Integrated Chinese

[Pravit]

Hello,

Anyone heard of this? Someone recommended it to me and I looked on Amazon for it, however, it seems it's special order and you'd have to wait quite a while before getting it. I also looked into Yip Po-Ching's Basic Chinese book, which looks good, but it seems there's only one copy left on Amazon. Is there any good place to buy Chinese textbooks from? And what book would you recommend to someone who has a very basic knowledge of the language?

[xuezhongwen]

Yes, "IC" isn't a bad book for beginners, especially it's English-friendly texts in the first book, making beginners feel very at home, I have taught both level I and level II.

Amazon is taking a long time. Not knowing where you are, can't suggest anywhere else other than them, there are tons of them in Berkeley EastWind bookstore, since Berkeley uses them. Want me to mail some to you?

[sfr@rcn.com]

There's also East Wind Bookstore in San Francisco (on the edge of Chinatown). They have a larger overall selection than Berkeley's Dong Feng Shudian, but the San Francisco store's customer service (for orders) is a little chaotic. At the Berkeley store, there is usually only one person on duty at any given moment, so you don't get transferred all over the place.

Also, it's been a while since I've had to buy textbooks at Cal, but if they still have a bookstore and if Cal still teaches Chinese (both likely), then perhaps you can order directly from them.

Sandra

[beirne]

You might also check out Cheng & Tsui. The sell IC as well as a number of other books. I have ordered from them several times and had good luck with my orders.

[sfr@rcn.com]

I second the Cheng & Tsui recommendation. However, if you phone them rather than order online, you may find yourself...uh...confused by their pronunciation of most Chinese words.

Sandra

[trevelyan]

Used it at Berkeley. A nice textbook that's strong point is having (1) good grammar highlights and (2) parallel simplified and complex texts. Leans a bit towards Taiwan usage.

[Pravit]

Wow, thanks for all your replies, guys! 大家谢谢！

Xuezhongwen: I think I can order them from the online store those people mentioned, but thanks for the offer!

BTW, I seem to have found the text online, with voice clips:

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/chinese/ICL1P1.html

Is this the same thing? Perhaps it's just the book sans grammar explanations? I haven't been having any problems with the grammar, but it'd be nice to know why the names "Xiao Gao" and "Xiao Bai" are translated as "Little Gao" and "Little Bai." I know that "xiao" means little, but the other characters mean something too, so why translate the "xiao"? Is it some kind of diminutive prefix used with young people or friends?

I'm currently using "Teach Yourself Chinese" by Elizabeth Scurfield. What are your opinions on it? I like it, I guess. It's just that all the emphasis on tourist-related stuff is really boring. What other books would you recommend?

[jlau]

I ordered my copy from the Cheng and Tsui website, a logical place since they are publish the book. The nice thing about the IC book is that there are a lot of free resources on the web, many of which are listed at http://eastasia.hawaii.edu/yao/icusers/Default.htm. Also take a look at http://www.yellowbridge.com/language/flashcards.html for flashcards that parallel each chapter in the book.

[xuezhongwen]

The hawaii.edu site is definitely useful, and be sure to find the pinyin transcript for the whole text! it turned out very useful in my classes.

Now the "Xiao Gao" question, I don't like the 'little gao' translation myself, it does mean little, young, but it's more like the usage of "Jr.", if your last name is 'Gao', and you are young, people call you 'Xiao Gao', if you are older, people call you "Lao Gao". it's more like a prefix/suffix, I don't think it needs special translation.

[Kink]

I'm thinking of buying this book, do you think its usefull to buy the workbook?

[the_p0et]

Looks like that hawaii.edu site is a dead link. I can't get in.

Do you know of a free flashcard creator program?