"Practical Chinese", also known as "The Effective Way of Learning Reading, Writing, and Speaking Chinese," is a 10 book series that aligns its curriculum with the ACTFL guideline and has been used by many schools, as well as for individual study. Based on daily conversations, the contents of the book series incorporate language and culture. The exercises are gradually expended, starting from writing characters by following stroke orders, translating words in Chinese, asking and answering questions according to your real situation, translating sentences, and performing oral presentations. The later chapters are based on the words from the previous chapter, and the higher level is the expending of the lower levels in the terms of the words and the sentence structures. This is an idea self-study material. With English and pinyin, it helps none Chinese speakers learn at home, and help all learners to build a solid foundation. Introduction to pinyin is included in the level one book. This can also make a great supplement for Chinese study because of the richness of the cultural information.
The book series covers the Pre-K through college level. There is a
workbook and a CD/cassette to accompany to each level, which can be
purchased separately. There is a game package, "Practical Chinese Learning
Games, 10 in 1", for parents/teachers to make learning fun, easy, and more
effective. For more game ideas, "Games for Learning Chinese" provides more
than 50 activities for instructors to use at home or in school.
About the Author
Wendy Lin is a licensed Chinese language teacher, owns two Masters' degrees:
an Education Master's degree and a computer Science Master's degree. Based
on her experience of teaching Chinese language and culture in both public
and private schools, as well as in American and Chinese schools, Wendy
designed these series books primarily for the students' daily needs.
based on 3 reviews.
DISAPPOINTED, September 10, 2005
great learning tool, January 25, 2004