Books

Description:
Although human beings around the globe use many different languages, their needs and wants in their daily lives are largely similar. Thus, similarities between languages do exist, and often are amazingly plentiful. In this book, we capitalize on the precious clues embedded in the similarities between English and Chinese to empower learners with the confidence in that knowing one language can be significantly beneficial in learning the other. This process is called the Δ-Lingual ® language learning system, a proven method that is strongly validated by recent neuro-scientific research *.

Via this method, we will examine many of the confounding mysteries of the Chinese language, exposing the underlying logic of its grammar, and demonstrating how similar it actually is to the English language. Readers will dig deeper into Chinese syntax and semantics, and develop a real understanding of the language, improving comprehension and making language application more natural.

* Please see Weber et. al. 2016 for the research details on the Journal of Neuroscience: https://www.jneurosci.org/content/36/26/6872

Description:
New Method Chinese is the first ever Chinese textbook to harness the power of the revolutionary Δ-Lingual™ Language Learning System.

The system enables learning Mandarin Chinese by reusing learners’ rich and already-established English knowledge and communication skills (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) as the foundation, laying atop only the difference between the two languages.

As a result, the Δ-Lingual™ Language Learning System greatly reduces the amount of information for learners to absorb, and it eliminates students’ initial mental resistance and enables language learning with much less effort and greater gains in proficiency than today’s traditional “brute force” approach.

The Δ-Lingual™ Language Learning System requires approximately 50% less time than the traditional method to achieve the same level of proficiency.

What is “Glue Language?”

This book is organized into two sections:

Section I:  General Glue Drops

Hundreds of frequently used general glue drop words, phrases and sentences are presented in this section, such as from the rudimentary “还行 (Fine)、加油 (Keep it up)、安静 (Quiet)、我们来念 (Let’s read)、打比方说 (For example)、这是动词 (This is a verb)、好了没有 (Are you ready) 、轮到你了 (It’s your turn)、你进步得很快 (You made quick progress)” to short sentences like “现在我们来分组练习。(Let’s practice in groups.)” and “还记得吗？我们学过这个。(Do you still remember? We studied this before.)”, etc.

Section II: Scenario-Specific Glue Drops

This section presents frequently used, scenario-specific glue drop words, phrases, and sentences to engage students and “prime” them before teaching a specific textbook lesson in the immersion class. Examples include 颜色 (colors), 身体 (body), 数目 (numbers), 日用品 (daily necessities), 自我介绍 (self-introduction), 天气 (weather), 情绪 (emotion), 生病 (not feeling well), hobbies (爱好), 每天的作息 (daily schedule), 上馆子 (to eat out), 假日 (holidays), 旅行 (travel), etc. 

Empirically, we have observed that

• By repeatedly practicing and applying memorized Glue Language sentences, students were able to naturally incorporate the grammar rules of the target language.
• After the introducing and practicing the Glue Language part of the lesson, it was much easier for students to comprehend and apply the textbook lesson.

How do I use this book to conduct a successful immersion class? 

There are two main components in conducting a successful immersion class using Glue Language:

1. Routine Tasks

a) The teacher chooses the desired general glue drops from each of the categories in Section I of Glue Language for daily/weekly assignment for acquisition and learning.
b) The teacher facilitates application of both new and previous glue drops in class.
c) Each student must keep a record of the assigned glue drops as the basis for progress assessment.
d) In class, teacher and students create their own glue drops for impromptu applications to enrich the immersion experience.

2. Scenario-specific Tasks

a) Before teaching the textbook lesson, the teacher chooses a scenario in Section II related to the textbook lesson and presents the scenario-specific glue drops in an interactive manner, priming the students for the textbook lesson.
b) The students should ‘acquire’ and ‘learn’ the glue drops via interactive activities such as imitating, role play, question and answer, and other prompted responses, and non-interactive activities such as listening to the teacher, studying the book, and memorizing the glue drops.
c) It is recommended that the teacher assesses student’s language acquisition to evaluate quality and progress.