​Chapter 1: "Wake"

HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE CHINESE SOUND SYSTEM
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Mastery
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​A syllable of Modern Standard Chinese is usually composed of three parts: an initial (consonant), a final (consisting of vowels or vowels combinations), and a tone. The tone is superimposed on the entire syllable. A syllable may also have no initial consonant.
  • Initial: beginning sound (consonant)
  • Final: ending sound (vowel or combination of vowels)
  • Tone: the pitch of the syllable from start to finish​
Lesson
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Practice
READ: Read the Introduction (starting from page 1) in the textbook. Write a summary.
  • Identify the total number of initials, consonants, and tones in Chinese.
  • Identify how many total syllables exist in Chinese. 
Mastery
Pronunciation Challenge:

​Identify the parts of the following Chinese syllables.
  • mā
  • má
  • nǐ
  • hǎo

Chapter 2: "Temple of Doom"

HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE FIVE TONES
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  • ​Chinese is a tonal language.
  • Tones are the changes of the pitch in the pronunciation of a syllable.
  • There are 4 tones in Mandarin Chinese + a "neutral tone."
  • Each Chinese syllable (character) carries a tone. Different tones carry different meanings.
Lesson
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Practice
TRAIN: On the New Concept Mandarin website, use the tools in the "Introduction to Pinyin" section.

READ: Read p. 9 in the textbook. Write down some new information that you learned.

​GAMES: Play Tone Training games:
Mastery
PRONUNCIATION: Accurately pronounce (to 80%) the following Chinese tones:
  • mā
  • má
  • mǎ
  • mà

Chapter 3: "The Power of Words"

HOW TO RECOGNIZE TONE COMBINATIONS
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​​NOTE: You don't have to watch all these videos, but it might be a good idea! Follow the Youtube links for even more videos. Listening to TONE PAIRS is essential to understanding Chinese pronunciation.
  1. (hén hǎo) very good
  2. (bù hǎo) not good
  3. (duì) right
  4. (bú duì) not right
  5. (shén me) what?​
Lesson
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Click for the TEACHING SLIDES
Practice
LISTEN: Listen to and practice the Sinosplice Tone Pairs Drills in Level 0 (Google Drive).

TRAIN: Practice pronouncing Hackingchinese.com’s Tone Pair lists, which include all the tone pairs in Chinese.​

LEARN MORE: Investigate the rules of Tone Sandhi and write down a reaction paragraph in your Journal.

GAMES: Play Tone Training games:
PAIR PRACTICE: Find a native speaker (or in pairs) and play "Tone Bingo."
Mastery
Chapter 3 Mastery Challenge:

Accurately pronounce (to 80%) the following Chinese tones:
  • (hén hǎo) very good
  • (bù hǎo) not good
  • (duì) right
  • (bú duì) not right
  • (shén me) what?​​​

 MINIBOSS #1: ACT 1 REVIEW

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Pika, Pika! Can you beat me?
Mastery Challenge 1:
  • Accurately pronounce (to 80%) the following Chinese tones and tone pairs:​
    • mā，má，mǎ，mà​
    • (hén hǎo) very good
    • (bù hǎo) not good
    • (duì) right
    • (bú duì) not right
    • (shén me) what?​​​

​Mastery Challenge 2:
  • Play the BBC Tone Game on Medium difficulty:
  • must score at least 7 out of 10

BONUS CHALLENGES:
  • ​GODLIKE: Get a perfect score on the BBC Tone Game on Hard difficulty.