Chinese in Focus

STUDENT’S BOOK Description

 
Story, Content, and Functions

 
The essential feature in our Student's Book is the storyline that unifies the learning experience. All contents are woven into the story. It makes learning Chinese interesting and effective.

Unit 1 - 熊猫
 

In level 1, Traveling in China, Mark visited the Moon Palace and traveled throughout China to learn Chinese. In level 2, Living in China, Mark returned as an exchange student to live at Lín Xiǎomù's home in Guangzhou. In level 3, Amazing China, Mark is back in the USA but goes back and forth in time and space through the magic vase Chang’e gave him and learns more about the Amazing China. The first thing he sees together with Mary is the giant panda.

 

• Expressing what happened at a certain moment
• Asking whether something has occurred or not
• Indicating that an action is in progress
• Emphasizing the object of an action

 

 

Unit 2 - 故事中的道理
 

We know 成语 (idioms) are an important part of Chinese culture and language. Here Mark and his friend Jack learn some idioms and how to apply them in real life.

 

• Using rhetorical questions
• Expressing willingness
• Expressing a condition
• Generalizing things

 

 

Unit 3 - 猴子王
 

In this unit, Mark and his little sisterAnny learn about the Monkey King.

 

• Giving extra information
• Expressing opposite ideas
• Expressing the successive relation of actions
• Using the passive voice

 

 

Unit 4 - 功夫之龙
 

In Unit 4, Mark takes Anny to see Bruce Lee and learn about his life and amazing achievements.

 

• Expressing that an action was completed before expected
• Expressing that an action was completed after expected
• Expressing additional remarks
• Expressing an indispensable condition

 

 

Unit 5 - 中国古代发明

Mark, Mary, Ann and Jack are getting ready for the Chinese Cultural Festival of their school. Let’s join them to learn more about ancient China’s great inventions.

 

• Expressing that something is going to happen
• Expressing a generalization for people
• Describing events in a sequence
• Explaining reasons
• Adding more information

 

 

Unit 6 - 诗人和月亮
 

Professor Owen is a famous sinologist specialized in Tang poetry.  Let’s see what Mark learns from him about Li Bai and other famous poets.

 

• Emphasizing
• Expressing a condition and its result
• Emphasizing the place where one goes
• Expressing that an action hasn’t been done for a long time
• Expressing correlative comparatives

 

 

Unit 7 - 京剧
 

Ann and Mark are really interested in Peking Opera and the stories represented in Peking Opera. Follow them to learn about it and the legend of the White Snake.

 

• Asking for someone’s interests
• Expressing a negative condition
• Expressing that an action occurs after a very short time
• Expressing that someone has no option but to do something

 

 

Unit 8 - 女儿国
 

The Mosuo people are an ethnic group with a very unique culture. Join Mark and Jenny to discover the wonders of this amazing people and the beautiful region where they live.

 

• Expressing two or more choices
• Expressing a condition
• Overturning a point of view and stating the opposite
• Expressing that some quality or state is increasing with time

 

 

Unit 9 - 美丽桂林
 

Mark, Ann, Andrew  and  Mary  are  planning  a  trip. World famous Guilin, “Heaven on Earth” seems to be a great choice for them.

 

• Expressing a generalization for places
• Comparing two things
• Listing a series of existing things
• Expressing what things are made of

 

 

Unit 10 - 谢谢你的青花瓶
 

Mark thanks Chang’e for the amazing vase she gave him which allowed him and his friends to travel in time and space to discover the wonders of amazing China.

 

• Story and culture review
• Vocabulary review
• Grammar review
• Sentence pattern review

 

 

 

Introduction to the Sections

Unit title page
The title page is the first page of each unit. It tells students about Mark's adventures in each episode. It introduces the linguistic objectives of the unit. This page is visual and colorful, with the intention of stirring the imagination of the readers.

 

Dialogue/text
This page appears at the beginning of each lesson. It is a dialogue/text, cartoon style. Through the dialogues/texts, we get to share Mark's experiences and meet his friends. Students will listen to the audio recording and hear the dialogue/text for the first time. Because we are stressing oral communication in our teaching technique, we advise teachers to take time to practice the new language structures with the students, building interactive dialogues and communicative activities to provide additional practice. Remember that this is an intermediate level, we are not expecting proficiency yet.

 

Follow me to learn words and expressions
This is the vocabulary page following the dialogue/text pages. As an essential section of the unit, you will notice that we teach words by breaking them down to make it easier for students to remember both their parts and the whole word. Teachers must take time for the students to accomplish the objectives of this section. Students will practice the pronunciation, learn the meanings and write the characters for each new vocabulary word. After they practice the pronunciation with both the recording and the teacher, they will learn how to write each character.  Much time must be spent to accomplish the appropriate result.

 

Language notes
In this section, we introduce some grammatical structures followed by examples extracted from the dialogue/text. Word order and grammatical usage are color coded to help students “see” the comparisons between Chinese and English.

 

Let's say it
These are structured communicative activities that provide the opportunity for students to practice the new vocabulary and functional structures as they practice with their classmates. These exercises are designed for paired activities, cooperative exercises or group interactions.

 

Read and write
This is a consolidating section that combines the written format, vocabulary and functional structures. It assumes a sufficient level of proficiency of the elements introduced in the unit.

 

The voice of Cháng’é
In  this  section  students  have  several  opportunities  to  hear  and  practice  the  new words, sentences and dialogues. The nature of the exercises varies depending on the functional structures of the lesson.

 

Extensive reading
In the second lesson of each unit, there is a text for extensive reading about the topic of the lesson. This provides the students with a great opportunity to both practice some more reading and extend their knowledge and interest about Chinese culture.

 

Just for fun
This section provides extended practice for the different skills in a way that consolidates the lesson in a fun and entertaining activity. There is no better way to learn than by having fun.

 

Cultural note
In this section students explore more in depth the aspects of Chinese culture they have been already introduced to. This section is presented in English so that the students will easily understand the concepts and topics being discussed. At this time we encourage teachers to expand the cultural lessons by sharing personal experiences or stories with the students; by leading discussions, using the students' knowledge and experiences; by displaying realia that supports the cultural lessons; by assigning research topics as homework.

 

Mark's Blog
Mark's blog appears at the end of each unit. Its goal is to provide an opportunity for teachers to summarize the unit and for students to review the unit. Students are encouraged to use the blog to express their ideas, questions and comments on our website. They can communicate with other students or with native speakers in China. It is an exciting and unique concept. We ask you to encourage your students to take advantage of this learning tool.