Learn Cantonese

I am learning Cantonese and can help with English. This discussion here is for others who want to learn Cantonese, or other Cantonese speakers who want to learn another language in exchange for their Cantonese.

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Permalink Reply by Dean 信立 on July 4, 2009 at 9:41pm

I found Pimsleur Cantonese a good mp3 course to start with. I have uploaded some mp3's (need to finish uploading, but most of them are here). Audio is entirely essential when learning Cantonese I feel. It gives a foundation in speaking so you can go out and 'say something'.

There is a book called "Cantonese in Hong Kong", that is quite good - if you are very self-motivated or can get a teacher / language partner, then this is great.

Also from RTHK there is a radio series called Naked Cantonese which you can download here.

Of course, a language buddy is great, so any native speakers of Cantonese wanting to improve whatever - makes for a good buddy.

Permalink Reply by hksusanita on July 11, 2009 at 6:08pm

Yesyes, highly recommend "Pimsleur Cantonese"! Thanks for sharing, Dean! ;D

Permalink Reply by Joe Xu on July 14, 2009 at 7:13am

For people from mainland china, simply watching cantonese tv programs helps a lot. But using it in daily life is a whole another story. So it is great to have a native canto speaker to talk to.

Permalink Reply by John G on July 22, 2009 at 7:25am

a tool i recently discovered for language learning (or indeed learning anything) is www.mnemosyne-proj.org. It's basically a flashcard program but with a very smart algorithm to optimize repetitions. I found learning canto the big problem was/is memorization: i can learn 10 words then forget 9 [or 10!] very easily. especially those words which you use rarely ("screwdriver", "unreliable", "helicopter", &c &c). This FREE tool can help alot with that. In fact I like it so much I make a little flashcard for ANYTHING I want to remember (actors in films, names of streets &c &c).

Also, try amyleunglanguage.com.hk. She has some very "real life" learning materials with a heavy hong kong local life flavour!

Permalink Reply by Dean 信立 on August 10, 2009 at 10:26pm

You could try Page One in Kowloon Tong, worth a try. There are several useful books there also. While in Kowloon Tong you could try the book shop at City University. I am not sure if there is a bookshop at Chinese University (although I assume there is). I know many professors at ChineseU have written Cantonese language learning books ("Cantonese in Hong Kong" I recommend).