Synopses & Reviews
andlt;bandgt;This is an intermediate-level course in written Chinese that employs a revolutionary new method designed to have you quickly reading and writing simple, connected Chinese sentences.andlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Theandlt;iandgt; Basic Chineseandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;iandgt;Intermediate Chineseandlt;/iandgt; books provide separate but integrated "tracks" to help you learn to read, write and speak Chinese efficiently at your own pace. Some students and teachers wish to emphasize speaking ability first, whereas others wish to focus on learning to read and write Chinese at the same time.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;iandgt;Intermediate Written Chineseandlt;/iandgt; allows you the flexibility to learn the spoken language and the written Chinese at your own pace.andlt;ulandgt;andlt;liandgt; Learn to use 288 high frequency characters, and over 700 common words written with them.andlt;/liandgt;andlt;liandgt; Carefully designed to have you quickly reading and writing connected Chinese sentences.andlt;/liandgt;andlt;liandgt; Both simplified and traditional characters are taught throughout; you may choose to learn one or both.andlt;/liandgt;andlt;liandgt; Features a variety of fonts in both typeset and handwritten styles, to prepare you to use Chinese in many different contextsand#8212;from reading signs and newspapers, to computers and mobile phone texts.andlt;/liandgt;andlt;liandgt; Hours of native-speaker recordings and practice sheets, plus printable flash cards on the enclosed CD-ROM.andlt;/liandgt; andlt;/ulandgt;andlt;bandgt;The accompanying CD-ROM includes:andlt;/bandgt;andlt;ulandgt;andlt;liandgt; Over 6 hours of audio by several native Mandarin speakers.andlt;/liandgt;andlt;liandgt;Recordings of all reading selection.andlt;/liandgt;andlt;liandgt;Additional characters.andlt;/liandgt;andlt;liandgt;New vocabulary.andlt;/liandgt; andlt;/ulandgt;Available separately, andlt;iandgt;Intermediate Written Chinese Practice Essentialsandlt;/iandgt; is the companion workbook for andlt;iandgt;Intermediate Written Chineseandlt;/iandgt;. This practical guide includes a broad range of drills and exercises designed to dramatically enhance your proficiency in reading and writing Chinese. While designed for use with the companion textbook, it can be used together with any Chinese textbook or teaching program to hone your Chinese reading and writing language skills.
Review
"This is one of the best elementary Chinese textbooks, I believe, ever produced in the history of teaching Chinese as a second language andhellip; A great and unique work which will benefit students and teachers for many years to come." and#8212;andlt;bandgt;Dr. Shengli Feng, Professor of Chinese Linguistics, Chinese University of Hong Kongandlt;/bandgt;
Review
"Outstanding for its carefully graduated presentation of material andhellip; and perhaps most important of all, its separation of the task of learning to speak the language from the very different processes of learning to read and write Chinese characters andhellip; The most exciting Chinese language textbook I have seen in many years." and#8212;andlt;bandgt;Dr. James E. Dew, retired associate professor of Chinese, Univ. of Michigan; former Director of the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies in Taipeiandlt;/bandgt;
Review
"A breath of fresh air andhellip; Its dual track for spoken and written language finally gives American students a chance to develop oral proficiency without being slowed down by the character writing andhellip; An ideal textbook for any program that seeks to advance rapidly in spoken Chinese and to fully prepare the students for their encounter with China." and#8212;andlt;bandgt;Dr. Jingqi Fu, Associate Professor of Chinese, St. Mary's College of Marylandandlt;/bandgt;
Review
"Contextualized so learners know not only what to say, but why, when, and with whom it is appropriate to use such language and#8212; thorough and clear and#8212; refreshing." and#8212;andlt;bandgt;Dr. Matthew Christensen, Associate Professor of Chinese, Brigham Young Universityandlt;/bandgt;
Review
"Kubler's books distinguish themselves with natural, culturally-rooted dialogues, detailed notes (for both written and spoken language), generous practice activities and an amazing care for organization. These books will be valuable tools for both students and their teachers." and#8212;andlt;bandgt;Prof. Eric Pelzl, Wisconsin Lutheran Collegeandlt;/bandgt;
Review
"An ingenious introduction and#8212; andlt;iandgt;Basic Spoken Chineseandlt;/iandgt; is the finest textbook for learning Modern Standard Mandarin that I have ever encountered." and#8212;andlt;bandgt;Dr. Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvaniaandlt;/bandgt;
Review
