I want to start learning chinese

Start with the publications known as the "Practical Chinese Readers". You should be able to find them on amazon.

Hi,

Chinese is a language that is much better to learn live - i.e. in a classroom with a teacher. Well, that's true of any language, but what makes Chinese special (any dialect) is that it's based on intonation. That is, the same character or combination of characters can mean totally different things depending on your vocal intonation. This would be impossible to learn without hearing it.

If you got a CD or mp3, you still wouldn't have anyone to tell you if you were saying it right. Again, it's so tricky, it's not like say Spanish or Italian where you can figure it out enough to make yourself understood.

I'd say your first step would be to decide whether you want to learn Mandarin or Cantonese - the two most common dialects - then find a cont ed class at a college or university. Private language schools are usually much more expensive and pay badly, so they don't attract good teachers.

It's a great idea to learn it, esp if you are in business. Good luck!