Chinese Textbook Series with an International Vision

for Primary and Middle Schools

——The compilation ideas and course design The compilation ideas and course design of of Easy Steps to Chinese Easy Steps to Chinese

Key Key pointspoints

Positioning of the series Introduction to the authorsComponents of the series Plan for using the whole

series Subseries 1: For teenagers Subseries 2: For kids Summary: Teaching

concepts Market feedback

It is suitable for non-Chinese speakers, ranging from primary school students in Grade one to high school students in Grade 12.

1. Positioning of the series

Students can study this series from Book 1 for total beginners or choose any volume corresponding to their own level of Chinese proficiency.

The primary school stage focuses on cultivating students’ interest, helping them lay a solid foundation and giving them extensive exposure to the Chinese language and culture.

The middle school stage, directed at the IB and AP Chinese tests, helps to intensify students’ integrated language skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

▰ Authors: Yamin Ma; Xinying Li ▰ Lead author: Ms. Yamin Ma

B.A. of British Language and Literature (from China) and M. ED. in Curriculum Design and Development (from Canada).

Ms. Ma had been teaching English as a second language in both China and Canada.

Ms. Ma has more than 20 years’ experience in Chinese teaching and is now teaching in an international middle school in Hong Kong.

This series Easy Steps to Chinese for non-Chinese speakers is published by Beijing Language and Culture University Press.

2. Introduction to the authors

3. Components of the series (1) For teenagers A total of 8 books, suitable for students from Grade 5 in primary school to high school Including: Textbook, Workbook, Teacher’s book, Posters, Picture Flashcards, Word Cards

(2) For kidsA total of 8 books for 4 levels, suitable for primary school students from Grade 1 to Grade 4 Including: Textbook, Workbook, Picture Flashcards, Word Cards

Both series are going to be equipped with CD-ROMs and iPad products.

Books 1-2 of Easy Steps to Chinese (for teenagers)

Books 1-4 of Easy Steps to Chinese for Kids

For Grades 1-4 in primary school

For Grades 5-6 in primary school

Books 3-8 of Easy Steps to Chinese (for teenagers)

For Grades 7-12 in middle school

4. Plan for using the whole series

With one volume for each semester, the series covers all the With one volume for each semester, the series covers all the academic years in primary and middle schools. A continuous academic years in primary and middle schools. A continuous learning of it will result in very good effects.learning of it will result in very good effects.

5. Subseries: Easy Steps to Chinese

Easy Steps to Chinese (for teenagers) is a set of middle school Chinese textbooks with an international vision, which has sold very well in Europe, America, Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

(for teenagers)

Having finished Books 1-4, students are able to take the GCSE and IGCSE tests. (Maximum score: A*)

a. Teaching objectives

Having finished Books 1-5, students are able to take the AP Chinese test. (Maximum score: 5)

Having finished Books 1-6, students are able to take the IB Chinese test (Maximum score: 7)

Having finished all the eight books, students can: be exposed to about 1,600 Chinese characters; read simple articles in newspapers, magazines and on the Internet; communicate spontaneously in fluent Chinese both orally and in

writing.

Textbooks (1-8) (each with a CD)

b. Textbook components

Workbooks (1-5)

Including review tests, self-evaluations and vocabulary lists.

Note: At high school stage, the focal aspects to be trained are not morphemes, words or sentence patterns, but reading comprehension and writing, so the textbook and workbook at each of Levels 6-8 are integrated into one.

Teacher’s Books (1-8) (with a CD for each of Levels 1-4):

Teacher’s Books 6-8 are soon to be published in 2012!

Including teaching objectives, teaching focus and tests at different stages.

Word cards (1-3)

Picture flashcards (1-3)

Posters (1-3)

CD-ROMs and iPad products

With written characters, sounds, animations, videos and games integrated together

Comprehensively training language skills like listening, speaking, reading and writing

For an all-round, three-dimensional and interactive learning effect

In the process of development…

c. Concepts of design and compilation

The “Five C’s” are the key objectives of the AP Chinese test in the United States

Five Goals (Five C’s) Communication Cultures Connections Comparisons Communities

1) Reference standards:

Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century, U.S.

the requirements of the AP Chinese test The first published Chinese textbook series suitable for the AP Chinese test

Communication: (1)(1) Students can have conversations with each other to get or provide Students can have conversations with each other to get or provide information, exchange opinions and express feelings and emotions.information, exchange opinions and express feelings and emotions.

