Note that LPITM and APIDC are sub-courses of BCMIP as depicted above. Some recommendations:

• If you are a beginner or someone who wants to improve your pronunciation, you can select LPITM.
• If you think you want to practice more on Pinyin or apply it in daily conversation without the need to learn Chinese Characters, then you can select APIDC after finishing LPITM.
• If you want to master Pinyin before proceeding to learning Chinese Characters, then BCMIP will be your preferred choice as you will enjoy some cost savings compared to taking both LPITM and APIDC separately.

Lesson 1 Topics (T stands for Topic) This lesson serves to give the student an introduction to Chinese language and the tones.

• T1 – Understand the nature of Chinese Language
• T2 – Why Pinyin (Spelling Sound)
• T3 – Learn the Four Tones
• T4 – How to use Pinyin effectively

Lesson 2 Topics Lesson Two is a practicum-oriented topic as the student has to go through 30 topic videos and 53 quizzes before he/she can proceed to Lesson Three. The student is taught the traditional method of pronunciation and an alternative for those who prefer English-like pronunciation.

• T1 – English Proxy Sound Method for learning initials (An Alternative to Pinyin)
• T2 – Pinyin Pronunciation
• T3 – Practice

Lesson 3 Topics From this lesson onwards, the student will start to apply what they have learnt in Lessons 1-2. Simple Chinese grammar is also taught. The student is expected to say simple sentences like “I am an American”, “I am tall” etc.

• T1 – Vocabulary
• T2 – Basic word order (subject-verb-object)
• T3 – to be (shì)
• T4 – Adjectival verb
• T5 – yes-no question (ma)
• T6 – yes-no question (verb-not-verb)
• T7– Implied comparison
• T8 – Omitting known information
• T9 – Dialogue Practices

Lesson 4 Topics Student will learn how to introduce himself/herself in this lesson. He/she will also learn how to pronounce numbers from one to ninety-nine. There is a Course Interim Quiz at the end of this lesson.

• T1 – Vocabulary
• T2 – Classifiers
• T3 – Demonstrative Pronouns (this, that)
• T4 – Numbers I (one to ninety-nine)
• T5 – Possession (de)
• T6 – Tag Questions
• T7 – Naming in Mandarin/How to introduce yourself
• T8 – Dialogue Practices
• Course Interim Quiz

Lesson 5 Topics Lesson 5 will topics such as model verb ‘can’ and common adverb dōu to the student. He/she will complete the lesson on numbers and know how to apply them in real life.

• T1 – Vocabulary
• T2 – Numbers II (Hundred bǎi, Thousand qiān, Ten Thousand wàn)
• T3 – Zero (Líng)
• T4 – How many?
• T5 – Modal Verb ‘Can’
• T6 – Common Adverb dōu (all/both)
• T7 – Choice Questions (hái.shi)
• T8 – Follow-up questions with ne
• T9 – Dialogue Practices

Lesson 6 Topics This topic is important as it focuses on money and prices which every foreigner will need to use them in daily life when they are living in China. We will also look at numerical expressions like bàn, duō etc.

• T1 – Vocabulary
• T2 – Money and Prices
• T3 – Unit price
• T4 – Half (bàn)
• T5 – Something plus (duō)
• T6 – Each /Every (měi)
• T7 – “Only” (zhǐ)
• T8 – Must (děi, negation – bùbì)
• T9 – Change in situation using le
• T10 – Dialogue Practices

Lesson 7 Topics This is another essential lesson as the student will get acquainted with the calendar expressions.

• T1 – Vocabulary
• T2 – Year, Seasons
• T3 – Months
• T4 – Days of the Month and Time Ordering
• T5 – Days of the Week
• T6 – Parts of the day
• T7 – Last, This and Next
• T8 – Ordinal Numbers
• T9 – Dialogue Practices

Lesson 8 Topics Lesson Eight will wrap up the course by looking at time expressions and colours.

• T1 – Vocabulary
• T2 – Clock Time
• T3 – Common Time Expressions
• T4 – Completion Marker le
• T5 – Past/Present/Future
• T6 – Before/During/After of an action/event
• T7 – Verbal Duplication
• T8 – Colours
• T9 – Dialogue Practices

Lesson 9 Topics This is a summary lesson to highlight the important points in the course. The student will finish the course once he/she completes the Course Final Quiz.

• Summary of Key Points of this course
• Tips for self-learners who want to proceed further
• Course Final Quiz

There is no refund policy as you can try out the sample lessons below to determine whether the course meets your expectations:

https://guest.lemandarinschool.com/mandarin-course/sample-basic-conversational-mandarin-in-pinyin-bcmip/

Each course has a long duration of a few months to cater for busy people such as working adults. Setting an expiry date will encourage the student to commit his/her time in learning and so they do not procrastinate which is often a problem with lifetime access for a course.

The students can also download the lesson materials which will be useful for them even after the course has expired.

The student can pursue a course on Chinese characters from this school which is scheduled to roll out in Q4 of 2021. For those who want to self-learn, Lesson 9 of both APIDC and BCMIP provides some pointers on self-learning.

Although Chinese characters are not taught in the courses, a vocabulary list that includes Chinese characters is available on the website, below is a snapshot: