National Geographic Education

Have you been looking for suitable Learn-Chinese textbooks for your child but found that the content does not match your child's capability?

How many books and materials have you bought that "don't make the grade"?

Wendy Lin, like all well-meaning parents who want their children to be bi-lingual, looked for educational materials to help her children learn Chinese easily. She found that the available materials were not up to par.

Being a certified Chinese language teacher, she wrote the lessons for her 3 children herself.

She knew a lot of parents also had the same dilemma, and she wanted to help provide suitable books. She completed her children's lessons and came up with a textbook series about learning to speak Chinese as a second language.

Wendy Lin's Practical Chinese books – The Effective Way of Learning Reading, Writing and Speaking Chinese is specially designed to teach Chinese as a second language. Lessons focus on daily conversation and verb use. This differs from the Traditional Chinese language learning style that teaches through writing.

Practical Chinese has 10 levels of books. These are available in both Simplified and Traditional characters. Parents and teachers will be able to find a text and exercises suited for pre-K to college level. The curriculum of Practical Chinese book series is aligned with the ACTFL (Association of Chinese Teachers Foreign Language)

Practical Chinese exercises are gradually advanced as the student progresses:

• Learn writing characters in the correct stroke order
• Translate words into Chinese
• Ask and answer questions as in real life situations
• Translate sentences, and
• Perform oral presentations.

Also great for self-study

Practical Chinese series has an introduction to Pinyin. It is included in the level one book. English and Pinyin are used to help students learn even in a non-Chinese environment. Lessons are connected; current lessons are built from previous lessons. Workbook and CD/Cassettes are available for each level of Practical Chinese.

So how did other parents find this parent-written book?

YF from Valley Stream, New York found Practical Chinese a good starter book. This parent thinks the repetition in the book is good for YF's 8 year old child. YF also recommends using the accompanying CD "because you can just play it in the background anytime so your child is exposed to and becomes familiar with the sounds."

Linda from Holland, Michigan says her daughter "has learned so much more since starting with this textbook," while Shirley of Washington said "I am using this program with my children. It's great for character recognition and conversation. It's a spiral program so old words are constantly reviewed and expanded with new words. My children are liking it and making good progress. The price is also very reasonable."

About the Author

Ms. Wendy Lin is a certified Chinese language instructor. She has an accomplished educational and working background on the Chinese language, including writing the Chinese curriculum for the Marlboro School district. She is currently tutoring non-Chinese and adoptive families, and writes related articles for media.

Practical Chinese series is widely used by schools and those doing individual Chinese language study. Practical Chinese has been used in the US and Canada, Australia, Guam, Hong Kong, China, Israel and other countries. Join the parents who are satisfied with their children's progress in learning Chinese after they order Practical Chinese books.