Language students and international travelers are introduced to Mandarin Chinese in the course of this book's "guided tour" of various regions throughout China. Instruction in Mandarin Chinese is presented in words, phrases, and reading passages as follows: First, the passage is printed in Chinese characters. Next, the passage is given phonetic pronunciation, using the Western alphabet (Pinyin). What follows next is a literal, word-for-word English translation of the Chinese. Concluding is an English translation that presents the passage's general sense and intended meaning. The online audio presents the text's dialogues and teach correct Mandarin pronunciation while also giving students practice in listening comprehension.
Modern Mandarin Chinese is a two-year undergraduate course for students with no prior background in Chinese study. Designed to build a strong foundation in both the spoken and written language, it develops all the basic skills such as pronunciation, character writing, word use, and structures, while placing a strong emphasis on the development of communicative skills. Each level of the course consists of a textbook and workbook in simplified Chinese. A free companion website provides all the audio for the course with a broad range of interactive exercises and additional resources for students’ self-study, along with a comprehensive instructor’s guide with teaching tips, assessment and homework material, and a full answer key. Key changes to this new edition: An increased number of vocabulary and characters introduced. 255 characters are introduced in this second edition for active production. Dialogues and example sentences are also presented in full-character format for passive recognition, and to provide additional challenge for more advanced students. Additional exercises in the workbooks and online to support the expanded number of words and characters incorporated into the textbooks. New cross-references between the textbooks, workbooks and companion website facilitate using all the resources in an integrated manner. Greatly enhanced and re-designed website. Retaining its focus on communicative skills and the long-term retention of characters, the text is now presented in simplified characters and pinyin from the outset with a gradual and phased removal of pinyin as specific characters are introduced and learnt. This unique approach allows students to benefit from the support of pinyin in the initial stages as they begin speaking while ensuring they are guided and supported towards reading only in characters.
Colloquial Chinese: The Complete Course for Beginners has been carefully developed by an experienced teacher to provide a step-by-step course to Chinese as it is written and spoken today. Combining a clear, practical and accessible style with a methodical and thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Chinese in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required. Colloquial Chinese is exceptional; each unit presents a wealth of grammatical points that are reinforced with a wide range of exercises for regular practice. A full answer key, a grammar summary, bilingual glossaries and English translations of dialogues can be found at the back as well as useful vocabulary lists throughout. Key features include: A clear, user-friendly format designed to help learners progressively build up their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills Jargon-free, succinct and clearly structured explanations of grammar An extensive range of focused and dynamic supportive exercises Realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of narrative situations Helpful cultural points explaining the customs and features of life in China An overview of the sounds of Chinese Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Chinese is an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Chinese. Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.
Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar Workbook is a book of exercises and language tasks for all learners of Mandarin Chinese. Divided into two sections, the Workbook initially provides exercises based on essential grammatical structures, and moves on to practise everyday functions such as making introductions, apologizing and expressing needs. With a comprehensive answer key at the back to enable students to check on their progress, main features include: exercises graded according to level of difficulty cross-referencing to the related Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar topical exercises that develop students' vocabulary base. Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar Workbook is ideal for all learners of Mandarin Chinese, from beginner to intermediate and advanced students. It can be used both independently and alongside the Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar.
Learning Chinese can be frustrating and difficult, partly because it's very different from European languages. Following a teacher, textbook or language course is not enough. They show you the characters, words and grammar you need to become proficient in Chinese, but they don't teach you how to learn them! Regardless of what program you're in (if any), you need to take responsibility for your own learning. If you don't, you will miss many important things that aren't included in the course you're taking. If you study on your own, you need to be even more aware of what you need to do, what you're doing at the moment and the difference between them. Here are some of the questions I have asked and have since been asked many times by students: How do I learn characters efficiently? How do I get the most out of my course or teacher? Which are the best learning tools and resources? How can I become fluent in Mandarin? How can I improve my pronunciation? How do I learn successfully on my own? How can I motivate myself to study more? How can I fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule? The answers I've found to these questions and many others form the core of this book. It took eight years of learning, researching, teaching and writing to figure these things out. Not everybody has the time to do that! I can't go back in time and help myself learn in a better way, but I can help you! This book is meant for normal students and independent language learners alike. While it covers all major areas of learning, you won't learn Chinese just by reading this book. It's like when someone on TV teaches you how to cook: you won't get to eat the delicious dish just by watching the program; you have to do the cooking yourself. That's true for this book as well. When you apply what you learn, it will boost your learning, making every hour you spend count for more, but you still have to do the learning yourself. This is what a few readers have said about the book: "The book had me nodding at a heap of things I'd learnt the hard way, wishing I knew them when I started, as well as highlighting areas that I'm currently missing in my study." - Geoff van der Meer, VP engineering "This publication is like a bible for anyone serious about Chinese proficiency. It's easy for anyone to read and written with scientific precision." - Zachary Danz, foreign teacher, children's theatre artist About me I started learning Chinese when I was 23 (that's more than eight years ago now) and have since studied in many different situations, including serious immersion programs abroad, high-intensity programs in Sweden, online courses, as well as on the side while working or studying other things. I have also successfully used my Chinese in a graduate program for teaching Chinese as a second language, taught entirely in Chinese mostly for native speakers (the Graduate Institute for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University). All these parts have contributed to my website, Hacking Chinese, where I write regularly about how to learn Mandarin.
