Helen H. Shen | Akateeminen Kirjakauppa

In order to learn standard Chinese, one must learn its phonetic system first. The purpose of this textbook is to introduce Pinyin, the phonetic alphabet of standard Chinese to the beginners.
This textbook consists of ten lessons. Lesson 1 provides a brief introduction to the standard Chinese phonetic system. Lesson 2 and 9 are designed to teach you how to pronounce each sound through the learning of the Pinyin system - 21 initial consonants and 36 simple or compound vowels.
Each lesson (except Lesson 2) consists of three sections. Section 1 introduces the phonetic symbols and their ways of pronunciation. And it compares the similarities and differences between Chinese and English in pronouncing a particular sound when it becomes relevant. Section 2 presents classroom exercises including a series of pronunciation activities such as sound and tone recognition, or poems for further practicing the introduced sounds in meaningful contexts. Lesson 10 gives a brief introduction of the phonetic spelling rules for writing Chinese syllables and tone changes in the context of intonation patterns. The last part of the textbook, an Appendix, introduces classroom expressions which is helpful to learners for class practice. In addition to the textbook, a workbook provides after-class exercises for each lesson. Both the textbook and the workbook are accompanied by a CD, to enable learners to practice repeatedly.

Comments from students who have used this textbook - From an anonymous survey - It was organized very well; You provided good explanations of the Pinyin sounds. I think it made a great foundation for introducing Chinese characters. - I do like the book because it showed graphs of the vocal organ which were very helpful and I liked the way it separated the sounds. - I think it is a good way to start out introducing the sounds in Chinese, at a nice pace. - Yes, I like the explanations of where the tongue and mouth positions in vocal organ should be to make the sounds as well as the practice of poems and tongue twisters. - I liked it. It explained how to pronounce the initial consonants and simple or compound vowels in a way I understood. - It is easy to follow the purpose that we need to get from the class. - It was a great introduction of Chinese for the beginners and it helped out a lot, especially with the supporting CD and the workbook.