Mandarin Madness: Language Master, One Sound at a Time

Mandarin Madness: Written Android Apps Review

Here at Android Apps Review, we’re all about applications that offers some level of life changing functionality. As such, we’re continuously blown away be the apps developers put out. As such, we’re proud to introduce to you now Mandarin Madness, by developer Native Tongue. The app makes it fun and easy to learn Mandarin Chinese via arcade style gameplay and the language acquisition skills of the human mind. The title combines killer graphics. a smooth game mechanic, and more than enough material to last a new student for a while to come. All in all, it’s a great way to learn Mandarin, and without any strenuous memorization. For our full thoughts on this language learning utility for Android, check below beyond the break!

Concept and Functionality

As stated, Mandarin Madness is first and foremost a guide to help you learn Mandarin Chinese. However, rather than teaching you through extensive grammar lessons, alphabet criteria, and oral exams, the title instead focuses on a single, easy to learn arcade game. Players are given a single falling character that descends from the top of the screen. The voice-over narrator pronounces the sound, and a card along the bottom shows you what the sound means. This continues until the “lessons” cards have been run through. Then, the app repeats the falling sound, only with a multiple of cards resting along the bottom. The player must then tap the correct tile, or be faced with an unappealing buzzer and red X. This continues, and more tiles are added, reinforcing the acquisition of the sounds, as well as the meaning behind them. All in all, it’s a fantastic way to teach the language, as it requires the performer to listen and reproduce: This is how your brain naturally learns a language, and provides for a much more fluid learning experience.

Graphics and Design

Best of all, Mandarin Madness manages to look gorgeous, despite the educational subject matter. The graphics are superb, offering backgrounds the evoke popular thoughts of China. Not to mention the cards, which offer top-notch illustrations themselves. This is an important element, as the cards are the learner’s only indication of what the cards actually mean. Even better, the app has been paced perfectly, requiring the learner to speed up, recalling the meaning of the card more quickly, and without hesitation.

We did have a few rendering issues, however, where the app didn’t quite make full use of our phone’s screen real estate.

Overall Value

Considering Mandarin Madness costs only $0.99, it is an unbeatable value for the language learner with no previous experience in Mandarin. The app makes it simple, fun, and inviting to learn the language, and without any of the stress of a formal course or lesson plan. At the end of the day, Mandarin Madness is a must-have for the Android-owner looking to learn a foreign language on the go. From the ground-up, the experience is on-par or better than Byki or Rosetta Stone, and we can’t applaud it enough.

Android Apps Review Details: Mandarin Madness requires Android 2.2 and up. You may download Mandarin Madness from the Android Market. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.

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