getting back into Chinese

[taobenli]

Hello all-

I am an anthropology grad student in the US and my region of study is NOT China, but South Korea. Although my undergraduate major was Chinese and I could speak and read quite decently by the time I finished, I spent a year in Japan after graduation teaching and learning some Japanese (wish I knew more), a year in the U.S. at an intense, low-paying job pretty much not studying ANY language, and now the last four years studying Korean pretty intensively for my graduate studies.

The issue is that I'd really love to work my Chinese up again, especially since I anticipate doing some comparative work in China (or perhaps more likely in Taiwan) later in my academic career- people researching Korea ALWAYS have to also learn some Japanese or Chinese or both (and I know both well enough to meet this requirement, but not well enough to live up to my own standards).

So, I've got a little more time this quarter than I sometimes do, and am set up with a Chinese language partner at least once a week. I am looking for a good book to study with my language partner and on my own. In college I went through the Integrated Chinese series, and also other advanced books as part of the Associated Colleges in China program. In a readings class a few years back (one of my earlier attempts to get back into Chinese) I was working with a book called The Independent Reader by Vivian Ling (all traditional characters) and at an earlier stage also used her Talks on Chinese Culture (which might be better for my current deteriorated level).

My main priorities now are speaking and listening, but that also includes reading and discussing. My listening is still pretty good (when I went to Taiwan for a few weeks last year I was understanding much of what was going around me after a few days of acclimating) but my speaking is TERRIBLE. I have forgotten ALL my tones! I really need a book/audio program that gets my tones and pronunciation back and builds fluency.

What would you all recommend? I am eying the following books:

Thought and Society: An Advanced Text for Spoken Chinese (published by the ICLP in Taipei and available on Cheng and Tsui)- not sure if there is an audio component though?

Beyond the Basics: Communicative Chinese for Intermediate-Advanced Learners

Advanced Chinese: Intention, Strategy and Communication (Yale Language Series)

Any opinions on these or other recommendations? And where to buy for the best price? (I'd really like to stay within $50 for now). I will probably start by reviewing "Talks on Chinese Culture," but want to have something else lined up fast (especially because of the audio component). Ah, if only I could spend all my time studying Korean, Chinese and Japanese (in that order)...

Thank you!

[taobenli]

No one has any familiarity of these books? Or other recommended advanced books?

[renzhe]

I don't know about any of those books. If you can understand without trouble but have forgotten how to speak, then listening and speaking practice will likely be far more useful than books.