Fundamental Spoken Chinese introduces most of the basic grammatical patterns of modern spoken Mandarin in a carefully planned, graduated fashion. Every chapter follows the same organizational format and includes: key grammar points, new vocabulary items arranged by part of speech, sentence patterns, and four or five short dialogues illustrating contextual use of each new grammar pattern and vocabulary item. Non-technical explanations of grammar are written from the perspective of the English-speaking learner and are illustrated with multiple sentences in simple chart form. When appropriate, vocabulary and culture notes are provided, together with numerous drills, exercises, and in-class activities. Finally, English-Chinese translation exercises help determine how well students have mastered the chapter’s grammar and vocabulary.
The authors of Fundamental Spoken Chinese and its accompanying text, Fundamental Written Chinese, treat spoken and written language as two different but related systems that are most effectively learned by delinking the sequence in which the particulars of each system are taught. Such an approach insures that reading and writing skills are firmly grounded in the spoken vocabulary and grammar previously learned. Both volumes are designed to provide students with a systematic, knowledge-based approach to speaking, listening, reading, and writing Chinese.
Accompanying audio files available:
http://www.hawaii.edu/uhpress/mp3/fsc/
Learners of Chinese will find [Fundamental Spoken Chinese and Fundamental Written Chinese],. which can be used together or separately, helpful in that they provide clear and straightforward explanations about Chinese grammar points and an informative analysis of Chinese characters. As a result, it makes the teacher’s job much easier. . . . Since the written script is dealt with in its own volume, independent of the spoken form, its treatment is quite thorough.
Fundamental Spoken Chinese is an impressive Chinese language textbook. It adopts a sound theoretic and pedagogical approach to second language acquisition that emphasizes the spoken language. The approach that separates the teaching of oral skills from that of written skills through the use of separate textbooks is very different from traditional teaching of Chinese. . . . The authors of Fundamental Spoken Chinese believe that it is crucial to learn grammar when learning to speak Chinese. The book is therefore a grammar-based textbook, with grammar points being organised from easy to complex structures. This approach helps students learn Chinese grammar through a lot of well-designed dialogues.
The course set out in Fundamental Spoken Chinese and Fundamental Written Chinese provides a thorough training in all the skills that a learner needs to reach a basic level of proficiency in Mandarin Chinese as well as a solid foundation for more advanced study. Fundamental Spoken Chinese is marvelously executed. The explanations of grammar and usage are exceptionally clear, the best I’ve ever seen in a textbook. The charts used to illustrate grammatical constructions are easy to follow, and the examples are well chosen for maximal clarity. The dialogues are naturalistic and well keyed to everyday situations, as is the vocabulary. Fundamental Written Chinese has many of the same virtues as its companion volume. Like Fundamental Spoken Chinese,Fundamental Written Chinese not only teaches the content of the lesson but also inculcates habits essential for further learning. The emphasis on explaining characters explicitly in terms of radicals and phonetics is an example of the kind of approach that makes for successful advanced learners. The two books are designed to be flexible so that teachers of various approaches can use them either to introduce the spoken and written skills simultaneously or to introduce writing after the spoken language has progressed to a certain level. Teachers and learners are provided with all the basic tools needed in one well-designed package.
Robert Sanders (Author)
Robert Sanders is senior lecturer in Chinese at the University of Auckland.
Nora Yao (Author)
Nora Yao is head tutor in the School of Asian Studies and director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Auckland.
