Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 1: Workbook (Traditional Character Edition) (Level 1 Traditional Character Texts)

by Yuehua Liu, Tao-Chung Yao, Daozhong Yao (Editor)

The Integrated Chinese Level 1 Part 1 Workbook contains exercises to accompany the material introduced in the Level 1 Part 1 Textbook and audio CDs. This acclaimed, best-selling series is successful because it "integrates" all four language skills--listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Integrated Chinese helps you understand how the Chinese language works grammatically, and how to use Chinese in real life—how to understand it on the street, speak it on the telephone, read it in the newspaper, or write it in a report. The materials within Integrated Chinese’s set of textbooks, workbooks, character workbooks, and audio CDs are divided into sections of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Two types of exercises are traditional exercises (fill-in-the-blank, sentence completion, translation) to help learners build a solid grammatical foundation, and communication-oriented exercises (speaking drills, discussion topics, etc.) to prepare them to function in a Chinese language environment. Frequently, authentic materials written for native Chinese speakers and realia (newspaper clippings, signs, tickets, etc.) are used. Notes on language use and Chinese culture are found throughout the textbooks. Textbooks and workbooks are available in simplified or traditional characters.

136 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a great source for learning Mandarin Chinese. However it is a classroom-based textbook and is designed as such. Each chapter is a specific lesson designed for partner dialogue practice drills, vocabulary lists, exercises for reading comprehension, grammar lessons, and cultural highlight lessons. Topics of each chapter include greetings, family, dates & times, hobbies, visiting friends, making appointments, studying Chinese, school life, shopping, transportation.

The book starts with an introduction (tones, pronunciation), an overview of the Chinese writing system, common Chinese radicals, stroke order, and useful expressions in a classroom setting (How are you, teacher? Open your book, Please repeat after me, etc.). In the back there is a vocabulary index, grammar index, and index on simplified characters.

The authors show the 6 categories of how Chinese characters are developed:
1. Pictographs, pictographic characters
2. Self-explanatory characters
3. Associative compounds
4. Pictophonetic characters (with one element indicating meaning and the other sound)
5. Mutually explanatory characters
6. Phonetic loan characters

I would suggest this even for someone who does self-study. There is an audio CD (which I don't have) and this addresses unaspirated/aspirated stops, nasals, fricatives, voiced continuants, and monosyballic/bisyballic sounds. All words are accompanied with the Pinyin transliteration and that is helpful. Thanks!