"The ideal material for any committed learner embarking on the journey of learning the Chinese language." and#8212;andlt;bandgt;Dr. Jun Yang, Senior Lecturer in Chinese, University of Chicagoandlt;/bandgt;
Review
"Revolutionary in its approach andhellip; The dream of having engaged and fully-prepared students in every class is an easily reachable reality for any program that adopts this series." and#8212;andlt;bandgt;Professor Cecilia Chang, Chair, Department of Asian Studies, Williams Collegeandlt;/bandgt;
Synopsis
This is an intermediate-level course in written Chinese that employs a revolutionary new method designed to have you quickly reading and writing simple, connected Chinese sentences. The
Basic Chinese and
Intermediate Chinese books provide separate but integrated "tracks" to help you learn to speak, read, and write Chinese efficiently at your own pace. Some students and teachers wish to emphasize speaking ability first, whereas others wish to focus on learning to speak, read, and write Chinese at the same time.
Intermediate Written Chinese allows you the flexibility to learn the written language and the written Chinese at your own pace.
- Learn to use 336 high frequency characters, and over 1,200 common words written with them.
- Together with the 288 characters and 700 words introduced in Basic Written Chinese, a total of 624 characters and more than 1,900 words are formally taught in this two-volume course.
- In addition, another 199 supplementary characters and over 700 supplementary words are introduced for extra learning, meaning that you will have encountered a grand total of 823 characters and over 2,600 words by the end of this course.
- Carefully designed to have you quickly reading and writing connected Chinese sentences.
- Each lesson introduces six new characters and a number of words written with them. By dividing the learning into small tasks, you attain a sense of accomplishment rather than getting bogged down.
- The structure and etymology of each new character is explained in detail to make the learning of characters easier, and similar characters are compared and contrasted.
- Some lessons include realia such as photographs of street signs, name cards, e-mail messages, and handwritten notes.
- Both simplified and traditional characters are taught throughout; you may choose to learn one or both.
- Features a variety of fonts in both typeset and handwritten styles, to prepare you to use Chinese in many different contexts--from reading signs and newspapers, to computers and mobile phone texts.
The accompanying CD-ROM includes: - Over 6 hours of audio by several native Mandarin speakers.
- Recordings of all reading selections.
- Recordings with the pronunciations of all new characters and words.
- Additional lessons and reading selections.
Available separately,
Intermediate Written Chinese Practice Essentials is the companion workbook for
Intermediate Written Chinese. This practical guide includes a broad range of drills and exercises designed to dramatically enhance your proficiency in reading and writing Chinese. While designed for use with the companion textbook, it can be used together with any Chinese textbook or teaching program to hone your Chinese reading and writing skills.
About the Author
andlt;bandgt;Cornelius C. Kublerandlt;/bandgt;, Stanfield Professor of Asian Studies at Williams College, received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in linguistics from Cornell University. He earned a second M.A. in Chinese literature from National Taiwan University.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;From 1980-1991 he was employed at the Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State, where he served as Language Training Supervisor in Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, and Mongolian; as Principal of the advanced Chinese field school in Taiwan; and as Chair of the Department of Asian and African Languages.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Since joining Williams College in 1991, he has chaired the former Department of Chinese and Asian Studies Program as well as the Department of Asian Studies, which he was instrumental in founding. He has also served as visiting professor at Eisenhower College, Portland State University, Middlebury College, National Taiwan Normal University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Kubler, who is author or coauthor of 20 books and over 50 articles on Chinese language pedagogy and linguistics, frequently serves as reviewer or consultant for Chinese and Asian Studies programs in the U.S. and overseas. He has served as Chair of the Test Development Committee for the SAT Subject Test in Chinese and as member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages of the Modern Language Association. He is currently serving as American Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in Nanjing, China.