The Little Red Book—A Grammar Guide to Secondary School Chinese Exams

The Little Red Book—A Grammar Guide to Secondary School Chinese Exams is designed to make the study of Chinese grammar enjoyable and accessible to secondary school students. It is clearly structured so that students may gain a full picture of how the Chinese language works. In addition, the practices in this book are designed in accordance with the latest syllabuses of GCSE/IGCSE, IB, and SAT, which may help students prepare for Chinese examinations.

This book is divided into four parts: Sentences and Sentence Elements, Constructions and Sentence Patterns, Parts of Speech and Their Usage, and Language Use. Each lesson teaches one grammar point, consisting of such sections as grammar explanation (in the form of text), usage illustration (in the form of charts), analysis of important and difficult points (tips), text, exercise, test and checklist to help students master and apply the grammar points effortlessly.

The book can be used as a supplement to any secondary school Chinese course and is suitable for both classroom and home study use.

Ms. Carol Chen is an expert Chinese language educator and an IB International Diploma examiner currently residing in Hong Kong SAR, China. She holds an M.Ed. degree in Chinese Language Education, but her proficiency stems from a highly successful Chinese teaching career which started in 1986 when she began honing her skills in elementary school, secondary school, and university curriculums. Since 1997, Ms. Chen has taught Chinese at GCSE/IGCSE, A/AS, IB Language A and Language B Standard and higher levels to international school students in Hong Kong. She is the author of the GCSE/IGCSE revision booksA+ ChineseandPass Chinese. She has also published series of Chinese graded readers such as “The Chinese Library Series” and “My Little Schoolbag Leveled Chinese Readers”. Ms. Chen has presented workshops for Chinese language teachers on a number of occasions, including ACTFL 2019 Convention and China in Context 2018.

Lin Jing, BA in Chinese Language & Literature, MA in Education (University of Bath, UK), is an IGCSE and IB examiner. Ms. Lin has served as Head of the Chinese Faculty and a Chinese teacher in international schools across China’s mainland, China’s Hong Kong SAR, and other places such as Malaysia. She has more than 13 years of work experience in international schools and is currently working in a well-known international school in Hong Kong. She has given many lectures in English Schools Foundation (ESF) to share her teaching experience.

1.    Both authors are veteran Chinese teachers in international schools and GCSE/IGCSE and IB examiners. As a crystallization of their rich teaching and training experience, this book may help students quickly grasp the grammar points they need to pass Chinese exams. 

2.    The structure of the book:

Glossary – Supporting students’ confident use of grammatical terminology

Grammar Focus – Demonstrating grammatical structures and usages using charts

Tips – Explaining common grammar errors, confusing concepts and some special points

Cartoon – Visualizing grammar points using cartoons

Text – Applying grammar in diversified types of authentic texts followed by exercises

Sentence Practice – Promoting students’ application of grammar in sentences

Test – Assessing students’ grammar proficiency through timed tests

Grammar Rap – Helping students further understand and remember grammatical structures through rap rhymes

Checklist – Encouraging students to assess their own learning through self-evaluation

Answer Key – Providing answers to all exercises and test questions, accessible via a QR code

1. The book can be used as a supplement to any secondary school Chinese course and is suitable for both classroom and home study use.

2. This book is flexibly arranged so that students can pick any particular grammar point they need to learn. However, it is strongly recommended that students go through all the Grammar Focus sections of this book as a quick revision guide before important exams.