Hi albertgilmore,
- Textbook: New Practical Chinese Reader / Xin Shiyong Hanyu Keben 新实用汉语课本
I’m using NPCR for a teacher-led class. We are now in the middle of Volume 2, so I feel well-versed in how the material is structured.
I’m just going to throw an opinion out there, that I’m sure many will disagree with.
NPCR is pretty bad for new English learners with no experience in Mandarin and who do not have “somebody at home to help me”. (English edition)
It is cheap, so that’s where it’s advantage is. But it has very contorted definitions of terms, poor use of English when describing grammatical terms (uses words you do not find in American English grammar books, at least), and most (yes, MOST OF THE BOOK) of the Mandarin terms/phrases in the book do not include any English explanations nor meanings.
Sure, it gives you definitions of individual characters, but then when it puts together phrases that have different meanings, you are on your own. Many times the phrases and grammatical structure had subtle changes in use and meaning, but without translations, you don’t get that from reading it. I found this to be extremely frustrating. But, it’s a very economical choice.
If you are taking a class where a teacher can explain every non-defined item in the book, you may be okay. But it feels very oriented to a “remember this as rote memorization and just regurgitate it”, which is very much a common learning style in China.
I don’t think it works well for an adult, non-native speaker, learning on their own. (But did I mention it’s CHEAP!?)
“Integrated Chinese” is far superior in presentation (now in the 4th Ed which I own copies of) but EXTREMELY expensive.
If you pair NPCR with a lot of supplementary material and time spent on your own, I think it can work. But it’s not a book that’s going to launch you well, IMO. It’s just too information-dense with too little explanation.