Bruce_B Posted July 8, 2006 at 10:12 PM Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 at 10:12 PM I haven't been able to get the site to load for me yet. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060708/wr_nm/china_language_website_dc;_ylt=A0SOwljSK7BEtKgAQAGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ- Sat Jul 8, 8:24 AM ET SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China launched a Web site, www.linese.com, on Saturday offering free Chinese lessons and materials to promote the study and use of the language abroad. The site includes audio-visual presentations, interactive exercises and advice for teachers of Mandarin Chinese, with photographs and descriptions of cultural icons such as the Great Wall, kung fu actor Jackie Chan and basketball star Yao Ming. Many of the exercises touch on China's mythical and imperial past, including practice sentences such as "how can you be a hero if you are unarmed" and "I find that Tibetans like worshipping heroes." China is keen to expand its cultural influence along with its growing economic power, and is also setting up a network of "Confucius Institutes" around the world to promote its culture. The Web site is only in Chinese and English, but versions in Japanese and Korean are being developed, the official Xinhua news agency said. More than 30 million people are now learning Chinese as a foreign language and more than 2,500 universities in 100 countries offer Chinese courses, the Ministry of Education says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freepoint Posted July 9, 2006 at 03:02 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 at 03:02 AM Hi, The correct website is www.linese.com.cn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liuzhou Posted July 9, 2006 at 03:21 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 at 03:21 AM The correct website is www.linese.com.cn Nah! That don't work neither! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce_B Posted July 9, 2006 at 03:26 AM Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 at 03:26 AM I did get www.linese.com to work once but now it's not working. I guess the site is not quite ready for prime time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freepoint Posted July 9, 2006 at 04:29 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 at 04:29 AM It is strange. it work two hours agao. But now it can't work. It attached my previous worked page screen in the attachment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 9, 2006 at 05:07 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 at 05:07 AM Nice to see they're finally breaking away from the tired old stereotypes of China being all about kung fu and ethnic minorities in colorful costumes. Roddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liuzhou Posted July 9, 2006 at 11:37 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 at 11:37 AM Seems to be working again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce_B Posted July 9, 2006 at 02:49 PM Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 at 02:49 PM It's still not working for me. Oh well, maybe it will be a good resource one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atitarev Posted July 9, 2006 at 11:43 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 at 11:43 PM I was able to open it. It seems very slow at the moment but the contents looks very promising. Let's hope it will work OK when it's complete. Would be also great to have the audio and pinyin options in bilingual news section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Zhiren Posted July 10, 2006 at 05:44 PM Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 at 05:44 PM This last weekend of 7 July, Beijing launched www.linese.com to help foreigners learn the Chinese For more on the story, see: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/060709/1/41zgq.html Chinese is notoriously one of the world's most difficult languages, but Beijing authorities are now trying to make it a little easier with a special website for foreign learners, state media has said.Sponsored by the National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, www.linese.com was launched over the weekend, offering online training, volunteer help and search services, Xinhua news agency reported. "The website features multimedia technologies including online interactive courses, virtual communities, blogs and podcasts," said Zheng Zhongxiu, leader of the team who prepared the website. The website so far is in Chinese and English only, but authorities are preparing additional versions in Korean and Japanese, according to Xinhua. Interest in learning Chinese, especially the main national standard known as Mandarin, is exploding, presumably aided by the rapidly growing economic importance of China. Statistics from China's Ministry of Education show more than 30 million people worldwide are learning Chinese, and more than 2,500 universities in 100 countries and regions offer Chinese courses. China has also established a network of so-called Confucius Institutes around the world to facilitate understanding of Chinese language and culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horas Posted July 10, 2006 at 07:43 PM Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 at 07:43 PM * The link shown below is much faster and at least shows the Main Links of that site (scroll down a bit): http://www.linese.com/model/english/pub/index.jsp - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted July 11, 2006 at 12:17 AM Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 at 12:17 AM It has been intermittent since going active. When I tried to register, the listing of countries of residence stopped with Luxembourg--so I registered as if from Canada. Then the site hung up and I gave up...at least for a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atitarev Posted July 11, 2006 at 02:18 AM Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 at 02:18 AM It has been intermittent since going active. When I tried to register, the listing of countries of residence stopped with Luxembourg--so I registered as if from Canada. No problem for me then, Australia starts with an A, should be at the beginning of the list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 11, 2006 at 03:25 AM Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 at 03:25 AM I wish this site well, but first impressions aren't great. Technical problems aside (at one point I waited for an unskippable flash intro to load. When it loaded, guess what was at the bottom? - a skip button.) the content tends to lean heavily towards what Chinese people assume foreigners should be interested in - there's a ton of stuff on Chinese tourist attractions, Chinese stars, Chinese legends, and yet after five minutes looking around I can't find anything that teaches me how to order food or ask what someone's name is, etc. That's a mistake that hamstrings lots of Chinese language material, and I think this site is en route to doing the same. Those of you who've registered / spent some time with the site - what are your impressions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Baker Posted July 11, 2006 at 06:32 AM Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 at 06:32 AM I'm not sure how many of you reporting even "some success" are accessing the site from within China (where I assume it's being served from), but my experience with it (from near Seattle) has been horrible--in terms of just the technical functionality--and the one page that actually loaded error free (without my giving up after several minutes) is pretty useless. Irked me to the point I wrote about it. Can I just link to that? I guess it's good that some of you managed to view something that "looks promising." I didn't, I'm sorry to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 11, 2006 at 06:38 AM Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 at 06:38 AM Does anyone know who is officially behind this? The pages are copyrighted to 'Voice of Chinese', whoever they are, and both 汉办 and the Ministry of Education (the two most likely suspects for an 'official' Chinese learning site) are linked in the side bar. Roddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gato Posted July 11, 2006 at 06:47 AM Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 at 06:47 AM From its "About Us" page (The site seems to be improving. At least it's loading now.): http://www.linese.com/model/english/pub/about.jsp?ID=20700000000000000 As the largest website focusing on teaching Chinese and promoting Chinese culture, www.linese.com is a window for people around the world to learn Chinese and experience Chinese culture. At the same time, it is a base for Chinese to study foreign languages and better understand Chinese and international cultures. Our Services I An interactive platform for teaching and studying through multimedia Through new internet techniques such as Web2.0, VoIP, and audio visuals, we have established a virtual interactive classroom, creating a new form for teaching Chinese. Contact Us： add: Room 216 ,No.2 Teaching Building,Beijing Language And Culture University,No.15 Xueyuan Road,Haidian District,Beijing,China. Postcode：100083 Tel：86-10-82300210 Fax：86-10-82300271 E-Mail：services@linese.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 11, 2006 at 06:51 AM Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 at 06:51 AM Does BLCU not already have EBLCU.net - oh no, wait, that site isn't working. Well, why not abandon the brand and start again Does anyone at BLCU want to drop in to that address and ask them what they're playing at? Roddy (and now it's working again . . .) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liuzhou Posted July 15, 2006 at 04:18 AM Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 at 04:18 AM There is an interesting review of the site here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_lab Posted July 17, 2006 at 05:01 AM Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 at 05:01 AM After I saw this on digg last week, I tried listening to two audio files. It had music on both right and left speakers, but speaking only on one side. The music was too loud to hear what the people were saying. It's like listening to music with a person whispering in one of your ears. They should spend less time on the Flash and more time on anything but Flash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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