Elementary Mandarin Chinese Workbook: Learn to Speak, Read and Write Chinese the Easy Way! (Companion Audio)

By Cornelius C. Kubler

This workbook is designed for use with the Elementary Mandarin Chinese Textbook and offers a wealth of carefully-designed practice activities to help you solidify every aspect of your Chinese skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It includes extensive interactive drills, exercises and other practice materials. Online audio files are available for use in the relevant exercises.

The lessons in this workbook correspond to the 24 lessons in the Elementary Mandarin Chinese Textbook. The materials in this workbook are meant to be completed by students outside of class to strengthen and consolidate their understanding of the materials in the textbook.

Lessons 1 and 2 of the Workbook contain exercises to learn to read and pronounce the Pinyin alphabet along with simple classroom expressions. They also introduce 48 basic Chinese characters. Beginning with Lesson 3, each lesson of the workbook contains two parts. Each part has two sets of listening comprehension exercises, one translation exercise, one character practice sheet, and one reading and writing exercise. Lessons 13 and 24 of the textbook are review lessons and therefore have no corresponding workbook materials.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Release date: May 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9781462921263

Book preview

Preface

This workbook is designed to accompany the textbook Elementary Mandarin Chinese. Used together, along with the online audio files, these materials will help learners establish a strong foundation in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Mandarin Chinese.

In a college or university environment, it is recommended that these materials be taught at the rate of approximately one lesson per week. Each lesson is divided into two parts, so Part One could be taken up on the first class day each week and Part Two on the second day, with the third day being used for review, testing, and supplemental activities. Since it would take 24 weeks to go through the materials at this rate but most institutions schedule 25-35 weeks of instruction per academic year, this would still leave some time for other activities, or else allow for a somewhat slower rate of progress through the materials, if preferred. The exact schedule and rate of progress will need to be determined based on local conditions.

The material in this workbook is meant to be done by students as homework, to strengthen and consolidate their control of the material. Lessons 1 and 2 of the workbook contain special exercises on Pinyin and classroom expressions and also introduce 48 basic Chinese characters. Beginning with Lesson 3, each lesson of the workbook contains two parts, each part including two listening comprehension exercises, one translation exercise, one character practice sheet, and one reading and writing exercise. Since they are review lessons, lessons 13 and 24 of the textbook have no corresponding workbook materials.

I wish to acknowledge here the following, who have been particularly helpful in the preparation and publication of these materials: Yang Wang, who created the drafts of the listening comprehension exercises; Jerling G. Kubler, who prepared the character practice sheets; Eric Oey; and Nancy Goh.

Cornelius C. Kubler

Williamstown, Massachusetts

LESSON 1

Orientation to the Study of Chinese

Dictation Exercise 1

PRONUNCIATION AND ROMANIZATION: INITIALS

NAME ______________________________

COURSE ____________________________

DATE _______________________________

Based on the recording for this exercise, write in the correct Pinyin initials. The finals and tones are indicated. You may listen to the recording as many times as needed.

1. _____________________ ā

2. _____________________ ū

3. _____________________ ī

4. _____________________ ō

5. _____________________ āi

6. _____________________ iā

7. _____________________ ōu

8. _____________________ āo

9. _____________________ iē

10. ____________________ īn

11. ____________________ ēn

12. ____________________ uī

13. ____________________ ān

14. ____________________ ū

15. ____________________ ū

16. ____________________ ē

17. ____________________ ā

18. ____________________ ī

19. ____________________ ī

20. ____________________ iān

21. ____________________ uē

22. ____________________ ēng

23. ____________________ ōng

24. ____________________ uān

25. ____________________ uān

26. ____________________ āng

27. ____________________ uī

28. ____________________ ā

29. ____________________ āo

30. ____________________ ī

Dictation Exercise 2

PRONUNCIATION AND ROMANIZATION: FINALS

NAME ______________________________

COURSE ____________________________

DATE _______________________________

Based on the recording for this exercise, write in the correct Pinyin finals, which are all in Tone One. The initials are indicated. You may listen to the recording as many times as needed.

1. f ______________________

2. j ______________________

3. t ______________________

4. x ______________________

5. j ______________________

6. c ______________________

7. sh _____________________

8. y ______________________

9. z ______________________

10. ch ____________________

11. r _____________________

12. g _____________________

13. w _____________________

14. l _____________________

15. zh ____________________

16. b _____________________

17. x _____________________

18. m _____________________

19. k _____________________

20. p _____________________

21. y _____________________

22. z _____________________

23. q _____________________

24. r _____________________

25. n _____________________

26. j _____________________

27. q _____________________

28. s _____________________

29. z _____________________

30. zh ____________________

Dictation Exercise 3

PRONUNCIATION AND ROMANIZATION: TONES

NAME ______________________________

COURSE ____________________________

DATE _______________________________

Based on the recording for this exercise, add the correct Pinyin tones. The initials and finals are indicated. You may listen to the recording as many times as needed.

1. ta ____________________

2. ma ___________________

3. wo ___________________

4. shei __________________

5. hao __________________

6. lei ___________________

7. sha __________________

8. gui __________________

9. ni ___________________

10. mei _________________

11. zhi __________________

12. shu _________________

13. tan _________________

14. lü ___________________

15. lu ___________________

16. ru ___________________

17. rou __________________

18. lüe ___________________

19. ku ___________________

20. li _____________________

21. xue __________________

22. lan ___________________

23. mai __________________

24. mai __________________

25. pai ___________________

26. er ____________________

27. xiu ___________________

28. shuo __________________

29. kuang _________________

30. feng __________________

Dictation Exercise 4

PRONUNCIATION AND ROMANIZATION: INITIALS, FINALS, AND TONES

NAME ______________________________

COURSE ____________________________

DATE _______________________________

Based on the recording for this exercise, write the initial, final, and tone for the syllables you hear. You may listen to the recording as many times as needed.

1. ______________________

2. ______________________

3. ______________________

4. ______________________

5. ______________________

6. ______________________

7. ______________________

8. ______________________

9. ______________________