Startup Business Chinese

Designed for those with no prior knowledge of Chinese, Startup Business Chinese: An Introductory Course for Professionals escorts readers through daily business and social situations encountered by executives doing business in and with China. Level 1's storyline is centered on a foreign executive's business trip to China, and deals with visiting a factory, dining out, making appointments, thanking hosts, and more. Level 2 continues the storyline as the executive relocates to China to live and work, and deals with travel plans, setting up an office, communicating with colleagues, accessing the Internet and other publications, finding an apartment and international school, and seeing the doctor.

The Startup Business Chinese series currently includes a Level 1 textbook with audio CD, and a workbook with audio CD. Level 1 is the introductory level, for students with no prior knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. Level 1 is typically covered in one semester of study at the college level, for classes that meet five days a week. It can also be used for summer or short-term intensive introductory courses in Chinese. The forthcoming Level 2 will expand learning to the intermediate level.

Level 1 is in simplified characters only. Level 2 includes traditional characters in the textbooks' vocabulary lists, and presents traditional character versions of the dialogues in addition to simplified character versions.

• Level 1 features an introductory chapter on the basics of spoken and written Chinese, with exercises that teach proper pronunciation.
• Each level presents dialogues covering typical encounters one would have while living, doing business and socializing in China: introductions, greetings, arranging meetings, communicating with colleagues, dinners and social events, family interactions, living in China, expressing gratitude to hosts, and discussing future plans.
• Each level presents sentence patterns highlighting commonly found expressions and sentence structures, with clear examples and related drills.
• Pinyin romanization is included throughout both textbook and workbook for learners who want to focus on the spoken language.
• Cultural points explain business practices in China, and emphasize business communication, interpersonal relations, and overall cultural competence.
• Level 1 offers a separate workbook with audio CD, containing listening, speaking, and writing exercises.
• Each workbook contains a Listening Comprehension section with additional spoken conversations related to the topics presented in the textbook.