Practical Chinese Textbook (Book 1)

Author: Liu Xun et al
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features: Practical Chinese Course, a two-volume set with fifty lessons, is a foundational textbook designed for foreign students learning modern Chinese, as well as for self-study purposes. The primary goal of this series is to cultivate students' ability to use Chinese for communication in real-life situations and to lay a solid foundation for further Chinese language study. The textbook strives to leverage the unique characteristics of the Chinese language while incorporating the strengths of various foreign language teaching methodologies. Through comprehensive training such as sentence pattern substitution, functional item drills, and grammar analysis, it aims to achieve this objective.
The writing principles of Practical Chinese Course are as follows:
1. The textbook is based on the standard, authentic modern Chinese commonly used by Chinese people. It first introduces essential and practical language materials that beginners need to master in social interactions.
2. The book not only helps readers grasp a certain number of common language forms but also equips them with the ability to apply these forms in specific contexts. The entire series presents language scenarios through the stories of two foreign students, Palanka and Gubo, as they study Chinese in their home country and later interact with Chinese friends in China. The scenes in the first volume are set outside China—we hope readers can practice Chinese in their own environments.
3. Adults learning a foreign language tend to achieve better results when they master the necessary phonetic and grammatical rules and apply them to their own language practice. The textbook emphasizes language practice while also introducing fundamental phonetic and grammatical knowledge.
4. To learn Chinese well, it is essential to understand Chinese culture, history, and current realities. The book (especially from the second volume onward) integrates language and culture as much as possible, teaching Chinese through topics related to Chinese society, history, famous attractions, customs, and traditions.
5. Each lesson includes vocabulary, sentence patterns, extensions, grammar, text, reading passages, and exercises, all designed to reinforce key concepts. Depending on the students' specific needs, teachers can flexibly adapt the material. They may use all or part of the provided content and adjust the sequence of teaching activities.
The format of Practical Chinese Course:
Most of the texts are in dialogue form to emphasize listening and speaking skills while meeting the comprehensive demands of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the foundational stage. Vocabulary includes essential words and supplementary words for students to learn at their own pace. Notes explain difficult sentences and certain word usages; supplementary sections elaborate on learned grammar points and provide background knowledge. New grammar points introduced in difficult sentences are those that will be covered in detail later. In the twelfth lesson, phonetic exercises focus on difficult sounds and tones to build a strong foundation in pronunciation. After the twelfth lesson, additional tone exercises are added to reinforce pronunciation.
Dialogue exercises (first twelve lessons) and substitution and expansion activities help students flexibly apply learned sentence patterns after mastering basic structures through mechanical substitution. Phonetic exercises (first twelve lessons) and grammar introductions cover the main phonetic or grammatical points of the lesson, focusing on challenges faced by foreign learners and the unique features of the Chinese language. Grammar summaries in unit review lessons help readers summarize key grammar points. Reading passages review learned vocabulary and sentence patterns, strengthen reading skills, and gradually develop the ability to express ideas in paragraphs both orally and in writing.
Exercises use various formats to reinforce key grammar points (including word usages introduced in notes). Readers are encouraged to use the illustrations in the book for contextual dialogue practice.
Chinese Characters Each lesson includes a stroke order table for Chinese characters. The accompanying character workbook analyzes the components, origins, and structures of characters and employs effective methods such as description and copying to help learners master them.
Practical Chinese Course (Volumes 1 and 2) benefited greatly from the contributions of Chinese language teachers at Beijing Language and Culture University. We welcome feedback from teachers and readers worldwide to further refine these volumes and continue developing future teaching materials.