ABSTRACT
The Routledge Course in Modern Mandarin Chinese is a two-year undergraduate course for students with no prior background in Chinese study which takes students from complete beginner to post-intermediate level. Designed to build a strong foundation in both the spoken and written language it develops all the basic skills such as pronunciation, character writing, word use and structures, while placing strong emphasis on the development of communicative skills.
Each level of the course consists of a textbook and workbook, available separately in simplified or traditional character editions. A companion website will provide expanded listening files and a broad range of resources for students and teachers.
The benefits of this course include: focus on the long-term retention of vocabulary, characters and structures by reiterating structures and vocabulary throughout the book series; carefully selected and staged introduction of characters with staged removal of pinyin to ensure recognition and use of characters; clear and jargon-free explanations of use and structures, that are easy for students and teachers to understand; extensive workbook exercises for homework, independent study, and classroom use focusing on all language skills and modalities including a vast inventory of carefully structured exercises focusing on listening comprehension, reading for information, and writing for communication;an extensive inventory of classroom activities that guide students to develop communication-based speaking and listening skills; a list of communication goals and key structures for each lesson allowing the student to assess progress; cultural notes explaining the context of the dialogues; language FAQs explaining aspects of Chinese language as they relate to the content and vocabulary in the lesson; storyline following a group of students studying in China from Europe, North America and East Asia, making the book attractive to a variety of students and facilitating the introduction of Chinese culture; full-color text design for the textbook and carefully matched designs for the traditional and simplified books, allowing for easy cross-reference
The course is also fully supported by an interactive companion website. The website contains a wealth of additional resources for both teachers and students. Teachers will find lesson plans in both English and Mandarin, providing a weekly schedule and overall syllabus for fall and spring, as well as activities for each lesson and answer keys.
Students will be able to access downloadable character practice worksheets along with interactive pronunciation, vocabulary and character practice exercises. All the audio material necessary for the course is also available onliine and conveniently linked on screen to the relevant exercises for ease-of-use.
