The Routledge Course in Modern Mandarin Chinese: Workbook Level 1, Simplified Characters

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/

Table of Contents:
Lesson 1 Listening and speaking Pronunciation and pinyin Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 2 Listening and speaking Pronunciation and pinyin Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 3 Listening and speaking Pronunciation and pinyin Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 4 Listening and speaking Pronunciation and pinyin Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 5 Listening and speaking Pronunciation and pinyin Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 6 Listening and speaking Pronunciation and pinyin Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 7 Listening and speaking Pronunciation and pinyin Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 8 Listening and speaking Pronunciation and pinyin Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 9 Listening and speaking Pronunciation and pinyin Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 10 Listening and speaking Structure drills Listening for information Pronunciation and pinyin Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 11 Listening and speaking Structure drills Listening for information Pronunciation and pinyin Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 12 Listening and speaking Structure drills Listening for information Pronunciation and pinyin Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 13 Listening and speaking Structure drills Listening for information Pronunciation and pinyin Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 14 Listening and speaking Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 15 Listening and speaking Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication Lesson 16 Listening and speaking Structure drills Listening for information Reading and writing Focus on Chinese characters Focus on Structure Focus on Communication

About the Author :
Claudia Ross is Professor of Chinese at the College of the Holy Cross, Massachusetts. She is the Vice-President and President-elect of the Chinese Language Teachers Association and has twice served as Director of the CET Chinese Program in Beijing. Her previous publications include The Lady in the Painting, Expanded Edition (Yale University Press 2008), Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, co-authored with Jing-heng Sheng Ma; Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar Workbook co-authored with Jing-heng Sheng Ma and Baozhang He (both Routledge, 2006); Outline of Chinese Grammar ( McGraw Hill, 2004); and Traditional Chinese Tales: A Course in Intermediate Chinese (Far Eastern Publications/Yale University Press, 2001) Baozhang He is Associate Professor in Chinese at the College of the Holy Cross, Massachusetts. He has served as Director of the Chinese Language Program at Harvard University and as Head Instructor in the Princeton in Beijing language program. His previous publications include Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar Workbook (Routledge, 2006), co-authored with Claudia Ross and Jing-heng Sheng Ma and Elementary Chinese (Renmin University of China, 2006), co-authored with Pei-chia Chen. Pei-chia Chen is lecturer in Chinese at UC San Diego and previously taught at Harvard University. Her previous publications include Elementary Chinese (Renmin University of China, 2006), co-authored with Baozhang He. Meng Yeh is Senior Lecturer in Chinese at Rice University.a She is currently a Board Member of the Chinese Language Teachers Association and has established a regional chapter in Texas. aShe is also an AP Chinese consultant for the College Board and a certified tester of Oral Proficiency Interview for Language Testing International, ACTFL. aHer books include Advancing in Chinese (Columbia University Press, forthcoming 2010) and Task-based Listening Workbook: Communicating in Chinese series (Yale University Press 1999).

Review :
"I am deeply impressed by the pedagogical considerations that Prof. Ross and her team put into the project.The approaches to teaching Mandarin Chinese in this series reflected the authors' rich knowledge of the Chinese grammar and their vast experience in teaching the language. The materials developed are pedagogically well conceived and equally well supported by theories of language learning/teaching. A truly innovative and delightful addition to the Chinese teaching field."-- Cecila Chang, Williams College, USA "This text offers a refreshing approach to learning Chinese that is lacking in the vast majority of learning materials. Each dialogue is contextualized so learners better understand how the language is used in a variety of communicative situations. Students learn not only what to say, but how to use the right language in a given context based on their role, and when and where the situation occurs. Sentence pyramid exercises provide a stepped approach that allows students to actually rehearse and perform the dialogues. The material is presented in manageable units with clear and concise explanations that are understandable to students not familiar with linguistics jargon. Valuable information on the social and cultural implications of the language is also provided. This is one of the few textbooks on the market that delays the introduction of Chinese characters. This insightful approach allows learners to gain a foundation in the spoken language before being inundated with characters to which they have little context in which to place them. Furthermore, these materials use an innovative diglot approach to introduce Chinese characters where newly learned characters are incorporated into pinyin texts. This effectively eases students into reading without overburdening them. By the end of the text, dialogues and other materials are presented almost entirely in Chinese characters. This approach provides excellent spiraling and reinforcement of characters learned."- Matthew Christensen, Brigham Young University, USA "One of the very few accessible and clearly structured textbooks for the complete beginner in Mandarin, which is absolutely designed with the non-native Chinese speaker in mind. The gradual introduction of the script, together with the clear but not overly simplistic grammatical explanations, will prove particularly useful for beginners."-Frances Weightman, The University of Leeds, UK "An excellent introductory course from a dedicated team. This course serves as a practical guide with the language knowledge and cultural tips you need for daily communication with the Chinese people."- Wei Jin, The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK