The beginner to advanced contains a more detailed study of Mandarin in terms of grammar and sentence structure as well as reading.
This can be a positive or negative feature depending on what you are looking for. Linguaphone prides itself on the fact that there is no reading and writing in the beginner to intermediate package.
This is suitable for those wishing to improve conversational Mandarin, and for those who want to learn on the move, or brush up on their Mandarin skills without immersing themselves in an intensive study program. The audio contains 'real life' conversations (spoken by actors) as well as an English guide who explains things to you in English. Linguaphone is an audio based CD course, primarily focused on an audio-lingual approach, which is based on listening and repeating vocabulary and sentence structures spoken by native speakers of Mandarin. Now questions remain, what method does Linguaphone use and it is effective for learning Mandarin? Excellent prices, indeed, but beware if you want to study from beginner level right through to advanced level when you must buy the complete package which totals at £209.93.
You have a few choices of packages: you can buy the CD package which includes vocabulary textbooks for £52.43 or if you prefer to learn on your computer you can download the program direct to your PC or laptop and the textbook come in PDF format for a mere £41.93. It is designed to develop and enhance your everyday conversational abilities in Mandarin whether you are a beginner or an intermediate level speaker. It is comprised of eight audio CD's containing over 2000 Mandarin words and phrases that can be used to improve your experience as you travel or work in China. Linguaphone is a popular CD course through which you can learn Chinese Mandarin.