In addition to two series of Chinese textbooks, Mandarin Express series and Chinese Reading and Writing series, we also provide many teaching and learning resources that teachers and students can tap into, including online articles, Teacher’s Manuals, audio and video lessons, Chinese Learning Pen, and Chinese Writing Contest.
These resources support teachers conducting successful lessons, and expand the learning scope for students.
Online articles
The topics of these online articles include the best practices for teaching and learning Chinese, class activities, and address many frequently asked questions.
Many articles give in-depth analyses on Chinese language and offer actionable advices on how to develop Chinese language abilities. Some highly debatable issues are also covered. For example, “should English translations be included in Chinese textbooks”, “is learning pinyin learning Chinese”, and so on.
Class activities are some samples of what teachers can do to get students involved in their Chinese learning process, and to have them interact with each other. Interactions, when done well, not only bring outstanding learning result, but also make learning Chinese fun and enjoyable, and build rapport between students and the teacher.
This resource centre also provides recommended reading list, and explains some confusing grammar points.
In the section of frequently asked questions, we give our opinions on some highly debatable issues regarding teaching and learning Chinese. For example, should English translations be included in Chinese textbooks. Our answer is “No”. English should not be printed side by side with Chinese texts. If translations must be given, it should be hidden.
We intend this online resource centre to be convenient and helpful for both Chinese teachers and learners. And we will continue to add more content regularly.
Teacher’s Manuals
Mandarin Express series and Chinese Reading and Writing series are best used in classrooms where a teacher is facilitating the process of learning, practising, and consolidating.
To best assist teachers in conducting lessons, we have produced Teacher’s Manuals which are free for individual Chinese teachers and schools who use our textbooks as their main teaching materials.
Covering Chinese Reading and Writing 1-6, Mandarin Express Intro, Basic and Pre-Intermediate Levels, twelve Teacher’s Manuals provide a clear statement of learning objectives, outlines of lessons and extra class activities, and help teachers use different strategies to teach students at different levels.
Chinese video and audio lessons
Chinese Reading and Writing series has been adapted to more than 100 Chinese video lessons. These online video lessons teach individual Chinese characters, combinations, grammars, and help deconstruct sentences.
Mandarin Express Intro and Basic Levels have been adapted to 48 audio lessons, which will bring listening into the core of students’ Chinese study and be of tremendous help for students to make huge progress.
To help students speak more and speak more clearly, short video clips are produced for Mandarin Express series. These video clips feature animated characters with nobody speaking, and provide opportunities for students to review what they’ve learned in each lesson and to practice story telling.
Chinese Learning Pen
Listening is an important input. Listening skill is a critical language skill. Listening to the authentic audio while reading the Chinese texts written in characters promotes the association between Chinese characters and their pronunciations. All these can be achieved by using a Chinese Learning Pen.
Chinese Learning Pen provides native Mandarin Chinese audio of the contents of the books, for students to have adequate listening input and to gradually develop their listening abilities. It also has an interactive dimension, allowing students to bring the teacher anywhere as an aid when learning Chinese.
Chinese Writing Contest
To help students write more and write more creatively, an annual Chinese Writing Contest is organised. Chinese language learners worldwide is invited to participate.
The criteria is that participants write something using 320 Chinese characters only.
From beginner students to advanced students, from younger students to older students, all are welcome. Best entries are published by MSL Master.
This Contest is a valuable and a much needed resource for teachers to make learning Chinese stimulating, and for students to have fun creating something.
Learning journal
Last but not the least, we have produced a dedicated learning journal for learning Chinese, Learning Chinese Well Organised.
Learning Chinese Well Organised is for helping students find time and space to learn some Chinese in a world full of distractions. It gives learning ideas and helps students incorporate Chinese into their weekly routines.
