I have tried to cancel my annual subscription but the site will not permit me to. It asks me for a reason to end my subscription, but won’t let me enter a reason. I will have to cancel my credit card to avoid being billed at the end of the subscription period in April.
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Well, there is still no reply to any of the above concerns, and no hint of what is to come. And yet in this situation ChinesePod has launched a referral programme. I find this absolutely astonishing.
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I’m still at Intermediate level, so the library of higher levels would be useful even without presenters creating new content.
I am concerned, however, about the deafening silence from the ChinesePod team.
I will renew my subscription when it expires later this month and then I will wait to see.
Cancelled my auto-renewal after more than ONE MONTH without new Intermediate or above lessons. So disappointed with ChinesePod.
Dears, after a few months away from Chinesepod, I’m back and have just seen the news. So, Fiona and Constance are really gone? Really really bad news. That will play a major role in my decision when the time comes for renewal of my premium subscription. Anyway, hoping for really capable and energetic hosts as well.
As for suggestions, what I struggle with ChinesePod is the lack of a study plan, or study path. Like, you begin here, my dear newbie, and move on studying this, and after this, that, and then that, and so on. I obviously welcome lots and lots of new lessons as frequently as possible, but they should be inserted in a learning path as well. It’s like having someone guiding me in my learning journey.
Another suggestion is on how we are able to download the lessons for offline study. I’ve been working in quite challenging environments which hardly have internet access, so I always need to download the lessons before I travel. The download through iTunes is plain ridiculous. I am never able to download all published Newbie lessons, for example, because iTunes just does not download all of them for whatever reason. This has to have a solution… iTunes is a terrible piece of software, IMO.
Anyway, eager to know the new hosts. And whatever happened to Fiona and Constance, please bring them back.
Thanks and best of luck, we will be paying close attention to how it goes.
Wagner
It took me quite a while to find a path to follow in the lessons but I learned, after a while, that it doesn’t really matter what order you take lessons in. I have found that a good approach is to begin by understanding a lesson, and then listening to it a number of times, with and without reading the text. I did this for a large number of lessons. My next step is to start reading and listening, then repeating the sentences aloud. Now I am looking at the characters carefully and writing out sentences, at the same time examining how the sentences are constructed (the grammar). I am also practising writing and speaking my own sentences. I have found some friends to speak with and have joined a course. I also use other sites, such as “The Chairman’s Bao”. If anything doesn’t interest me or is far to difficult, I leave it and maybe come back later. I switch between easy and more difficult lessons and often return to old ones. This approach seems to work!
I think that having a better way to keep track of what I have studied on the CP site, such as being able to make a number of playlists I could work from, would make learning more effective for me.
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I’m considering giving a referral for ChinesePod, but to my lawyer for breach of contract. Anyone living in New York can take them to small claims court for this, and it would be great if anyone subscribing to ChinesePod is a lawyer and could submit a class-action suit against the company in the name of the rest of us.
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I decided to sign up after listening to lessons from those working in Shanghai before Fiona and Constance, so - although they gave good lessons - I am not that concerned about their leaving. However, I do wonder why they never said goodbye on ChinesePod and wonder whether they did not quit from one day to the next without previously informing ChinesePod management (which would explain why the company was so unprepared for such). Maybe they demanded a huge pay increase and then quit without advance notice when they did not get it. No idea if that was the case, but it would mean that some of our anger at no new lessons should be transferred to F&C.
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“No idea if that was the case…” 74216285, you should’ve probably just finished your sentence there!
I realize that many are big fans of F&C, but since we don’t know anything about why they left, there’s lots of room for speculation. Maybe they were forced out, i.e., fired. Or maybe they just got sick and tired of occasional criticism. Or maybe they just needed a change. Or maybe they thought they could get big raises by demanding a huge pay raise or they would quit that very day.
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I download the lessons through a regular browser (in Chrome by right clicking the lesson link a choosing “save link as”) and then drag and drop them into iTunes. It seems to work better that way.
Hi Wagner, can you let us know whether you’ve been using our iOS app as well?
Hi Zaphekiah,
That works if you have few lessons, I think. What I want is to be able to download all lessons from the Newbie, for example. After feeling comfortable with this level, do the same for the next upper level.
Best!
Hi Rozkalns,
I have tried to use the app a few times, but I felt it not very user-friendly. Like now, for example. I just launched it and there is just a blank screen… I click on Newbie, Elementary, etc, nothing happens.
Besides, studying it in the computer screen is easier on my eyes because of the larger screen.
Happy to explore it more, if you think I should… 
Thanks for jumping in.
Best
I’m not having any problems with it. Are you sure that you haven’t selected search criteria that filters what you’re seeing–e.g., the “downloaded” filter.
more than 1 month and only few newbie lesson. That’s a big joke. Where is the compensation? I was thinking to be include in the group to help to improve would be nice, BUT THERE IS NOTHING!
Only one small topic talking about bullshit.
My last year with Chinesepod. No communications, the way to improves are bullshit, no compensation, no new lesson. Yes ok I’m working on the previous one, but I’ve chosen Chinesepod for the dynamism here, because there is everytime new content and good communication. Since the main staff left, it’s 0/20!
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I am sorry but enough is enough. The lack of transparency from the ChinesePod team on a whole number of issues is simply put grossly unprofessional. There are a hundred examples listed above which illustrate our frustrations, so I will not waste more of my time by describing them in detail. It seems this is the beginning of the end for a site, which was without a shadow of a doubt the best way of learning Chinese on the internet. That’s coming from someone who studied Chinese to a university degree standard. We are your clients, we deserve at least one truthful answer - I do not think it is rocket science.
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Because they just care your money. The ones who were care about your studying already left Chinesepod.
Now it’s the real face of Chinesepod, and we do not have our wonderful team who make the link between us and the shit behind Chinesepod.
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Hi, Dorothy,
I am sorry we have disappointed you and you are wanting to cancel your subscription. If you are having trouble canceling, we will be glad to assist in that process. I will check out the issue with not being able to enter a reason, this is the first time we have heard that. Thank you for letting us know. Please feel free to contact me at marketing@chinesepod.com if you would like to further discuss.
Hi, Britain21,
I am sorry we have disappointed you and appreciate your sentiments that we were “without a shadow of a doubt the best way of learning Chinese on the internet.” We are working very hard to improve our offerings and continue to be the best way to learn Chinese on the web. We are not at liberty to announce any plans, but we are certain this is a transitional phase that will allow us to come out stronger. If you are unhappy with the current services provided, then please email me at markeitng@chinesepod.com and we can discuss options. We sincerely appreciate your patience and feedback.