FUN & EASY WAY TO LEARN CHINESE CHARACTERS, June 16, 2004
　

This program definitely deserves a review. I found it so much fun to work with that I stayed up all night, as long as I could keep my eyes open. It feels more like playing the game than investing an effort in learning. It is beautifully structures - it seems just to be made perfect for Western minds, or rather for people who have short time span.

The program teaches grammar, too, in a way that seems more like watching a commercial on TV. It is offered in easily digestable bits, which are immediately followed through practice that is structured just like playing a game.

New characters are introduced throughout the program and through the exercises. Information about every Chinese character is available throughout the program. All you need to do is click on the character you don't know, or that you might have forgotten, to see how it's written (stroke order and count, which are by the way, very colorful), to hear it pronounced, or to check out the pinyin spelling. You never feel stuck.

Some characters are "deconstructed" to provide some possible logic that may help in memorizing the character. There are also few cultural bits and pieces, and even videos with people who have mastered the ability to speak Chinese fluently - for motivation and encouragement. The program is really good throughout in taking the stress out of learning Chinese characters, in making it as easy and enjoyable as possible and in motivating you to keep going.
　

Power Chinese (DVD Case), March 21, 2006
　

I love this software. It includes a variety of methods to help you learn. It is animated, bright and colorful tapping into all your senses to increase learning. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning Chinese.

This is a great program with practical phrases that you can repeat as you need to. I would recommend it to anyone who just wants to pick up enough Chinese to get by on a visit.

Content good, but has compatability issues, January 12, 2006
　

This program only accepts two resolutions to run it. 1024 X 768 and 600 X 800. Because I have a widescreen laptop, it is a huge pain to adjust my screen to these settings.
The program looks like it was created for Windows 95 and was updated minimally to be compatable with XP.
Contentwise, it looks pretty good and does a good job of teaching in my opinion. However, if you don't want to mess with the settings on your computer, I would suggest finding a different program.

Works Great with Behind the Wheel Chinese, December 7, 2005
　

I successfully used Power Chinese along with Behind the Wheel Chinese to double my learning exposure. I experienced fabulous results by using both of these approaches simultaneously.
Two thumbs way up for both.


Power Chinese

best foreign language tool I've used, November 29, 2005
　

I have studied several foreign languages, and used various learning tools along the way. None of them can compare to the Power Chinese program. I have been amazed at how fun and effective this program is at teaching mandarin. Nothing about this program feels like work. I look forward to sitting down with this program every day and adding to my beginner's knowledge of chinese. I never thought learning Mandarin could be as easy as this program has made it. The program is very effective at building your knowledge of the language step by step, in a way where each lesson builds on the previous one. My retention level has been extremely high on everything I have studied so far. Unlike many programs that simply teach through a "flash card" or memorization approach, Power Chinese teaches through an interactive learning method. Each section covers a small amount of material, but makes sure that you know it thoroughly before moving on to the next lesson. I have only had the software for a couple of weeks, and I am amazed at how much of the language I understand already. Also, the price for this system can't be beat, and it even includes a rebate. If you want to learn mandarin, buy this product.