Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Textbook, Simplified Characters, Second Edition

Book Description

The Integrated Chinese Level 1 Part 1 Textbook is appropriate for beginning students at the high school or college level, or for anyone seeking to communicate effectively in Chinese wherever it is spoken. This acclaimed, best-selling series is successful because it "integrates" all four language skills--listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Integrated Chinese helps you understand how the Chinese language works grammatically, and how to use Chinese in real life—how to understand it on the street, speak it on the telephone, read it in the newspaper, or write it in a report. The materials within Integrated Chinese's set of textbooks, workbooks, character workbooks, and audio CDs are divided into sections of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Two types of exercises are used: traditional exercises (fill-in-the-blank, sentence completion, translation) to help learners build a solid grammatical foundation, and communication-oriented exercises (speaking drills, discussion topics, etc.) to prepare them to function in a Chinese language environment. Frequently, authentic materials written for native Chinese speakers and realia (newspaper clippings, signs, tickets, etc.) are used. Notes on language use and Chinese culture are found throughout the textbooks. Textbooks and workbooks are available in simplified or traditional characters.

Customer Reviews:

Poorly done or maybe rushed second edition.......2006-07-14

I purchased the level 1 part 1 traditional book and was happy with that purchase. However, I wanted to start learning the simplified characters and had seen the level 1, part 1 simplified first edition and liked THAT, so thought that the second edition would be fine....WRONG. The biggest complaint is that in the level 1, part 2, unlike part 1, the characters are entirely too small so that not only is recognition difficult but trying to write them out is almost impossible for the more complicated characters requiring 5 or more strokes.

Another pet peeve is that some chapters have cartoons that follow the dialogues, which is fine, but the characters in the cartoons are TRADITIONAL and NOT Simplified....! WHat's up with that?!

Additionally, I purchased the 4 cd's that accompany the book at a cost of almost $50 and they are of extremely poor quality. You can tell that someone has overlaped the original recordings and on top of that, in many cases, the additions do not follow the BOOK! There is additional vocabulary on the cd's for some chapters, and the vocabulary is NOT in the book! They clearly either rushed this second edition or did a very poor editing job.

I say check out OTHER resources before thinking about this book.

Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Workbook (Simplified Character Edition) (C&T Asian Languages Series.)

Average customer rating:

A Great Text Book
Don't buy it!!
Excellent Supplemental Material for IC Users.

Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Workbook (Simplified Character Edition) (C&T Asian Languages Series.)

Manufacturer: Cheng & Tsui
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0887272711

Book Description

The Integrated Chinese Level 1 Part 2 Workbook contains exercises to accompany the material introduced in the Level 1 Part 2 Textbook and audio CDs. This acclaimed, best-selling series is successful because it "integrates" all four language skills--listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Integrated Chinese helps you understand how the Chinese language works grammatically, and how to use Chinese in real life—how to understand it on the street, speak it on the telephone, read it in the newspaper, or write it in a report. The materials within Integrated Chinese's set of textbooks, workbooks, character workbooks, and audio CDs are divided into sections of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Two types of exercises are used: traditional exercises (fill-in-the-blank, sentence completion, translation) to help learners build a solid grammatical foundation, and communication-oriented exercises (speaking drills, discussion topics, etc.) to prepare them to function in a Chinese language environment. Frequently, authentic materials written for native Chinese speakers and realia (newspaper clippings, signs, tickets, etc.) are used. Notes on language use and Chinese culture are found throughout the textbooks. Textbooks and workbooks are available in simplified or traditional characters.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Text Book.......2006-03-10

As it's name indicated this set is "integrated". It is well structured, provids constant reviewing. In addition, because it's a college text book, there are many resources you can use to help you study.
The contents are every day Chinese that you can apply in your daily life. Some students of mine using this book can write Chinese notes after learning just a few lessons.

Don't buy it!!.......2006-01-14

The workbook is very boring and not useful at all. I would hihgly recommend the new integrated multimedia course that just came out, called Chinese Odyssey. My sister, roommate, and I have all been using it -- and it's a wonderful integrated approach to Chinese learning that makes language learning both fun and informative! Try the Chinese Odyssey! You'll love it!

Excellent Supplemental Material for IC Users........2003-11-16

On Integrated Chinese in General:

Integrated Chinese is one of two programs commonly used in U.S. University and College Chinese programs, and is, in my opinion, the best program for English speakers to learn Chinese that I've ever seen. [The other program, the Practical Chinese Reader series, is also reasonably good, but doesn't introduce the key grammar, writing and pronounciation rules from the beginning, doesn't focus as heavily on radicals early on as it should, and the sequence of lessons isn't as useful.]

Unlike so many other programs, IC doesn't just focus on speaking the language, but incorporates all areas that make learning a language complete (listening, speaking, reading and writing). But, what makes this program excellent isn't merely the integrated approach, but its sequence and methodology that lay a solid foundation to build upon, making learning the language much easier and faster.

On this workbook in particular:

This workbook is a very useful companion to the Integrated Chinese text book, giving you additional hands on, practical experience in listening to and speaking the Chinese language. NOTE: It primarily focuses on listening comprehension and reading exercises, which requires the workbook audio (cassette or CD). Reading comprehension, writing and grammar are covered to a lesser extent.

Average customer rating:
Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Traditional Characters
Tao-Chung Yao , and Yuehua Lliu
Manufacturer: Cheng & Tsui
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chinese | Instruction | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Reference | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 Traditional Character Edition

Integrated Chinese Level 1 PT. 1, Character Workbook, Trad. and Simp., 2nd Edition

Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 1: Workbook (Traditional Character Edition) (Level 1 Traditional Character Texts)

Integrated Chinese: Traditional Character Edition, Level 1 (C&T Asian Languages Series)

Integrated Chinese: Level 2 Textbook: Traditional and Simplified Character Edition

ASIN: 0887274773

Average customer rating:

GOOD!

A Modern Standard

Not what I expected

Outdated editions

Great textbook if you are willing to work

Integrated Chinese: Level 2 Textbook: Traditional and Simplified Character Edition
Yuehua Liu , and Tao-Chung Yao
Manufacturer: Cheng & Tsui
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chinese | Instruction | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Integrated Chinese Level 2 Character Workbook: Trad. & Simp.

Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Workbook, Simplified Characters, Second Edition

Integrated Chinese: Level 2

Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Simplified Character Edition (Integrated Chinese) (Integrated Chinese)

Integrated Chinese Level 1 PT. 1, Character Workbook, Trad. and Simp., 2nd Edition

ASIN: 0887274803

Book Description

The Integrated Chinese Level 2 Workbook contains exercises to accompany the material introduced in the Level 2 Textbook and audio CDs. This acclaimed, best-selling series is successful because it "integrates" all four language skills--listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Integrated Chinese helps you understand how the Chinese language works grammatically, and how to use Chinese in real life—how to understand it on the street, speak it on the telephone, read it in the newspaper, or write it in a report. The materials within Integrated Chinese's set of textbooks, workbooks, character workbooks, and audio CDs are divided into sections of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Two types of exercises are used: traditional exercises (fill-in-the-blank, sentence completion, translation) to help learners build a solid grammatical foundation, and communication-oriented exercises (speaking drills, discussion topics, etc.) to prepare them to function in a Chinese language environment. Frequently, authentic materials written for native Chinese speakers and realia (newspaper clippings, signs, tickets, etc.) are used. Notes on language use and Chinese culture are found throughout the textbooks. In Level 2, simplified and traditional characters are combined in one book.

Customer Reviews:

GOOD!.......2007-09-11

This was a good and cheap book. I paid a used book rate for a new book.

A Modern Standard.......2007-05-09

This textbook series is used for Mandarin classes by the Seattle Language Academy, where I am taking Chinese. It is broadly used for teaching Mandarin, which means there are many online supplemental materials - very helpful! The Level 2 textbook builds nicely on the Level 1 books, providing useful examples of modern usage and vocabulary for common, daily life scenarios. The drills in the accompanying workbook are especially helpful. Now if Amazon would just carry the right edition of that workbook, it would have been great. At the time of my purchase for the Spring 2007 class, Amazon only carried the first edition of the Level 2 workbook, while selling the 2nd edition of the Level 2 textbook - just a bit of a disconnect.

Not what I expected.......2007-03-19

The description states that this has both traditional and simplified characters, but this is only true for the reading passages, not for the workbook exercises. I also expected the 2nd edition which is about twice as long as this edition and easier to read.

Outdated editions.......2006-05-13

I ordered this book as one of my course texts. After receiving it I learned that it had been superseded by the 2nd edition (ISBN:0887274811). I asked Amazon to exchange it for the new edition, but they sent me another copy of the 1st edition! Now they tell me they can't supply the 2nd edition, although you can find it on their site by searching with the ISBN. So I have had to order a copy direct from the publisher (Cheng & Tsui). There is also a 2nd edition of the Level 2 textbook.

Great textbook if you are willing to work.......2005-01-25

This is a great textbook for people who are willing to take time, work, and learn the language. I found the grammar explanations simple and accompanied with plenty of examples in both Chinese and English. There are minor typos(for example, sometimes a traditional version of a character is written on the simplified page), but they really do not detract from the quality of the book. The chapters are composed of a large dialogue followed by a vocabulary list and grammar explanations, as well as some exercises. However, he is exaggerating their use of words not previously introduced. The dialogues do not use any words which have not been introduced in an earlier chapter(and in some cases they actually list words that they have already listed in previous chapters). However, it is true that in the grammar examples some words are used that were not introduced earlier - however, since these are accompanied by English translation, there is really no problem there. The dialogues were interesting and a pleasant departure from most other textbooks that follow the amazing adventures of two Western tourists to the ticket office. The dialogues cover everyday conversation topics, and most of the chapters include a reading selection about Chinese culture. I did find the exercises in the book a bit lacking, but this is why the book comes with a workbook. At any rate, I found one dialogue to be enough - they were indeed "monster" in size, as the reviewer below stated. I found the grammar explanations sufficient and clear. For anyone who has put back by the explanations the reviewer below quoted, I will explain them:

"de hua is a particle. It is used in a hypothetical clause. It must be followed by another clause"
A hypothetical clause is just that; a clause introducing some kind of hypothetical situation. "If X, then Y" - the first clause would be the hypothetical clause. The book clearly demonstrates this with examples(this is taken from page 106):
"If you are going, make sure that you give me a call."
"If Mother insists on my studying medicine, then I'm not going to college."

"sui zhe is used in the first clause to indicate a changed circumstance. The second clause introduces a concomittant change."
It is easy to understand why the reviewer below did not understand this; he did state that he was working on the Chapter 6 homework, so it would not be unreasonable to expect that he would not understand a grammatical concept introduced 9 chapters later. But it seems his main gripe is with the word "concomitant." If he would take the time to open a dictionary, he would see that it means "accompanying", or something going "with" something. And this is exactly what the examples given in the book demonstrate:

"With economic development, people's living standards are improving."
"With economic development" here is the clause with the changed circumstance, "people's living standards are improving" is the concomitant change(or, if you don't like the word "concomitant", the change that comes with the first one).

In short, if you are not afraid of big words, and you have a decent Chinese-English dictionary, the textbook should be a pleasure to work through. It certainly was for me.

Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Textbook (Simplified Character Edition) (C&T Asian Languages Series.)

Average customer rating:

A very good resource
Why Are You Learning Chinese?
Horrible
The Best Mandarin Materials for Classrooms
Integrated Frustration

Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Textbook (Simplified Character Edition) (C&T Asian Languages Series.)
Yuehua Liu , and Tao-Chung Yao
Manufacturer: Cheng & Tsui
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: 088727269X

Book Description

Integrated Chinese Level 1 Part 2 is an advanced beginner-level textbook for students who have completed one semester of study at the high school or college level, or for anyone seeking to communicate effectively in Chinese wherever it is spoken. This acclaimed, best-selling series is successful because it "integrates" all four language skills--listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Integrated Chinese helps you understand how the Chinese language works grammatically, and how to use Chinese in real life—how to understand it on the street, speak it on the telephone, read it in the newspaper, or write it in a report. The materials within Integrated Chinese's set of textbooks, workbooks, character workbooks, and audio CDs are divided into sections of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Two types of exercises are used: traditional exercises (fill-in-the-blank, sentence completion, translation) to help learners build a solid grammatical foundation, and communication-oriented exercises (speaking drills, discussion topics, etc.) to prepare them to function in a Chinese language environment. Frequently, authentic materials written for native Chinese speakers and realia (newspaper clippings, signs, tickets, etc.) are used. Notes on language use and Chinese culture are found throughout the textbooks. Textbooks and workbooks are available in simplified or traditional characters.

Customer Reviews:

A very good resource.......2007-09-05

I'm a beginner / intermediate learner and I found this book very useful.

I took 3 terms of a short course (one class per week for 20 weeks) and this was our prescribed textbook. I've since stopped attending the classes but instead I'm learning on my own (I can speak Cantonese but cant write Chinese) and still find this book useful.

In particular I like the way it reuses characters from previous lessons to help reinforce the ability to recognise characters, which I believe is one of the main hurdles to overcome.

Part 2 also cleverly prints the English translation at the back of the lesson so you are "forced" to read in Chinese.

All up, learning Chinese is definitely NOT easy and NOT like learning European languages. But if you put in the time and effort you will get the rewards and this textbook so far has been a great companion.

Why Are You Learning Chinese?.......2006-04-01

I completed the first volume of this textbook series and am halfway through the Part two volume of Level one. I also use the Workbook as a support for homework assignments, but didn't purchase the Character Workbook. For students who already have had an exposure to spoken Chinese, I also recommend the textbook Making Connections: Enhance Your Listening Comprehension in Chinese, also published by Cheng & Tsui. It is loosely based on Level one of Integrated Chinese and will expose you to real-life conversations. First-time users can also use the multimedia tutorial put online by the Language Center of the University of California at Berkeley.

My experience is that every language textbook has its flaws but that it is very important to stick to a given textbook until you have fully mastered it. How often have I seen learners jump from one method to the next without any coherence or plan in their studies! Above all, the key to a successful language acquisition is motivation. Without a strong focus and discipline, you won't get anywhere. You have to keep a clear picture of where you are heading, and provide for milestones along the way.

So why are you learning Chinese? people ask me. They know that I already speak Japanese and at least for some people it seems that the two languages are mutually exclusive, as if you had to choose between the Middle Kingdom and the Land of the Rising Sun. I tell them that the roots of the Japanese civilization are to be found in ancient China and that in order to know Japan well, you have to know China as well. Most Japanese would agree on this.

What I don't tell them is that China, not Japan, was my first love. When I was a kid I found in a closet at my grandmother's place a trove of novels by Pearl Buck that had ended up there for some reason (I don't think my grandmother ever went abroad, and she didn't know much about foreign places, but she certainly enjoyed reading, and Pearl Buck novels were quite popular in the fifties). I became fascinated by their depiction of complex family relationships, courage in the face of adversity, and palace politics, and read them all in a row. Later, at age ten or so, I discovered the detective stories of the Dutch diplomat and Chinese scholar Robert Van Gulik, and became a big fan of Judge Dee.

At about the same time, my father purchased as a birthday present to my mother the two hefty volumes of Outlaws of the Marsh that had just been published in a Pleiade edition. I don't think that my mother ever read them in full but I certainly made my honey out of it. Re-reading this wonderful but lengthy Chinese classic once every year became a kind of rite. I still come back to it from time to time.

- But the green Paradise of my childhood love, / Mais le vert paradis des amours enfantines,
That sinless Paradise, full of furtive pleasures, / L'innocent paradis, plein de plaisirs furtifs,
Is it farther off now than India and China? / Est-il deja plus loin que l'Inde et que la Chine ?

When I started studying at the university in Paris, I was determined to return to "the green paradise of my childhood love", to quote Baudelaire, and to complement my major in economics with extracurricular activities such as learning Chinese. Unfortunately the timing of the Chinese lessons didn't fit with my already packed weekly schedule. Japanese classes were compatible with it. Besides, the Japanese economy was booming (that was just before the bubble burst) and I thought knowing the language would certainly be an asset when entering the job market. So I took Japanese. But I kept my longing for China and the Chinese language in a corner of my mind, as something you save for the future. And now, fifteen years later, I am back at it.

And you, why are you learning Chinese?

Horrible.......2006-01-14

The grammar is not clearly explained; it's a mess. There's too much vocabulary that's overwhelming. Not useful at all if you want to learn Chinese. The language taught in the book is very artificial, and apparently not what Chinese people use in daily life. The Chinese taught is simply not practical. You won't be able to learn Chinese with this book.

The Best Mandarin Materials for Classrooms.......2005-12-09

These are great books. I have gone through several approaches to learning; software, audio cds, "bookstore" language learning books. These finally worked, but they are texts designed for use in a classrom. There were type-o's and simple drawings in the first edition of these books, but buyers should note, it is in SECOND edition. I have studied in both the US and China, where my teachers were very impressed with these books.
Their strength is the order in which new vocabulary is introduced and the frequency and intervals at which it re-occurs throughout the series. Compared with other materials I have used, these have the most well thought-out sequence. As a result, I retained more of the material I covered.
A self-motivated learner can employ them for individual study if they have the audio cds, and take time EVERY SINGLE DAY to work among the materials. A full set consists of the Textbook, Workbook, Character Workbook, and Audio CDs. Each "set" is available in three levels: Level 1 Part 1, Level 1 Part 2, and Level 2. However, if you are serious about learning a language like Chinese or Arabic (these are among the most difficult), you should use these materials in a university course where a teacher will guide your progress, coach pronounciation, and provide the discipline and cohesion essential for success.
In summary, this is a great series that makes a difficult language accessible. The order of presentation of the vocabulary is very well thought out, specifically the way the many homonymns in Chinese are dealt with. Do not be discouraged, but make sure you get the second editions! You cannot learn Mandarin by picking it up and setting it down every once in a while. But if you make it part of your day, you WILL be talking and writing in Chinese.

Integrated Frustration.......2005-11-03

I purchased Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Textbook (Simplified Charaters Edition). The title alone gives a hint at the many problems with this language series. Overly complicated for the information given. The textbook seems to be written without much cohesive planning, just slapped together dialogs with vocabulary lists and grammar "hints". Another very disappointing and frustration aspect of the series (I have ordered every version and "part") is the incredible number of mistakes and typographical errors. I have to rely on my Chinese friends to correct the book! I feel sorry for a student who doesn't have access to a native Chinese person to point out the errors. The English sentence examples are atrocious. Why didn't the author/publisher hire at least one English professor to even glance at this series?
My opinion is, from trying to study and learn from these books, that the authors got together and realized a need for such a text and decided it would be a great way to make money. There doesn't seem to be much of a desire to help students learn a foreign language, just put together a book and hope to sell lots. The illustrations alone prove this. They are terrible, sloppy and unprofessional. A graduate student in the University of Hawaii's art department could have done a job that wouldn't be embarrassing to look at.
I am indeed disappointed but since there is a limited number of Chinese instructional texts at the undergraduate level, I'm "stuck".

Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Workbook (Traditional Character Edition) (Level 1 Traditional Character Texts)

Average customer rating:

No longer the best
A Good Place to Start, in an Academic Setting
Cannot stress it enough
Integrated Chinese is fantastic
A good choice

Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Workbook (Traditional Character Edition) (Level 1 Traditional Character Texts)
Yuehua Liu , and Tao-Chung Yao
Manufacturer: Cheng & Tsui
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0887272703

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

No longer the best.......2005-02-03

I have used Integrated Chinese (IC) for a semester. This fall I changed to the Interactions/Connections series. My reasons and recommendations are given below.

I do not recommend Integrated Chinese (IC). Teachers may like it because all the course materials come in the each set of books: Textbook, Workbook, Character Workbook. The problem: the pedagogy and the Chinese is out-of-date, the dialogues are poorly written, the grammar explanations and exercises are not great and the audio CDs are poorly structured and poorly recorded. I recommend only the Character Workbook from IC

As an example, here is a translation of the first dialogue from IC.
IC-I Dialogue 1
Mr. Wang: Hello!
Miss Li: Hello!
Mr Wang: May I ask your last name?
Miss Li: My last name is Li. What's yours?
Mr Wang: My last name is Wang, Peng Wang. What is your (whole) name?
Miss Li: My name is You Li.

Now, here is a translation of the first dialogue from an alternative course: Interactions/Connections by Yan & (J. L-C. Liu

Interactions I Dialogue 1
[young] Gao: Hey! Li, what day are you going to register on?
[young] Li: I'll register tomorrow. What about you? Today?
Gao: No. I'll register the day after tomorrow. Classes start next Monday.
Li: Isn't next Monday August 31st?
Gao: No. Next Monday is August 30th, not the 31st.
Li: August 30th isn't your birthday, is it?
Gao: No. My birthday is August 23rd, day before yesterday. What day is your birthday?
Li: I'm August, too. August 26th -- tomorrow.
Gao: Happy birthday!

The Interactions/Connections dialogue is meatier and more challenging. More important, it is real people talking conversational Chinese, and it has strong rhythm and comic and dramatic values (mistaken dates). Those contrasts continue throughout the books. The most common comments from a native Chinese speaker when reading
a) Interactions or Connections: "Yes! That's the way we talk."
b) IC: "Well ... we usually don't say it that way."

The IC dialogues are extremely dull, not really colloquial and have very stilted rhythm. Ideally, you want to MEMORIZE the dialogs in a language course, so you burn the speech patterns into your brain. I challenge anyone to do that with the Integrated dialogs.

AUDIO: I haven't heard the Interactions/Connections CDs so I can't comment on whether they are worth the $100 (Indiana University publisher). The IC CDs are pretty bad. They seem to have been made from a cassette master. The have poor miking and uneven volume levels -- when you turn the sound up high enough to hear the man's voice clearly, the distortion on the woman's voice will drive you nuts. The speaking pace is too fast for a beginning level, the pronunciation is not clear and the organization is poor. You can't listen to the tapes without the book in front of you: the vocabulary lists go: "Number 1: 'xiansheng'". Why they wasted precious space giving you a useless item number rather than the english meaning is one of the great mysteries of life.

DIFFICULTY: Interactions/Connections is a college-level course and it challenges you from the start. IC appears to be a high-school or middle-school level book. Not much meat, lots of repetition of vocabulary words from chapter to chapter (filler?).

PEDAGOGY: IC extremely old-fashioned -- circa 1950's. Interactions/Connections very up-to-date and cognitively savvy; especially note presentation of written characters, presentation of cultural material and snappy dialogue.

GRAMMAR: the Interactions/Connections grammar material is much clearer and more up-to-date.

EXERCISES: I stopped using the IC workbook pretty early on because the material was both excruciatingly boring and not useful/challenging enough. Level 1, Part 2 textbook exercises become so cryptic as to be useless. Not hard material, just inadequate editing.

Recommendation for beginners:
1. Start with at least Pimsleur Mandarin I (full course -- buy, borrow or rent) to get exemplary pronunciation and a strong aural base for the language.
2. Progress to Interactions I. Get a tutor to help you get into the first chapters, and give you information about Chinese culture and up-to-the minute expressions. (You will need a tutor or class for any course except Pimsleur audio courses.)
3. If you have a computer and you can afford it, get Wenlin3. It's worth every penny: built-in dictionary, rich character help and lots of readings. Palm and pocket computers also have very nice dictionaries and Chinese tools.

Non-beginners: If you are switching from IC to Interactions/Connections you may have to step back a couple of chapters to catch up. Get the previous book from the library if necessary.

A Good Place to Start, in an Academic Setting.......2004-05-29

This is not a phrase book, and not usefull for those wishing to independently learn some Chinese before going on vacation or some tour package. For that you should realy get a phrase book, like Lonely Planet.

This is good for an academic, and thus slower, study of Chinese. I have studied Chinese at the University of Washington, and my first year was taught by Bi Nian Ping, one of the contributors for this book.

The reason I recomend this book is, obviously, it's integration. Typicaly people bring lots of very narrow interests to the table when they decide to learn Chinese. Some just want to learn to speak, some want to learn for buisness, some just want to learn to read classical Chinese. The truth is that you realy can't break off part of the language and ignore the other parts, otherwise you will be hard pressed to make sense of the overall system that is the Chinese language. This book forces the student to, in equal parts, listen, read, write, and speak. That way a full comprehension can be developed, not a fragmented and specialized one.

There are some criticisms of the book: When I was a first year student, the main one was of the books artwork, which is either awfull or hillarious. But that's not realy fair. Other criticisms are that the book is prone to using words it hasn't explained yet. This, however, is an important strategy in language learning. When the student is confronted with actual Chinese speakers, they will hear lots of words that they don't necessarily know, but will need to judge from context what they mean. A lot of students who have only studied in the classroom experience a panic-paralyisis when confronted with and actual Chinese speaker, because if they can't understand every single word they are hearing, they assume they can't understand what the person is saying. Of course, that's not the case, but we need to get in the habit of being ambushed by unfamiliar words, and be comfortable with that. This eleminates a major barrier to open practice of talking, reading, and writting Chinese.

Also, the book is highly instruction-oriented. In other words, it can be dificult to learn from when not partnered with explanation from an instructor. A good solution for the independent student would be to find suplemental books, like the Routledge Comprehensive Chinese Gramar. Or on the other hand, one could just sit in a Chinese restaurant and study untill someone comes along who is eager to help you out. This has certainly never failed me.

Finaly, I recomend the traditional version of this book because I believe that it is far easier to learn traditional first and transition to simplified than it is to learn simplified first and transition to traditional. If you think you don't need to learn both, you are kidding yourself. Almost all the books published in Chinese available in the US and Europe are in traditional characters. Almost all the classic literature was written in traditional, and the traditional characters represent an important aspect of Chinese culture and attitudes. If you think you can ignore this, you will never realy understand Chinese.

Cannot stress it enough.......2004-04-03

I am currently studying in China right now, and this book as well as the second-year version formed the foundation of my Chinese. I have been studying Chinese for a little more than two years (almost all of which were in the U.S.) and I am now taking university courses at Tsinghua University. I cannot say enough good things about these books especially compared to other books like the Practical Chinese Reader. The only possible shortcoming (and that is if it is one) is that the grammar and phonetic explanations are sometimes unclear if you do not know the terms (although English is our mother tongue, so . . .), but very clear if you are familiar with English grammar. However, these words are very important if you ever study Chinese in China or use things like the Beijing University Press books which only use the Chinese words for these terms to explain grammar. I noticed that one person criticized the lack of English->Chinese glossary, but the implications and connations of words in Chinese are such that you require a Chinese dictionary to really understand them. My teacher constantly warned us about using an English-Chinese dictionary to find the words we were looking for. The first-year level of integrated Chinese gives you enough words and grammatical structures to survive and thrive in China upon first arrival, as well as flexible and reusable words to enable you to handle many situations.

Integrated Chinese is fantastic.......2002-12-27

I've been studying Chinese for three semesters using the Integrated Chinese series (Level 1, Part 1; Level 1, Part 2; and Level 2), and I'm a BIG fan of these books. I went to Taiwan after learning only 18 chapters' worth of material, and found that the book had -- miraculously -- taught me most of the practical vocabulary I needed to survive. The grammar explanations following each chapter are clear and thorough, and the workbook is an excellent means of reinforcement.

A good choice.......2002-11-22

This book is quite good. I've studied Japanese for a long time and have gone to great lengths to find a good book for learning it, and it took me about 15 books. I thought that would be the case with Chinese as well, so you can imagine my surprise when the first book I tried actually turned out to be good. This was actually the textbook we used for my class, and although I haven't used many other Chinese textbooks, I would highly recommend this one. There are a number of good points about this book, and a few bad ones:

Pros
1) The vocabulary presented is fairly useful, and the early chapters really do start you off with useful vocabulary. Not like some books where you learn how to say "rainy season" in chapter 1.
2) The accompanying workbook is excellent. The only studying you need to do is the workbook exercises. With languages usually I have to study alot, and do many of the exercises twice, but with this book, I simply do the workbook exercises once and I really feel like I know the material.
3) Although this book romanizes all dialogs, the later books do not. This is a _good_ thing. Believe me, after learning 2,000 Japanese words from a book that puts the phoenetic transcriptions everywhere, you'll be glad to put in the extra effort to simply learn how to read and write the characters early on. I can't stress this enough. Although it may seem hard at first to memorize and learn how to write 30 or 40 characters for each chapter, you will definitely be glad you did. Imagine getting to the point where you know 1,500 words and then deciding hey, I sure wish I knew how to read and write.

Cons
1) The grammar explanations aren't terribly descriptive. It turns out that for much of the grammar they are teaching there's many variants of the same pattern, which they don't teach. So you're stuck if somebody switches around the word order on you. Furthermore, they teach by pattern rather than by grammar. It's great to know "this is the pattern to use when you want to say this", but it's also nice to know that the function of a certain word is to turn an adjective into an adverb, which you won't get from this book.
2) Sometimes the vocabulary can be presented in a weird order. For example, they will teach you the word fast in one chapter, and slow in another chapter. Eat in one chapter, drink in another chapter. Similar words should be grouped. This is of course, what they try to do but it could be done a little better.
3) The glossary in the back is very annoying. There is simply no English->Chinese glossary. Good luck figuring out how to say a certain word in Chinese, because you'll have to scan through _every_ single word in the Chinese->English portion of the glossary until you find it, and you'll probably accidentally skip over it anyway.

Overall though this is a solid book, and I would recommend it. Note that _the_ best book on Chinese is Beginner's Chinese, by Yong Ho. It is simply the best. Buy it. It's insanely cheap, and unbelievably well written.

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Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 Textbook
Tao-Chung Yao , Yuehua Liu , Nyang-Ping Bi , Yea-Fen Chen , Liangyan Ge , Yaohua Shi , Xiaojun Wang , and Jeffrey J. Hyden
Manufacturer: Cheng & Tsui
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 0887272800

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