If I understand correctly, that's probably the stupidest way of learning a language I've ever seen. Even the classic "learn like a kid would" methodology wouldn

If I understand correctly, that's probably the stupidest way of learning a language I've ever seen. Even the classic "learn like a kid would" methodology wouldn't suggest that you learn by mastering pronunciation months before even learning how to say a single useful sentence. Mastering pronunciation is very important, especially if you don't want to talk with a thick accent, but it doesn't mean you've got to do it before saying a complete sentence. I don't entirely get the analogy... is she learning assembly and CPU design before learning 'print "Hello world"'? That's great... unless you want to actually write anything remotely practical. It is, however, entirely true that learning Chinese is goddamned hard. There's a saying: "After studying Chinese for 5 years, you learn humility."