Authentic Chinese is a comprehensive series of textbooks for teaching Chinese to high school students in grades 9-12 in North America (primarily in the United States), designed to develop students' comprehensive language skills in Chinese. There are four levels in the set, matching the four grade levels, and each level comes with the textbook, workbook, task workbook, and character book, as well as compiled and organized electronic versions of supplementary exercises and resources for free download.
This is the first workbook in this set, which is based on research-approved principles and strategies for teaching Chinese in secondary schools and focuses on developing essential communication skills for real-life situations. The core language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are reinforced and integrated in this workbook. The workbook features a spiral cycle of vocabulary and grammatical structures that help learners master language functions through different types of exercises. In this workbook, each lesson is divided into two parts that correspond to the dialogues in the textbook. The exercises in each lesson include pinyin, Chinese characters, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and the exercises in each section are designed with graded difficulty levels to cater to the needs of different learners.
The book simulates situations through full-color illustrations that add visual interest and variety to the text, helping to capture learners' attention and stimulate their curiosity and engagement.
Miao-Fen Tseng was the founding director of the Institute of World Languages at the University of Virginia, professor of Chinese at the University of Virginia, director of the Virginia StarTalk Chinese Language Teacher/Student Institute, AP Chinese Language Advisor, AP Chinese Language Program Advisor/Senior Reviewer, founder/president of the Virginia Chinese Language Teachers Association. Director of StarTalk Chinese Teacher Training and Student Programs, Director of the National Chinese Language Teachers Association, Board Member of StarTalk Online Teaching Preparatory Committee, AP Chinese Advisor to the College Board, Senior Academic Advisor and Reviewer of AP Chinese Curriculum Review, Reviewer of K-16 Chinese Language Program and Teacher Training Program.
The North American branch of Beijing Language and Culture University Press has worked with Professor Miao-Fen Tseng's team at the University of Virginia for three years to create this AP Chinese curriculum Authentic Chinese , which is based entirely on real-life materials, to present a real and comprehensive view of China through a rich variety of authentic materials; to build a strong vertical progression system from Level 1 to AP Chinese through six themes: contemporary life, family and community, personal and community identity, aesthetics and art, science and technology, and global challenges. The curriculum centers around students' genuine interest in everyday experiences, allowing them to develop a deep appreciation for learning and communicating in Chinese. The task-based language teaching and course design integrate communicative goals directly into the classroom, transforming the learning mode of language acquisition. It can be said that "Authentic Chinese" is a highly innovative textbook that draws upon years of research and proven success in practice. It provides an engaging, communicative, and authentic learning experience, making it a truly creative educational resource.
It is recommended that Book 1 of the workbook be used for one year at the high school level and two years at the middle school level. In addition, it is recommended that teachers continually ask students questions about different aspects of their learning and create a strong Chinese learning community through joint efforts.