Introduction to Standard Chinese Pinyin System Textbook only

This is a well-organized Chinese textbook from overseas perspectives and a great introduction of Chinese for the beginners. The textbook consists of 10 lessons. Lesson 1 provides a brief introduction to the standard Chinese phonetic system. Lessons 2 to 9 are designed to teach you how to pronounce each sound through the learning of the Pinyin system--21 initial consonants and 36 simple of 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, discrimination and pronunciation practice. Section 3: provides exercises such as Chinese tongue twisters 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, and 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 (regular data CD for the textbook and MP3 CD for the workbook) to enable learners to practice repeatedly.