iMandarin Unveils New Mandarin Program
by ShanghaiExpat.com Staff Writer

At a press conference held in Plaza 66 on February 4, 2005, iMandarin, one of the leading schools for Mandarin and Chinese cultural instruction for foreigners, introduced a new curriculum for Mandarin language instruction to an audience of many of the City's most well-known foreign-language media outlets.


The new instruction program is centered on a new series of textbooks known as "My Chinese Classroom." This series of books was the result of a one-year joint effort between iMandarin and the Shanghai Translation Publishing House of the Century Publishing Group. The books were initially presented in this year's National Book Expo in Beijing. The books will be sold throughout the country as well as through iMandarin for its training courses.

The standout feature of both the "My Chinese Classroom" textbooks and the iMandarin courses that use those texts is the emphasis on giving students reasonably quick access to learning everyday conversational needs. It probably comes as little surprise to foreigners here who have undertaken the study of Chinese that the vast majority of foreigners who study Mandarin in Shanghai are doing so to help them meet their needs at work or in daily activities. This new course offering quickly immerses students in daily conversational situations such as shopping, using public transportation and communicating with co-workers or house staff. Additionally, the textbooks' dialogues use currently in-use expressions and phrases. Having studied from "older" textbooks, this writer can attest to having learned expressions from such books that my Chinese friends later tell me have been out of common use for some time. This won't be the case with these new books.

Although the new textbooks aim to quickly get students into everyday conversations, the books nonetheless provide instruction in Pinyin (essential to mastering the tones used in Chinese) and Chinese written characters. Dialogues are presented in Pinyin and Chinese, with English translations nearby. The books also feature CD-based listening comprehension lessons to give students the ability to hear spoken Chinese dialogues during their individual study times.

The new course offering from iMandarin using the "My Chinese Classroom" series is available from beginner through advanced levels. Courses may be taken full-time or part-time, in group or individual settings at either iMandarin's downtown (Puxi) or Hongqiao classroom locations or privately tutored at the student's home or office.

These new courses are currently open for enrollment. Click on iMandarin's banner ad on ShanghaiExpat.com or go to www.imandarin.net for more information and course schedules.