BOOK REVIEW
Graded readers or level readers are books that are purposely written at your skill level so that as you read them, you understand most of the words, therefore new vocabulary is easier for you to learn and retain.
Read more to find out why these books are so highly rated.
I’m a certified Chinese teacher and I’ve been in China for 11 years teaching adults, here in China, how to speak Chinese.
Want to up your reading game and get fluent faster? The quickest strategy is to get yourself a copy of this book and pick up a free Audible trial so you can listen along whilst you read.
Reasons Why These Books Are Fab
Learn vocab twice as fast
Research shows that vocabulary acquired through graded readers can be learned twice as fast over using flashcards.
Learn grammar naturally
Simply put, grammar is patterns in language. Through reading longer text, grammar is acquired naturally, in context.
Train your brain to process Chinese
The reader progresses from reading “word by word” to “reading with ideas” and begins to automatically recognize words and phrases.
How Do Graded Readers Work?
A graded reader is basically an interesting story. “Now you can read books in Chinese that are fun and accelerate your language learning. Every book in the Mandarin Companion series is carefully written to use characters, words, and grammar that the reader is likely to know.”
Level one is written using approximately 300 unique Chinese characters and intended for Chinese learners at an upper-elementary level. Most learners will be able to approach this book after one or two years of formal study, depending on the learner and their study.
There are grey underlined words that depict a persons name. There are also blue underlined words which are key vocabulary. Each key vocab is linked to a number where you first learned the word. You can flip back in the book, find the description for that number and see the character, pinyin, and meaning of that word or phrase. That is how words are reinforced over and over again. Especially when you are also listening to the audio. They record the audio at a slightly slower pace so it’s clear for you to understand.
Remember, Audible free trial. 30 days.
What Stories Can I Listen To/Read?
Breakthrough level (150 unique characters):
Level one (300 unique characters):
- Emma
- The Secret Garden
- The Monkey’s Paw
- The Country of the Blind
- The Ransom of Red Chief
- The Sixty Year Dream
- Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Curly Haired Company
- The Prince and the Pauper
Level two (450 unique characters):
Helpful Review
Dave rated Companion Readers 5 stars on Amazon:
“I’m sold on the graduated reader concept.”
“I’m glad I did it. It’s repetitive, without being boring.”
“The repetition is by design to drill into the brain the language patterns available within the bounds of a typical vocabulary.”
Want to learn how to write Chinese characters?
My favorite Chinese character writing book is Tuttle Learning Mandarin.
Check out my video review here.
Want more book reviews from me?
Click here for my comprehensive list of the best books to learn Chinese.
Do you want to learn real Chinese?
The language that Chinese tutors don’t teach you, everyday phrases and words that actually help you manage day-to-day tasks? Well, my friends, you are in luck.
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A quick and important disclosure:
Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. I recommend them because they are helpful and useful.
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