"The ideal material for any committed learner embarking on the journey of learning the Chinese language." --Dr. Jun Yang, Senior Lecturer in Chinese, University of Chicago
"Outstanding for its carefully graduated presentation of material ... 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 ... The most exciting Chinese language textbook I have seen in many years." --Dr. James E. Dew, retired associate professor of Chinese, Univ. of Michigan; former Director of the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies in Taipei
"A breath of fresh air ... 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 ... 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." --Dr. Jingqi Fu, Associate Professor of Chinese, St. Mary's College of Maryland
"Contextualized so learners know not only what to say, but why, when, and with whom it is appropriate to use such language -- thorough and clear -- refreshing." --Dr. Matthew Christensen, Associate Professor of Chinese, Brigham Young University
"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." --Prof. Eric Pelzl, Wisconsin Lutheran College
"An ingenious introduction -- Basic Spoken Chinese is the finest textbook for learning Modern Standard Mandarin that I have ever encountered." --Dr. Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania
"Revolutionary in its approach ... The dream of having engaged and fully-prepared students in every class is an easily reachable reality for any program that adopts this series." --Professor Cecilia Chang, Chair, Department of Asian Studies, Williams College
"ISC/IWC represents an ambitious attempt to work out the complex logistics involved in coordinating the two tracks with different foci and schedules ... truly 'in a league of its own...'" --The Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association
Learning to read and write Chinese requires lots of practice. This unique practice guide can be used with any Chinese textbook or on its own to enhance your proficiency in reading and writing Mandarin Chinese. intermediate Written Chinese Practice Essentials offers a wealth of carefully-designed exercises and activities to help you develop every aspect of your reading and writing ability:
- Character writing practice sheets, character identification and sentence punctuation exercises.
- Sictation, fill-in-the-blank and dialog completion exercises.
- Writing and reading activities based on train schedules, photographs, restaurant menus, street signs, name cards and many other commonly encountered texts.
- Translation and writing exercises—Answering questions, map reading, converting written style to spoken style.
The enclosed CD-ROM provides- Over 16 hours of native-speaker recordings for dictation practice
- Printable flash cards
- hundreds of additional pages of Chinese exercises and activities
Together with or after this book, you can use
basic Spoken Chinese if you want to learn fluent spoken Mandarin.
About the Series: Respected Chinese language expert Dr. Cornelius Kubler, who has taught diplomats, business people and students, presents a learning system that uses separate but integrated "tracks" to help you efficiently master the basics of spoken and written Chinese. The materials in this series allow you to move from complete beginner level to basic fluency.