Ni hao!

I am trying the "introduce yourself but since that isn't functional from my browser (Chrome) I chose feedback. My name is Beth and I have never studied Chinese until now. I am excited to be getting started and learning words and grammar. I lived in Chicago (near Chinatown, believe it or not) for years but now live in Mid-Missouri. I hope to live somewhere in the future with more Mandarin speakers. They will be subjected to my earnest wish to practice I am sure! My professions have mostly focused on art and educational institutions. I have made a notebook to store my audio lessons, words lists, phrase lists, grammar rules and "other" since I know there is so much still out there. So many people speak Chinese on our planet. I am enthusiastic to learn this language

YouTube is great for extra learning. There is a series called "Happy Chinese", which I discovered recently; it is designed for 'advanced learners' of the language, but picking out the occasional word or phrase is quite rewarding, as the speech is at normal conversational speed.

I will check that out. I already watch a YouTube song to go over tones. It is for Children so it works well for my level. Thanks.

Beth, I find that listening to Chinese songs does not usually follow the tones distinctly. They seem to change the intonation.