Integrated Chinese, Level 1 Part 1 Textbook, 3rd Edition (Traditional)

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4 Reviews

1. I ordered this book to help my daughter catch up during the summer with the class she will be joining in the fall. It was exactly what she needed.

2. I’m not 100% happy with the purchase. The book was suppose to be brand new, but it wasn’t.

3. This is by far the best way to begin learning Mandarin Chinese. I just finished my second semester of Mandarin at the University of Missouri and have used both part 1 and part 2 of level 1 Integrated Chinese (simplified). Having tried other “over the counter” books from Borders or Barnes & Noble this is without a doubt the best way to get started. Other books that promise a quick, easy, and fun way to learn Chinese are rarely worth the money. This text has all of the above without promising to make you fluent while driving to work.

   It’s very important to start learning this language in the proper way and this is the only book that set a good foundation for me. The vocabulary is always useful and the grammar explanations are easy to comprehend. The authors also publish a workbook and character exercise book that are indispensable to beginning Chinese. Couple this series of books with a good instructor and the language is fun, interesting, and not near as hard as everyone makes it out to be.

   I would recommend this book (and its workbooks) to anyone wanting to learn Chinese even if you aren’t taking it as a class somewhere. The only other thing you’d need to go with these books is a native Chinese speaker to help with your pronunciation! Good luck!

4. (This review is for the 3rd Edition textbook).

   I’ve used several Chinese textbooks, and this one is by far the best. It is very intelligently written, with clear explanations of grammar and usage, and great dialogues and exercises. Unlike the majority of drab Chinese textbooks, this one is a pleasure to read – attractive to look at, with colour and some photos and illustrations. Also great are the “Culture Highlights” at the end of chapters which give more information about language in a cultural context. The book contains the following topics: Greetings, Family, Dates and Time, Hobbies, Visiting Friends, Making Appointments, Studying Chinese, School Life, Shopping, Transportation.

   Overall an excellent beginning textbook which I can highly recommend to anyone who wishes to or is already studying Chinese. Along with the supplements (Audio CDs and Multimedia DVDs – which I cannot attest to), it would be highly appropriate for self-study.