The “New Standard Chinese Undergraduate Series” is a set of Chinese undergraduate textbooks based on the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education, adhering to the integration of “structure-function-culture” and upholding comprehensive quality training featured “language + professionalism” throughout. Aiming at better meeting the needs of Chinese language teaching for international students coming to China for undergraduate studies under the new standard, this series is based on the concepts of “diversification, three-dimensionality, innovation and intelligence”, and is mainly tailor-made for international students coming to China for undergraduate studies in Chinese language. Meanwhile, it can be used in relevant training courses at home and abroad, and meet the learning needs of long-term advanced students and self-taught learners coming to China to study Chinese. The whole set is divided into three levels (elementary, intermediate and advanced) and two sequences (horizontal and vertical). The horizontal sequence is divided into four major sections, including Chinese language skills and knowledge, cultural knowledge, translation between Chinese and foreign languages, and business Chinese, while the vertical sequence is based on comprehensive teaching materials, supplemented by teaching materials for listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, which are used throughout the first to the fourth year of undergraduate education, so that the ratio of general skills courses with professional skills and knowledge courses at all levels can be balanced to ensure that students can obtain in-depth and balanced learning effects at all stages of study.

Elementary Chinese Comprehensive Course is a series of textbooks for elementary-level comprehensive language courses, divided into 4 volumes. This book is Volume 4.

Zhang Hao, the chief editor, is a professor, doctoral supervisor, and dean of the College of International Chinese Studies, Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). Having been engaged in teaching Chinese as a foreign language for more than 30 years, Professor Zhang has taught in overseas universities in the United States and Canada for nearly 10 years, and has travelled overseas as an expert of Hanban to conduct Chinese teacher training for many times. Her research mainly focuses on Chinese language teaching and cultural communication studies. She has published more than 30 papers in core journals and 6 monographs, and has presided over and participated in 7 provincial and ministerial projects. Professor Zhang has been awarded the Beijing Higher Education Teaching Award and the Beijing Teachers’ Virtues Pioneer Award. As the person in charge, she has declared and won the evaluation of national first-class undergraduate programmes, national first-class courses, Beijing excellent nurturing team, Beijing key first-class majors and so on.

(1) Integration of Systematicness and Pertinence

As part of the series of textbooks, Books II to IV of Elementary Chinese Comprehensive Course aim to build a bridge from the elementary to intermediate-advanced levels, following the principle of gradual difficulty and step-by-step learning.

· Systematicness: In terms of vocabulary control, each lesson in Book II contains approximately 40 words, Book III has 50–60 words per lesson, and Book IV includes 70–80 words per lesson. In terms of grammar coverage, Books II to IV include all grammar items from Level 2 to Level 4 of the Grading Standards. Key vocabulary and grammar points are repeatedly emphasized throughout the textbook to solidify students’ memory.

· Pertinence: These books is student-centered, which meets the learning needs and goals of international students in China, with intensified training in discourse expression, reading, listening, and speaking skills.

(2) Integration of Practicality, Interest, and Knowledge

Books II to III adopt a “Dialogue (Text 1) + Short Essay (Text 2)” model. Dialogues and texts are written based on language structural elements and designed around functional scenarios. Activity settings expand from campus to off-campus and social environments, while knowledge content extends from basic daily communication to Chinese traditional culture and contemporary China. Book IV consists of narrative texts covering topics such as campus life, lifestyles, hobbies, the natural environment, social phenomena, interpersonal or social communication, further education and employment, Chinese traditional culture, technological development, environmental protection, and cultural differences between China and foreign countries.

Exercise design varies by content, including closed exercises, semi-closed exercises, and open-expression tasks.

(3) Innovative Design of After-Class Exercises

The exercises emphasize task-based teaching, with most activities requiring group work to highlight training in listening and speaking skills. Meanwhile, each lesson’s after-class exercises include additional listening training, Chinese character practice, and discourse training to improve learners’ reading comprehension, character recognition, and writing abilities.

(4) Multi-Dimensional Guidance for Perceiving China and Exploring the World

The course emphasizes the integration of tradition and modernity, both introducing Chinese traditional culture and lifestyles, as well as comprehensively displaying contemporary Chinese daily life and values, in order to help learners gain a deeper understanding of China and its culture. Meanwhile, it incorporates global hot topics into the course, such as parent-child relationships, empty-nest elderly, environmental protection, and employment and further education, to inspire learners to discuss and reflect on worldwide issues.