Easy Steps to Chinese for Kids is a series of Chinese textbooks
specifically designed for kids from non-Chinese backgrounds. It covers four
levels, each made up of Textbooks a and b (each with a CD), Workbooks a and b,
a set of color picture flashcards (for students) and a set of word cards (for
teachers).
This
series has four characters in it, namely Ding Yi, Tian Li, Jingjing and Lele,
who are primary school students from China and abroad. Beautifully designed
illustrations, simple sentences and dialogues and lovely songs among other
means are adopted to develop the kids’ interest in learning Chinese and help
them lay a solid Chinese foundation by mastering such fundamental Chinese
knowledge as numbers, basic strokes, families and daily expressions. In each
volume, a cultural point is introduced through exquisite illustrations, concise
words and interesting color stickers.
This is
Textbook 4a in the series, which is beautifully illustrated and printed in full
color. It has altogether 7 lessons encompassing such topics as telephone
number, languages, daily routine, means of transport, etc. This volume attaches
more importance to the review of the pinyin learned previously, teaches three radicals in each lesson besides reviewing
the simple characters learned before, provides more exercises on character and
radical writing, sentence making and textual expression, and devotes an independent
section to listening. Through these efforts, it helps improve students’
integrated language skills.
Ms. Yamin Ma, with a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature
and a master's degree in Education, is now teaching Chinese in an international
school in Hong Kong. Ms. Ma has many years' experience in teaching Chinese as a
foreign language and knows well about the AP Chinese Program in the US and the
IB Chinese Test in Europe.