Speak and Act: Beginning Chinese (Volume 1)

by Maiheng S. Dietrich, Melvin Lee, Karina H. Chen

Speak and Act: Beginning Chinese (I & II) is a basic textbook for learners who have never learned Chinese before. The teaching goal is to lay a solid foundation for beginners in all four skills—listening, speaking, reading and writing. It seamlessly blends study of Chinese culture, especially behavior culture, with rigorous training in the four skills. Helping learners to attain the ability to use Chinese accurately and naturally in the appropriate language environment is the ultimate goal. The theoretical framework of this program is the speech act theory. To this end, language functionality is put in a leading and core position and serves as the organizational principle of this textbook.