Making Connections (Simplified)

Making Connections offers students an early start to developing important strategies to improve their listening comprehension. The textbook and audio CDs include 45 lessons arranged by difficulty. Each lesson presents a short conversation or monologue that models a real social interaction, accompanied by written exercises and additional explanations. The speakers were not given scripts, nor was the conversation limited to specific vocabulary. In other words, this is “simulated authentic language.” Each lesson is accompanied by written exercises and includes sections on vocabulary, context, and follow-up activities.

The first audio CD corresponds to the 23 lessons found in Integrated Chinese Level 1, Part 1 and Integrated Chinese Level 1, Part 2. The second audio CD contains an additional 22 lessons and offers students a chance to hear a variety of speakers talking about a wide range of subjects. Most of the recordings are set in the United States, six lessons are set in China, and three of the lessons are Chinese-language radio broadcasts from either China or Taiwan. All dialogues in the recordings are natural and unrehearsed conversations by native Mandarin Chinese speakers.

Making Connections can be used as a companion to any first or second year Chinese textbook, or on its own. With its strong emphasis on listening comprehension, Making Connections is also a great preparation tool for test-takers of the AP* Chinese language and culture exam, the HSK test, and other standardized tests of Chinese. This book is in simplified characters with pinyin. Does not include transcripts.