarin Chinese language and hope to / will be visiting China someday and are thus seeking to gather some rudimentary skills for managing themselves there.

In talking to a friend about learning Chinese, I surprised myself with how much information I've retained from this course. The teaching curriculum is fun and evidently effective. I highly recommend this course.

It was a great opportunity for beginners to learn about the basic mandarin Chinese. By taking this course now I am able to speak about myself, my family and daily life conversation.Thanks for making this course.

This course is very elementary and provides you with all you need to start learning Chinese. The material is very well structured. My pronunciation has improved a lot. Thank you for such an amazing course!

This course is very effectively designed to instruct beginners on the basic vocabulary, grammar and oral comprehension of Chinese language in context. I highly enjoyed it.

this course is very good and beneficial for my Chinese learning. the professor is very kind and I learn a lot of sentences which will be practical in my daily life.

Nice and easy to learn. You will have video lessons as well as short text lessons.

Overall, a good start for those, who want to start learnin Mandarin Chinese.

The course is very helpful and interesting, especially the lessons are short and interesting and quiz makes it further easy. Thanks for such a nice course.

Thanks a lot for this course where I could train phonetics as I know that correct pronunciation of Chinese tones is very important for understanding.

I really enjoyed the course. The instructors are fantastic, and I also liked the way they use videos and online interactions to deliver the content.