Chinese language and culture 3600-7-SI1-JKCH1

**HSK Standard Course 1** is designed for absolute beginners who have never systematically studied Chinese.

1. The book contains a total of 15 lessons. Except for Lessons 1 and 2, which focus on pronunciation, each subsequent lesson (starting from Lesson 3) centers around a specific theme and is divided into three situational dialogues, each with 1–2 exchanges. Each lesson introduces 10–15 new vocabulary words and includes 3–4 grammar notes. The Level 1 course strictly follows the HSK (Level 1) syllabus, which prescribes 150 vocabulary words. Only 10 words in this book exceed that scope (marked with an asterisk “*”), and all of these are from Levels 2 or 3.

2. Lessons 1 and 2 serve as an introduction to pronunciation, systematically presenting fundamental knowledge of Chinese phonetics such as initials, finals, tones, and syllabic structure. The goal is to give learners a comprehensive understanding and mastery of the basic phonetic system, laying a solid foundation for further study. Therefore, pronunciation demonstration, correction, and practice are both key and challenging. The pronunciation section combines images and text to help learners associate sound with meaning from the beginning, enhancing interest. In addition to phonetic knowledge, these two lessons also provide short and commonly used expressions such as greetings, farewells, thanks, and apologies.

3. Lessons 3 to 15 are structured into seven parts: Warm-up, Text (including vocabulary), Notes, Exercises, Pinyin, Chinese Characters, and Application. Every five lessons include a cultural module introducing relevant cultural background knowledge.

1. **Warm-up**: This section introduces key words and phrases through images. Learners are expected to preview this part before class.

2. **Text**: Each lesson contains three different scenarios, each with 1–2 dialogue exchanges. Unlike traditional textbooks that repeatedly drill sentence patterns and vocabulary in a single context, this textbook focuses on vocabulary from the HSK Level 1 syllabus, incorporating these words into dialogues based on actual HSK exam sentences and reproducing them in varied contexts. This helps learners get familiar with real-life usage and adapt quickly to different situations, building a foundation for the listening and reading sections of the HSK Level 1 exam.

3. **Notes**: This textbook downplays grammar explanation. Instead, grammar points are explained through annotations, often in the form of tables, aiming to be concise, clear, and easy to understand. Each grammar item only covers its usage in the current lesson and includes examples arranged from simple to complex. Examples taken from the texts are highlighted in a different color.

4. **Exercises**: This section appears after the grammar notes in each lesson. Exercises are based on the newly introduced grammar points and key vocabulary, aiming to reinforce learning and improve listening, speaking, and communication skills. Exercises include answering questions, describing pictures, completing sentences, etc., and are designed to align with the HSKK (Basic Level) oral exam, preparing learners for it.

5. **Pinyin**: Lessons 3 to 5 focus on differentiating difficult initials and finals. Teachers are encouraged to focus on phonetic training rather than explaining each word's meaning. Accurate pronunciation is the main goal. Lessons 6 to 15 introduce tone patterns in disyllabic, trisyllabic, and light-tone words, with an emphasis on disyllabic tone combinations. Each tone pattern is exemplified with a model word and an image to help learners remember, serving as a tonal reference for other words.

6. **Chinese Characters**: This section covers 17 strokes, 6 stroke orders, 7 character structures, 52 single-component characters, and 18 radicals. Character instruction emphasizes the 52 most common and structurally productive single-component characters, selected from a statistical analysis of 600 words across HSK Levels 1–3. Lessons 1 to 6 teach basic strokes, and from Lesson 7 onward, two simple, common, and productive radicals are introduced per lesson with two example characters. At Level 1, character instruction mainly focuses on recognition; only the 17 basic strokes and 52 single characters require writing.

7. **Cultural Points**: Three cultural topics are introduced in Lessons 5, 10, and 15. These topics are chosen with beginner learners in mind and focus on communicative aspects of everyday life. They include: how Chinese people ask about age, characteristics of Chinese names, and commonly used communication tools in China.

**HSK2**

The "HSK Standard Course 2" is designed for Chinese learners who have completed 30–34 hours of study and have mastered around 150 Chinese words.

The book consists of 15 lessons, each focusing on a task-based theme, divided into four scenes. Each lesson includes an average of 10-15 new words and 2-4 language points. The second-level course strictly follows the HSK (Level 2) syllabus, which specifies 300 words, including the 150 words from Level 1. This course contains only 14 words that go beyond the syllabus (marked with an asterisk "*"), and these words are primarily from Level 3.

Each lesson is divided into sections: warm-up, text (including new words), notes, exercises, pronunciation, Chinese characters, and application. Every five lessons include a cultural section as an extension of the text, introducing relevant cultural background knowledge.

1. **Warm-up.** The warm-up uses images to introduce key words and phrases for the lesson, guiding learners to discuss the lesson’s theme and setting the stage for the new content.
2. **Text.** Each lesson includes four different scenes, with each scene containing two rounds of dialogue. The dialogues include a variety of real test sentences and scene transitions.
3. **Notes.** This course minimizes the emphasis on grammar. Language points are explained in the form of notes, often using tables, with the aim of making them simple, clear, easy to learn, and memorable. Each grammar point explanation only covers its use in the lesson’s text, with examples provided from easy to more difficult. Sentences with color changes are original sentences from the text.
4. **Exercises.** Exercises are arranged after the notes in each lesson. They aim to reinforce the new language points and key vocabulary learned in the lesson, as well as improve listening, speaking, and communication skills. The exercises include answering questions, describing pictures, completing sentences, and group activities.
5. **Chinese Characters.** The Chinese character section teaches 8 basic strokes, 14 simple characters, and 30 radicals. Radical teaching runs throughout the Level 2 character lessons. Through statistical analysis of 600 words from the first three levels, 52 of the most frequently used and most constructible characters are introduced in Level 1, while the remaining 14 characters are introduced in Level 2. Each lesson introduces two commonly used, easy-to-learn radicals, along with two example characters. Level 2 characters only require recognition; writing is required only for the 14 simple characters.
6. **Application.** Level 2 includes practical picture-description exercises aimed at improving learners’ overall language application ability.
7. **Culture.** Three cultural points are arranged in this course, appearing in lessons 5, 10, and 15. These cultural points focus on daily communication in Chinese culture: the etiquette of dining in China, Chinese tea culture, and Chinese New Year (Spring Festival).