The series observes the reference standards in the following ways ：

(2) (2) Students can express their understanding of written and spoken Chinese Students can express their understanding of written and spoken Chinese on a variety of topics.on a variety of topics.

(3) (3) Students can express different ideas and types of information to an Students can express different ideas and types of information to an audience of listeners or readers.audience of listeners or readers.

Cultures:

(1) Students can express their knowledge and understanding about the Chinese social customs in an appropriate way.

(2) (2) Students can express their understanding of the Chinese culture, art, Students can express their understanding of the Chinese culture, art, history and literature.history and literature.

气象、地理

Connections: (1) (1) By learning the Chinese language, students can reinforce and further their By learning the Chinese language, students can reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines, such as meteorology, geography, science and knowledge of other disciplines, such as meteorology, geography, science and health.health.

科技、健康

(2) Students can acquire the distinctive viewpoints and cognitions that are only Students can acquire the distinctive viewpoints and cognitions that are only available through Chinese language learning.available through Chinese language learning.

Comparisons: 比较

(1) Students can improve their understanding of the nature of language Students can improve their understanding of the nature of language through comparisons between the Chinese language and their own.through comparisons between the Chinese language and their own.

(2) Students can get an understanding of Students can get an understanding of the nature of culture through comparisons the nature of culture through comparisons between the Chinese culture and their own.between the Chinese culture and their own.

Communities:Communities:

(1) Students can use Chinese both inside and outside school.Students can use Chinese both inside and outside school.

(2) Students can integrate the Chinese language and culture into Students can integrate the Chinese language and culture into their daily life to enrich and add more fun totheir daily life to enrich and add more fun to their life. their life.

2) Concepts of course design and textbook compilation

Zipper Theory

written form

spoken form

Reflected in:

(1) The equal emphasis on the oral

communication ability and the writing ability

(2) The equal emphasis on the four

language skills, namely listening, speaking,

reading and writing

Upon finishing Book 6, students are able

to take the IB and AP tests

d. Features of compilation

1) This series adopts a holistic （整体的） approach and is

designed to emphasize the development of communication skills

in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

2) The series pays equal attention to listening and speaking and

centers on “communication”, leading students to learn and

practise under a communication mode which emphasizes the

background and purpose of communication.

The reference standards and compilation concepts are embodied

throughout the series.

Review the previous lesson about “career” and connect it with the new lesson. The activity involved is for students to make exchanges about the professions of their family members and their attitudes towards career.

Listen to the text and then answer questions. Read the questions before listening. (Interpretive)

Take the teaching process of Text 1 in Lesson 3 of Book 4 as an example to illustrate the two features above.

Deal with the text. (The teacher can make the students ask each other questions.) (Interpretive)

After the text: There are 7 teaching activities.

Make eight sentences with the structure “ 虽然……，但是……” . (Later the teacher can ask the students to check each other’s sentences.)

While focusing on the communication task, the activity also enhances students’ understanding of the language system.

Do exercises on the classification of vocabulary. (Deskmates can check each other’s answers afterwards.)

Work in pairs and make a conversation on a certain topic. (Interpersonal)

Exchange with classmates about each other’s living conditions. (Interpersonal)

Look at the pictures and describe the personalities of people in nine professions according to the framework of dialogue and the given sentence patterns. (Presentational)

Choose the right answers after listening to the recording. (Six questions related to career) (Interpretive)

Use the communicative framework newly learned to make dialogues with five classmates. (Interpersonal)

3) The difficulty of the books rises gradually and spirally.

