Thanks for the recommendations. I have been told that I should go with Rosetta but was still looking into other programs. I've made up my mind. Thanks for the info.

I would highly recommend the Rosetta stone series over the Odyssey series.  have tried them both and the Rosetta will do a better job of preventing you from having a noticeable English accent.  Rosetta stones worked for me.

Too many cooks spoil the broth

I hadn't heard of this one, I've got Rosetta Stone for Chinese and I really like it. Maybe I'll take a look that Chinese Odyssey and see if it's as good as you say.

I found a great resource on line for audio lessons for learning Chinese... take a look!

www.chinese-tools.com/learn/chinese

Not sure about the multimedia option, but I have found the most convient option for me is mp3 files that each leason is broken down into a new chapter in the progression for language development. Worked great for me!

You can try

Reading & Writing Chinese Traditional Character Edition (Paperback)

may be you can go this site:learn chinese language

it's may help you to learn chinese:)

Cheng & Tsui editorial team here again -- we've made a demo version of the Chinese Odyssey software (volume 1) available on the website. You can download it here:

http://www.cheng-tsui.com/downloads/chinese_odyssey_volume_1_multimedia_cd_rom_demo

Please do share your feedback!

Hi JB,

Thanks for posting on the forum, and thanks for your compliments about Integrated Chinese! We Cheng & Tsui editors wanted to chime in and explain how the two multimedia CDs differ from our perspective, in case that's helpful to you. Of course, we are very interested in hearing other users' reviews and opinions as well! We love to get feedback and suggestions from language learners.

Basically, the difference between the two is that the Integrated Chinese software is supplementary and is designed to be used by students at home for fun or extra practice. Chinese Odyssey software is intended to be used as the core part of the course. It's a much bigger program that also includes an electronic version of all the stuff in the print books. It actually contains even more activities than the Integrated Chinese program.

Here's a list of the main features of each, for comparison:

Integrated Chinese Multimedia CD-ROM

Follows the book in thematic contents and vocabulary, but its focus is on practical application of the material covered in the textbook.

· The exercises are different from the ones in the IC workbooks, and are divided into listening, speaking, reading, and writing, plus a Challenge Corner that incorporates all four skills.

· The CD-ROM also includes pinyin review, a searchable (English or pinyin) dictionary, a section on numerals, and a section dedicated to the 40 radicals introduced in IC level 1 part 1 and their stroke order.

Chinese Odyssey

· Intended as a stand-alone course or for use in conjunction with the Chinese Odyssey textbook and workbook. For students who are comfortable working in an entirely electronic format, they can work through the entire course on CD-ROM. For students who prefer to have a hard copy of the materials, they can purchase the textbook and workbook in addition to the CD-ROM.

· Contains in electronic format all the texts, vocabulary, grammar, audio, and exercises in the textbooks and workbooks, and adds more features such as the ability to view or hide pinyin in the lesson dialogues, watch video clips of the dialogues, see stroke-by-stroke demonstrations of character writing, or hear audio at different speeds.

· Contains in electronic format all the workbook exercises from the print workbook, as well as more features -- you can get immediate feedback on exercises, see hints as you are working through exercises and explanations of correct answers, record your voice for speaking exercises, or participate in “conversations” with the computer by speaking in response to a pre-recorded dialogue.

We are also working on putting a sample of the Chinese Odyssey program up on the website so that you can try it out for yourself. I'll post another comment when that's available!

Laurel (Editorial Department)