The Routledge Course in Modern Mandarin Chinese is a two-year undergraduate course for students with no prior background in Chinese study which takes students from complete beginner to post-intermediate level. Designed to build a strong foundation in both the spoken and written language it develops all the basic skills such as pronunciation, character writing, word use and structures, while placing strong emphasis on the development of communicative skills. Each level of the course consists of a textbook and workbook, available separately in simplified or traditional character editions. Both workbooks include a free CD with all the dialogues from the textbooks and the necessary audio for the listening for information exercises. A companion website will provide expanded listening files and a broad range of resources for students and teachers. The benefits of this course include: -focus on the long-term retention of vocabulary, characters and structures by reiterating structures and vocabulary throughout the book series -carefully selected and staged introduction of characters with staged removal of pinyin to ensure recognition and use of characters -clear and jargon-free explanations of use and structures, that are easy for students and teachers to understand -extensive workbook exercises for homework, independent study, and classroom use focusing on all language skills and modalities including a vast inventory of carefully structured exercises focusing on listening comprehension, reading for information, and writing for communication - an extensive inventory of classroom activities that guide students to develop communication-based speaking and listening skills. -a list of communication goals and key structures for each lesson allowing the student to assess progress -cultural notes explaining the context of the dialogues - language FAQs explaining aspects of Chinese language as they relate to the content and vocabulary in the lesson -storyline following a group of students studying in China from Europe, North America and East Asia, making the book attractive to a variety of students and facilitating the introduction of Chinese culture. -full-color text design for the textbook and carefully matched designs for the traditional and simplified books, allowing for easy cross-reference The course is also fully supported by an interactive companion website. The website contains a wealth of additional resources for both teachers and students. Teachers will find lesson plans in both English and Mandarin, providing a weekly schedule and overall syllabus for fall and spring, as well as activities for each lesson and answer keys. Students will be able to access downloadable character practice worksheets along with interactive pronunciation, vocabulary and character practice exercises. All the audio material necessary for the course is also available online and conveniently linked on screen to the relevant exercises for ease-of-use. For further details please visit http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415472517/ For bundle discounts please visit http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415596824/
With free-to-access audio online! This lively course teaches Mandarin Chinese to a broad range of learners in a modern, structured and engaging way. The focus is on acquiring basic conversational skills, and the text has a friendly, non-formal style, building up gently with a wealth of lively, imaginative exercises. The text places some emphasis on correct pronunciation, as this is so important in Mandarin. It introduces right from the start the fascinating Chinese script and includes essential grammar, along with interesting cultural insights. Pinyin, the standard system of spelling using the Roman alphabet to transliterate Chinese, is also included to help build confidence. The course is aimed at beginners with little or no previous knowledge of the language who want to begin to understand, speak, read and write Mandarin Chinese confidently. This is all you would expect from a modern Mandarin Chinese language course but can't find!
The #1 Chinese self-study course on the market is now available with online audio! Spoken by over 850 million people world-wide, Mandarin Chinese is the standard dialect for business and trade in China, one of the six official languages of the United Nations, and the world's most widely spoken language. Ideal for those new to Chinese, learning at home or in the classroom, Beginner's Chinese with Online Audio making learning to speak, read, and write Mandarin Chinese easier than ever. It includes: 10 carefully-paced and practical lessons with dialogues, vocabulary, and exercises A Chinese-English glossary of vocabulary used in the book Additional exercises for teaching stroke order and writing skills, plus an index providing traditional character equivalents Technology sections on how to read and write Chinese characters on a computer Online MP3 audio files for free download featuring pronunciation by professional actors from Beijing