Take the theme “Festival” in Books 4-6 as an example (same theme, different arrangements of contents):

The text is a dialogue. (Interpersonal)

Book 4

to learn and compare the customs on Spring Festival and Christmas by asking questions. (From the culture one knows to the target culture)

The major activity is for students to basically understand and demonstrate some general knowledge about customs of Western and Chinese festivals through group discussion. (Culture integrated into language learning)

Book 4

As for the focal task, students are asked “to prepare for Christmas” and to report to the whole class what preparations they will make for Christmas. (Presentational)

The text is a short passage. (Interpretive)

Book 5

The major activity is primarily for students to learn about the Spring Festival in China. (Presentational)

The major activity is primarily for students to learn about the Spring Festival in China. (Presentational)

Book 5

A table is drawn to compare “Spring Festival” with “Christmas” and the image of the “God of Wealth” in China with that of “Santa Claus” in the West. (Interpretive)

Book 6

The text is a diary, recording what a student has seen, heard and experienced in Beijing during the Spring Festival. (Interpretive)

Students are asked to write an email to invite their friends to spend Spring Festival in Beijing. (Presentational)

Students are supposed to read a short passage about culture and then write a responsive essay to introduce the traditional Chinese festivals and the related customs to their friends. (Interpretive and presentational)

Book 6

The passage for reading comprehension talks about the customs of Spring Festival as well as some cultural taboos, aiming to develop students’ intercultural communication skills. (Interpretive)

1) Texts: topical

e. Features of different sections in the books

Arranged by topic, Books 1-8 are in an “upward spiral”, continuously repeating the topics with a gradual increase in difficulty.

The topics are related to school and daily life, helping students use the target language inside and outside school and integrate the Chinese language and culture into their daily life.

The later the

topics appear,

the more

international

they are.

Stage 1: Books 1-2• Numbers • Personal identification•Parts of the body •Colours and clothing • Food and drinks • Daily routines•Schooling • Hobbies • Life at home• Means of transport • Daily articles • Weather

Stage 2: Books 3-6• Appearance • People and occupations• School facilities •Weather and holidays • Pets • Personality • School events• Food and sickness • Accidents • Shopping and travelling •Neighbourhood • Festivals and celebrations

Stage 3: Books 7-8• Community • Work experience • Environment • Customs and traditions • Technology and communication • Diet and healthy life-style • Special occasions • Leisure and travelling • Education and employment • Law and order • Current isssues• Global issues

Text 1 The text is a dialogue, which embodies both culture and communication. The text is provided with sound recording for students to follow and simulate. The layout is carefully designed to make students love Chinese learning.

Before the text: From Book 4, a “Get Ready” part is added in order to train students’ reading comprehension.

Text 2 It cultivates students’ reading comprehension abilities.

2) New words: embodying the idea of morpheme teaching

Morphemes are given before words.

Morphemes are given to help students expand their vocabulary and understand the meaning of each word.

For each morpheme, only one meaning is taught so that students can remember it easily.

The vocabulary is listed in both simplified characters and complex characters to meet the needs of students in different countries and areas.

3) Grammar: Grammar is integrated in other sections to be learned in practice, without being independently dealt with.

Oral practice

Listening practice

Classroom discussion, group activity, and combination of listening and speaking

4) Exercises: diverse types of exercises for students to practise what they’ve learned

Listening practice

Oral practice

Task-based exercises, and combination of listening and speaking

Table filling

Multiple choices (with one answer)

Multiple choices (with more than one answer)

Matching

Listening practice

Book 4

Book 6Reading practice

Book 5

Writing radicals

Combining components into characters

Writing characters according to radicals

Writing pinyin and characters according to meanings

Having dictation competitions in groups

Exercises on Chinese characters

Book 5

Based on good abilities in reading Chinese and writing Chinese characters

Writing practice

a traditional festival in front of the whole class, the activity not only highlights the communication task, but also helps improve the students’ abilities in writing and language use and enhances their interest in learning.

Integrated exercises: listening, speaking, reading and writing

Various communicative task-based exercises are employed to fully stimulate students’ initiative.

Exercises from Book 5 onwards become closely connected to the tests to facilitate students’ preparation.

Communicative activity:

By asking every student to prepare a PowerPoint document to introduce

1) The beautiful illustrations and formats can increase students’ interest in learning.

