Integrated Chinese: Textbook, Level 1, Part 1 Simplified Characters

by Yuehua Liu

Cheng & Tsui s best-loved Chinese textbook series is new, revised, and better than ever! Integrated Chinese is already the leading introductory Chinese textbook at colleges and universities around the world. The third edition of this time-tested series has been fully updated to meet the needs of today s students with new communicative and interactive exercises, a full-color design, up-to-date vocabulary, enhanced cultural coverage, a diverse cast of characters, and a realistic storyline linking all the dialogues and readings. The second edition will remain available to order. What's new in the 3rd Edition? 1. 20 lessons in Level 1, for easier academic planning
2. Level 2 split into two volumes, one per semester
3. Student-centered learning objectives at the start of each lesson and progress checklists at the end
4. Let s Take a Break sections after every five lessons for review and reinforcement
5. More task-based, communicative language applications
6. Current, relevant vocabulary and revised grammar notes
7. Exciting new storyline linking all the dialogues and readings
8. Enhanced focus on cultural coverage and comparison
9. All-new, user-friendly full-color design
10.New photos, illustrations, and authentic materials in each lesson

Genres: Language, China, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Reference, School

335 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Gerard Braad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average book series for learning Chinese. It feels very much aimed at the American market in word choice for teaching (it tends to be less neutral than New Practical Chinese Reader) and the images make it look like a poorly drawn children's book. Also, the vocabulary being thought is not as rich. It still is a nice way to learn Chinese language and culture... but be aware, for self-teaching it might not be the best choice (as of lesson 3 it would require you to look words up as the conversations do not have a one-to-one translation). I would recommend NPCR if you really want to learn Chinese... as the books are a lot cheaper, uses HSK material and also the audio recordings if you need these are a lot better.

[Aaron Dietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an instructional designer I found a lot to pick apart in this book, but given the constraints (specific amount of curriculum within a specific amount of pages) and the concept of, "Hey, a teacher will help teach this, as it's intended", as well as just...languages are just tough to teach, it's basically alright. Plus, there's a subtext of a love quadrangle--the English guy likes the Asian gal, who likes the Asian guy, who likes the American gal, who likes the English guy. Or something like that. It's funny, and I wouldn't have noticed or paid attention to that unless my teacher pointed it out, but it's there. Can't wait to find out what happens to the four of them in the next book!

[Queme · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed being guided through this book in my beginning Chinese class. It is very well-organized inasmuch as the conversations develop, chapter by chapter, as a real conversation might evolve between native speakers during a few encounters with each other. There are a few minor errors in the pinyin representations in the vocabulary sections. Also, the chart for "day-before-yesterday," "yesterday," "today," "tomorrow," "day after tomorrow," etc. and the same for years occur later and seem less clear in the 3rd edition. A few vocabulary items have been changed. Second edition chi-fan becomes chi-cai in the third edition, though not in all contexts. The audio format, unfortunately is inferior to the previous edition. The 2nd edition's CD repeated each conversation three times - very slowly, moderately paced, and natural speed. The 3rd edition's CD contains only one run through of the conversations, and that is at a relatively fast speed. All in all, this is a great book, when combined with the character book and CDs, for learning Mandarin.

[Ryan Pangilinan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful textbook to accompany my Chinese class with. The dialogue was easy to follow and the grammar sections were explained pretty clearly. In addition, the dialogue was very friendly and funny.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great way to learn Chinese! Plus it didn't seem like a regular textbook. The dialogues made you think you were actually watching a drama no lie.

[Bojan Božić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for Chinese beginners. The structure perfectly supports the learning process.

[Leanne McElroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. The vocabulary lists are so helpful, I’m going to go back and look through them again for review. It has the character, the English meaning, pronunciation and what type of function the word is, like verb, adjective, noun, etc.

The speaking exercises were okay I guess but still helpful. I like that the chapters are arranged by theme. So like all food related things one chapter, all shopping things in another, all expressions and ways of expression in another. Good stuff.

[Nick Litwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 / 5

This was almost completely review for me since I studied Mandarin to a lower intermediate level many years ago. I wanted a refresher and was surprised by the quality of the book. It's a good mix of relevant language, quality dialogues, and insight into cultural differences, etc. I also liked that the dialogues were reprinted in the back in traditional characters. One downside is that the audio has many pauses and unnecessary music, but I will most likely continue reviewing with later books in the Integrated Chinese series

[Linalee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purchased this for a Mandarin 101 course to fulfill a major requirement; it was very useful. I learned how to read a whole sentence correctly for my final, although its been years since I've practiced so I don't remember much. Good thing I kept my copy.

[Marcus Laurén · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book as part of a course with the same name, 中文听说读写

[Jonah Dunch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arguably cheating to count this lol, but ahhhhh whatever. Helpful and engaging intro textbook. I loved seeing the story of Li You, Wang Peng, and the gang unfold.

[Ashton Brock-French · Rating 5 out of 5]

China is the future. This book taught me everything I could ever need in the Chinese language. Good stuff. Semesters worth of fun. I'm on lesson 10, getting tricky but woof. 5 stars for me.

[Zen · Rating 5 out of 5]

这本书很好， 王朋很帅！🤪

[Jeffrey Pedro · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5/5 stars) Second time getting through this one. Great start to learning Mandarin. Wish there was an audio component, especially for the different tones within the language. This book caters more toward school/student life, but it’s packed with pictures, vocabulary, grammar exercises, and language practice in each chapter. The cultural highlights at the end of each chapter are great at providing some interesting info and added context to the material just learned. I’d recommend supplementing this with daily practice using Duolingo or the HelloChinese app. On to part two!!!!

[Keshia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Follow characters like Wang Peng, Li You and more in this Mandarin textbook. We used this for my Chinese I level class. It teaches some basic conversations that one would have on a first meeting.