(Be sure to complete these before starting the unit.)

The C-l and P-l tapes are your introduction to the Chinese words and structures presented in each unit. The tapes give you explanations and practice on the new material. By the time you have worked through these two tapes, you will be competent in understanding and producing the expressions introduced in the unit.

With the C-l tape, you learn to understand the new words and structures. The material is presented in short conversational exchanges, first with English translations and later with pauses which allow you to translate. Try to give a complete English translation for each Chinese expression. Your goal when using the C-l tape is to learn the meanings of all the words and structures as they are used in the sentences.

With the P-l tape, you learn to put together these sentences. You learn to pronounce each new word and use each new structure. When the recorded instructions direct you to pronounce a word or say a sentence, do so out loud. It is important for you to hear yourself speaking Chinese, so that you will know whether you are pronouncing the words correctly. Making the effort to say the expression is a big part of learning it. It is one thing to think about how a sentence should be put together or how it should sound. It is another thing to put it together that way or make it sound that way. Your goal when using the P-l tape is to produce the Target List expressions in Chinese when given English equivalents. At the end of each P-l tape is a review of the Target List which you can go over until you have mastered the expressions.

At times, you may feel that the material on a tape is being presented too fast. You may find that there is not enough time allowed for working out the meaning of a sentence or saying a sentence the way you want to. When this happens, stop the tape. If you want to, rewind; Use the control buttons on your machine to make the tape manageable for you most and to get the most out of it.

The Reference List and the Reference Notes are designed to be used before, during, or directly after work with the C-l and P-l tapes.

The Reference List is a summary of the C-l and P-l tapes. It contains all sentences which introduce new material, shoving you both the Chinese sentences written in romanization and their English equivalents. You will find that the list is printed so that either the Chinese or the English can be covered to allow you to test yourself on comprehension, production, or romanization of the sentences.

The Reference Notes give you information about grammar, pronunciation, and cultural usage. Some of these explanations duplicate what you hear on the C-l and P-l tapes. Other explanations contain new information.

You may use the Reference List and Reference Notes in various ways. For example, you may follow the Reference Notes as you listen to a tape, glancing at an exchange or stopping to read a comment whenever you want to. Or you may look through the Reference Notes before listening to a tape, and then use the Reference List while you listen, to help you keep track of where you are. Whichever way you decide to use these parts of a unit, remember that they are reference materials. Don't rely on the translations and romanizations as subtitles for the C-l tape or as cue cards for the P-l tape, for this would rob you of your chance to develop listening and responding skills.

The drills help you develop fluency, ease of response, and confidence. You can go through the drills on your own, with the drill tapes, and the teacher may take you through them in class as well.

Allow more than half an hour for a half-hour drill tape, since you will usually need to go over all or parts of the tape more than once to get full benefit from it.

The drills include many personal names, providing you with valuable pronunciation practice. However, if you find the names more than you can handle the first time through the tape, replace them with the pronoun tā whenever possible. Similar substitutions are often possible with place names.

Some of the drills involve sentences which you may find too long to understand or produce on your first try, and you will need to rewind for another try. Often, particularly the first time through a tape, you will find the pauses too short, and you will need to stop the tape to give yourself more time. The performance you should aim for with these tapes, however, is full comprehension and full, fluent, and accurate production while the tape rolls.

The five basic types of drills are described below.

When the cue is given by a male speaker, male students should respond. When the cue is given by a female speaker, female students should respond.