Fun in bed

I’m recovering from my pneumonia, and pretty quickly too. I should be back in the classroom before long. Meanwhile I’m having fun in bed — checking out the ChinesePod language podcasts. It’s a new way to study languages — based on downloaded mp3s and lots of web-based interaction. Each lesson is bite size, only a few minutes. And best of all, the presenters — John and Jenny — are fun and casual and a bit naughty. It’s nothing like learning a language in school.

Consider this lesson:

Mouths were intended to be used for so much more than speaking Chinese. Sometimes the language of love communicates better than the best vocabulary, so it never hurts to get a little lip service… In this podcast, get smoochy-smoochy with us and learn to ask for a kiss, in Mandarin.

ChinesePod was started by an Irishman, Ken Carroll, back in 2005. They record and upload to the web from Shanghai, PRC. They have a great business model: a lot of free, and very useful, downloads and low costs for premier content. Very web 2.0. and just what I would do if I ran a business like this.

No, I haven’t disposed of my old textbook yet, but for now it’s great to be in bed with John and Jenny (especially, dare I say it, with Jenny).