* Phonetic components are highlighted, unlocking their vast potential as a tool for recognizing and pronouncing the characters. * Character differentiation drills and real-life examplesùsuch as name cards, road signs, menus and train schedulesùare given. * Vital information about Chinese usage, culture and society is given, along with class discussions and readings. * Various strategies are recommended for memorizing and retaining the Chinese characters in active memory. * An audio CD provides accurate pronunciation, phrasing and comprehension recorded by native speakers. * A Teacher's Guide is available electronically. This textbook is designed to be used together with Basic Spoken Chinese, which teaches beginning-level Chinese speaking and listening skills.
Cornelius C. Kubler, Stanfield Professor of Asian Studies
at Williams College, received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in
linguistics from Cornell University. He earned a second M.A. in
Chinese literature from National Taiwan University.
From 1980-1991 he was employed at the Foreign Service Institute,
U.S. Department of State, where he served as Language Training
Supervisor in Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, and Mongolian; as
Principal of the advanced Chinese field school in Taiwan; and as
Chair of the Department of Asian and African Languages.
Since joining Williams College in 1991, he has chaired the former
Department of Chinese and Asian Studies Program as well as the
Department of Asian Studies, which he was instrumental in founding.
He has also served as visiting professor at Eisenhower College,
Portland State University, Middlebury College, National Taiwan
Normal University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Wenzao
Ursuline University of Languages.
Kubler, who is author or coauthor of 20 books and over 50 articles
on Chinese language pedagogy and linguistics, frequently serves as
reviewer or consultant for Chinese and Asian Studies programs in
the U.S. and overseas. He has served as Chair of the Test
Development Committee for the SAT Subject Test in Chinese and as
member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Departments
of Foreign Languages of the Modern Language Association. He is
currently serving as American Co-Director of The Johns Hopkins
University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American
Studies in Nanjing, China.
"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
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
