Expressway to Perfect Chinese Pronunciation

This book consists of two sets of exercises and a discussion of the mispronunciations frequently made by foreign learners (especially those whose mother tongues are Germanic languages). Both the exercises and the discussion are provided on tape. Charcteristics of this book are: 1) it targets the problem areas, so that the learners can avoid spending equal effort on everything; 2) it points out the typical mistakes to the learners, so that they can try to avoid traps; and 3) there are listening exercises of sound and tone discrimination, which may, on the one hand, make the learners aware of the nuances in pronunciation, and help them be their own teachers in watching out for their mispronunciations; and on the other hand, provide a chance for the learner to rest their voice while still practising, which helps avoid voice strain, often occuring during the first lessons of pronunciation. The book contains also three tapes. The author has been teaching Chinese pronunciation at the Catholic University of Leuven since 1986.