Step Up with Chinese is a standards-based secondary textbook for beginning learners designed by North American educators in collaboration with Chinese language specialists at the Beijing Language and Culture University. Developed in accordance to ACTFL’s 5Cs, each lesson was created to teach Chinese in a real-life context while incorporating the three communicative modes. This beginner text encompasses 10 units to be covered in one academic year. Eschewing the traditional text-vocabulary-grammar centered approach, each unit is broken down into small chunks of pattern to learn and practice. Each step builds upon previously learned vocabulary and sentence patterns in a systematic way. Students will learn all the necessary material to engage others in meaningful communication and gain a better understanding of the Chinese culture. Step Up makes an excellent first textbook for secondary learners with little or no Chinese background. Program Components The accompanying workbook features a wide variety of different types of exercises to enhance students’ proficiency in all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The book’s companion site (http://stepup.cengageasia.com) offers interactive vocabulary flashcards, free mp3 audio downloads, printable character practice sheets, and password-protected instructors’ resources including teacher’s guide, dialogue tape scripts and answer keys.
Lesson 1 Starting a new school year 开学了！
Step 1 Meeting and greeting people
Step 2 Telling the day and time
Step 3 Describing your summer vacation
Lesson 2 Moving to a new school 到新学校
Step 1 Going to places
Step 2 Moving to a new place
Step 3 Making comparisons
Lesson 3 Settling into a new home 搬进新家
Step 1 Describing the rooms in a house
Step 2 Arranging the furniture
Step 3 Listing and describing objects
Lesson 4 Adapting to the weather 适应气候
Step 1 Talking about the weather
Step 2 Dressing according to the weather
Step 3 Describing how people are dressed
Lesson 5 Discovering the community 熟悉新社区
Step 1 Finding places in the community
Step 2 Getting around in the community
Step 3 Living in the community
Lesson 6 Meeting new people 认识新朋友
Step 1 Exploring professions
Step 2 Finding one’s aspirations
Step 3 Discovering famous people
Lesson 7 Maintaining a healthy lifestyle 保持健康的生活习惯
Step 1 Eating well
Step 2 Getting sick
Step 3 Developing healthy habits
Lesson 8 Connecting with others 与人沟通
Step 1 Using technology in daily life
Step 2 Communicating with others
Step 3 Gathering information
Lesson 9 Getting along with others 与他人相处
Step 1 Helping at home
Step 2 Being a good neighbour
Step 3 Working with others
Lesson 10 Being a global citizen 做一个好公民
Step 1 Being part of a community
Step 2 Helping the community
Step 3 Creating a better life
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Lucy Chu Lee
Affiliation: Livingston High School, New Jersey Lucy Lee is a veteran teacher at Livingston High School in New Jersey, teacher director at Rutgers and William Paterson University and past president of the Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS).
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Xia Li Chen
Affiliation: Beijing Language & Culture University Lixia Chen is the director of Confucius Institute at the Beijing Language & Culture University.
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Includes topics relevant to secondary students’ daily life
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Breaks down lesson into manageable chunks to help students progress from “bite-size” stages to more lengthy and complex tasks
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Offers a variety of communicative classroom activities to help students achieve target language goals
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Interweaves traditional and contemporary Chinese culture pieces into the texts and activities
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Encourages students to use the target language to talk about their own lives
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Reinforces language learning by making connections to other content areas