With a focus on the specific needs of children learning Chinese as a foreign language, the "Chinese for Young Beginners" program is designed for children between the ages of seven and fifteen years old. This textbook series creates a context for a stimulating and interactive learning environment, where Chinese listening, speaking, reading and writing skills are acquired through language usage in real life situations. Age appropriate and enchantingly illustrated, "Chinese for Young Beginners" textbooks attempt to fill the gap between the increasing demand for learning Chinese at an early age and the lack of teaching materials relevant to children's daily life, cultural environment and imagination. While Book 1 cultivates language sense and lays a solid foundation with vocabulary, character writing, listening and conversational skills, Book 2 is written with the goal of extending students' ability to communicate their daily life experiences. It contains ten lessons, which cover youth-oriented conversations about sports, school life, food, family, friendship, shopping, communication, pets, etc. The special features of this textbook include: - Language game/activity-based exercises that engage students in developing new language skills while having fun - "How do you say it in Chinese?" sections that provide examples of situational usage of Chinese words and phrases commonly used in conversations - Quizzes, puzzles and substantial exercises that enhance listening and reading comprehension - Various approaches that assist students in picking the right words and phrases to make correct sentences - Translations from English to Chinese, and vice versa, to build Chinese writing skills - 600+ new words/expressions The author of the "Chinese for Young Beginners" series, Bill Li, specializes in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Bill was a faculty member of the Chinese as a Foreign Language Department of Shanghai International Studies University, and a published author on Chinese language teaching material, methodology and evaluation. Bill has taught students of all ages from around the world in both China and USA. He has a Master's Degree in Applied Linguistics from Shanghai International Studies University, and a Master's Degree in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication of the University of Pennsylvania. Bill has over twenty years of corporate experience in USA. The "Chinese for Young Beginners" series also introduces an emerging young talent, Candace Tong-Li, the author and illustrator of seven picture books, six of which were created for children learning Chinese. Her drawing "Cows" appeared on HighlightsKids.com when she was seven, and her illustrations for two feature stories ("The Sparrow" and "Freedom Run") were published in "Stone Soup" magazine before she turned thirteen. Candace created both the cover and interior illustrations for "Chinese for Young Beginners 2" when she was fourteen. Her seemingly simple artwork is filled with a whimsical sense of humor and an enchanting spirit.
Bill Li has developed a language acquisition and culture immersion program for children to learn Chinese as a foreign language. Formerly, Bill was a faculty member at the Chinese as a Foreign Language Department of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU), where he taught students from the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and former Soviet Union. While teaching at SISU, Bill co-authored the book titled "Approaches and Methods of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language", the first book of its kind published by the Shanghai Foreign Language Press in 1990. In addition, Bill published numerous articles on Mandarin and foreign language teaching methods and its evaluation measurements in "The Journal of International Chinese Language Teaching", "Foreign Language Circle", "Journal of Foreign Language Teaching Using Audio-Video Methods", to name a few. During his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Bill taught Mandarin at inlingua International Language School, Lingual Institute and the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia. Bill continued his Mandarin teaching at DPW law firm and China Institute after moving to New York in 1994. Recently he helped implement and personally taught Yale University's PIER Chinese language program at Scarsdale High School of New York. Bill received his first M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Shanghai International Studies University (SISU), and his 2nd M.A. in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication of the University of Pennsylvania. Bill is working for a global financial service corporation. He held various database management positions at other leading global corporations in U.S.A. in the past two decades. Bill is a native of Shanghai, China. He lives with family in America.