2)2) The diverse forms of supportive products can enhance the teaching effect.

Workbook, full-coloured picture flashcards, word cards and posters: diverse in forms and effective in increasing students’ initiative

Teacher’s book: with various types of design to facilitate teachers’ use

f. Advantages of the graphic design and features of the supportive products

Teacher’s book: (1) In the loose-leaf book, all the pages correspond to the pages in the textbook and workbook.

For each lesson, the content in the textbook is immediately followed by the content of the lesson in the workbook.

The pages in the textbook and workbook are reduced to 70% as large as the original ones, and the sides of the pages are just the same as the original.

(2) The teaching objectives of each unit are made clear, and The teaching objectives of each unit are made clear, and language points are summarized.language points are summarized.

(3) Reference answers and abundant teaching Reference answers and abundant teaching

suggestions are clearly provided.suggestions are clearly provided.

teaching suggestions

reference answers

(4) Each unit includes a listening, reading and writing test, and the questions Each unit includes a listening, reading and writing test, and the questions for listening are provided with sound recording, script and reference answers.for listening are provided with sound recording, script and reference answers.

listening script and reference answers

reading and writing test

listening test

(5) There are enough margin space on each page for teachers to write There are enough margin space on each page for teachers to write

their own materials and memos.their own materials and memos.

largely facilitates teachers’ use

English Edition

Multilingual development

French EditionGerman Edition

Country-specific content:

Different editions, rather than simply being annotated in different languages, have features distinctive to the specific countries.

For example, to meet the broad need broad needs of French-speaking areas, the pinyin annotations above Chinese characters in the texts are removed altogether in the French edition.

Country-specific design:

The design on the cover of the book varies from one edition to another to make it easier for users to differentiate and choose.

Features of Multilingual Editions

From the presentation of the compilation ideas, course design and

features of the subseries for teenagers and kids, we can see the

following teaching concepts which are embodied throughout the

whole series of Easy Steps to Chinese:

1. To learn in practice

2. Instruction revolving around student activities

3. To learn language by learning different subjects and thinking

4. To learn in group communicative activities

5. Meaningful instruction (objectives/texts/exercises/tests)

6. Summary

Amazon.co.uk reviews of Easy Steps to Chinese:

Fantastic!

An absolutely brilliant book for beginners trying to learn Chinese on their own, and with little or no previous knowledge.

The workbook has over 150 colour pages of clear tasks and exercises to work through.

The textbook comes with an audio CD and has information-guided with the CD- and exercises as well.

Very easy to use and beginner friendly, it explains everything and builds your confidence in manageable bites.

Though it may appear to be aimed at a younger audience, it is also perfectly suitable for adults trying to learn the language. It is child friendly of course, and like I said, you do not need a teacher or Chinese speaker to learn.

I cannot speak highly enough of it, and recommend it to anyone trying to learn Chinese.

Great!

7. Market feedback

Feedback from teachers and parents:

Ms. Li Jingming, as a teacher in Upper Canada College

and a parent, tells a personal story of using Easy Steps to

Chinese:

“My son once threw a Chinese book on the floor, crying ‘I don’t

wanna learn the stupid Chinese! So boring!’ Easy steps to

Chinese was the first Chinese textbook he liked, and he finished

learning all the six volumes of it. In the HSK test, he got a full

score for every part.

Soon he will be a student in Cornell. He often says to me, ‘My

Chinese is the best in my class. Mom, thank you for having

found such a good book!’”

Feedback from experts:

CLASS invited the distinguished foreign language teaching advisor Ms. Janice Dowd (Tao Jielin) to to use Easy Steps to Chinese for learning Chinese..

Chen Junbo, a representative in the North American Office of OCLCI, commonly known as Hanban ， said: “I have made a careful study of Easy Steps to Chinese (ESC) and found that of all Chinese textbooks, this series is the closest to the AP Chinese test.”

The book, sold in more than 30 countries in the world, is widely used by primary and middle schools, Chinese institutions and Confucius Institutes overseas.

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