New Chinese Language Books To Meet Growing Demand

MEDIA RELEASE 31.1.2000

Asian languages are growing in importance for New Zealanders, along with the importance of the Asia-Pacific region in terms of politics, culture and trade. In recent years, the demand to learn Chinese has been steadily increasing, and there is a need for up-to-date, culturally oriented reading materials for learners of Chinese.

The University of Otago Press is addressing this need with a series of Chinese readers. It has already published readers for beginners and those at intermediate level, and has just released the third in the series, titled An Advanced Chinese Reader. The book's authors are both teachers of Chinese: Adam Lam at the University of Canterbury and Qiao Zhang at the University of Auckland.

Aimed at advanced learners of Chinese, the book consists of 22 lessons, each designed for four hours' study. The book forms a one-year course, with each lesson presented in simple and traditional characters, as well as an English translation. Exercises and glossaries are included.

In focusing on Chinese customs and cultural differences, compared to those of Westerners, the authors aim to raise awareness of Chinese culture while teaching the language. Subjects include: job hunting tips for China, bargaining techniques for a Sunday market, Chinatown in Sydney, the Chinese view of sex, and why Chinese get good grades in examinations.

The book will also be of use to teachers of ESOL and Chinese speakers learning English, and can be used for self-study as well as in classes.

About the Authors Adam Lam (MA, Hong Kong) was born and grew up in Beijing, China. He specialised in comparative cultural studies before becoming a second language teacher in 1992. Since 1995 he has been teaching Chinese (Mandarin) to both non-Chinese and Chinese dialect speakers, and lecturing on Chinese literature and culture at New Zealand universities. He taught at the University of Otago until 1999 and now teaches in the Department of Asian Languages, University of Canterbury.

Qiao Zhang has a doctorate in linguistics from the University of Edinburgh. She grew up in mainland China and has over 14 years of teaching experience in Chinese language at tertiary level. She taught in the School of Languages, University of Otago until 1998, and now teaches at the University of Auckland.

TITLE An Advanced Chinese Reader AUTHOR Adam Lam and Qiao Zhang CATEGORY Chinese language teaching FORMAT 215 x 150 mm EXTENT 200 pages ISBN 1 877133 64 7 PRICE $29.95 RIGHTS World DUE February 2000

Also in the series: TITLE A Beginner's Chinese Reader PRICE $24.95 AUTHORS Shifen Gong & Haixin Jiang ISBN 1 877133 14 0, and TITLE An Intermediate Chinese Reader PRICE $29.95 AUTHOR Qiao Zhang ISBN 1 877133 33 7

© Scoop Media