Fundamental Spoken Chinese: Second Edition

Like its predecessor, the second edition of Fundamental Spoken Chinese places primary importance on providing a clear, systematic, and graduated introduction to the basic grammar and vocabulary of spoken Mandarin Chinese through chapters that center on identified sentence patterns and vocabulary items rather than particular social functions or daily activities. The authors continue the tradition of separating the teaching of oral and written skills, leaving the instruction of reading and writing in Chinese characters exclusively to the accompanying Fundamental Written Chinese, also in its second edition. The lessons in the two textbooks, however, are keyed to each other in terms of vocabulary and grammar, so they may be used simultaneously, or the parallel written skills may be introduced at a later time. Both textbooks were developed for learning in the classroom and for independent study.

Every chapter of Fundamental Spoken Chinese begins with key grammar points and vocabulary arranged by part of speech. A list of sentence patterns and a few short dialogues follow to illustrate contextual use of the language—all new and updated for the second edition. Lessons are introduced in a planned order that gives students time to assimilate a concept before learning the next one. The material is explained in a concise yet complete fashion that alerts users to the similarities and differences between Chinese and English grammar. Nontechnical explanations of each grammar pattern, written from the perspective of an English-speaking learner and supported by numerous examples, are presented together with vocabulary, culture, and dialectal notes when appropriate. The accompanying Fundamental Spoken Chinese Exercise Book contains a wide variety of exercises and activities specifically designed to reinforce a systematic progression that focuses on developing accuracy then fluency in conversations.

Audio, exercise model answers, and other resources for Fundamental Spoken Chinese may be accessed at www.fundamentalchinese.com.

• Robert Sanders, Author

  Robert Sanders was a professor of Chinese language and Chinese linguistics for thirty-five years at universities in the United States, New Zealand, and Japan.

• Margaret Lee, Author

  Margaret Lee taught Chinese at the tertiary level for more than thirty years and was a senior tutor at the University of Auckland.

• Jiayan Lin, Author

  Jiayan Lin is a learning advisor at Massey University.

• The essence of the Fundamental Chinese textbooks that distinguishes them from all others widely used today is their focus on building a Chinese language acquisition foundation in the learner’s linguistic mind—one that will enable them to acquire native or near-native proficiency. This approach formed the basis of some very successful textbooks produced decades ago by teams of truly bilingual-bicultural linguists from both sides of the English-Chinese divide. These pioneers achieved native proficiency in their second language and knew intuitively how to guide students on the path to effective language acquisition. Fundamental Spoken Chinese and Fundamental Written Chinese are a synthesis of their tried-and-true methodology with twenty-first-century innovations.
  —Vivian Ling, former director of the Chinese Flagship Program, Indiana University
• The Fundamental Chinese books are original, innovative, and replete with insightful observations on language and culture. The lessons are systematically laid out and include rich and varied exercises. Together the spoken and written volumes form a complete package for both self-study and classroom instruction.
  —Zheng-sheng Zhang, professor of Chinese, San Diego State University