Probably the simplest but funniest Mandarin Companion has to offer. If you’re looking for less challenging reading and more talking, or just like to reminisce about funny childhood antics, this story is for you!

The Ransom of Red Chief (红猴的价格) is based on O. Henry’s classic story, “The Random of Red Chief,” but adapted into a fully Chinese original story by Mandarin Companion.

This book is Level 1, and although it’s not for beginners, elementary learners with 300-400 characters under their belt (or roughly one year of serious formal study) should be able to handle it. Try reading the “sample” to see if this level is right for you.

To take this 10-lesson course, you need to buy the book and read it. Then, to maximize your gains from the book, take our “Book Club” course and discuss the contents of the book online with our teachers.

In this Book Club course, you will get:

• Ten 60-minute online lessons with AllSet Learning’s own trained teachers

• Plenty of Chinese speaking practice (not reading practice)

• A study record including all supplementary vocabulary provided by your teacher

• A great sense of accomplishment for not only reading an entire book in Chinese, but discussing it as well!

How You Will Study Each Lesson

Your assignment for each lesson will be posted to the AllSet Learning Hub, our platform for managing our clients’ studies. There you will see what you need to prepare in advance, as well as the exact material (usually based on one chapter from the book) your teacher will cover with you during each lesson.

In each 60-minute lesson, the following material will be covered by your teachers:

• Vocabulary and Grammar Review (from your previous lessons)

• Main Chapter of the Day (using our flexible 3-tier system–see below)

• Comprehension and Discussion (from basic understanding to sharing opinions on the story)

Our Adaptive 3-Tier System

Every learner can’t be at the exact same level, so we can’t simply design a course for the “ideal” learner. Instead, we’ve designed a flexible 3-tier system which gives the lower-level learners more practice with the basic reading skills, and the higher-level learners more time practicing speaking.

1. Comprehension Questions. We start with these to make sure you’re absorbing what you’re reading. These are easiest, and they’re a good place to start for lower level learners. If the reading material is not difficult for you, you should breeze through these and spend little time on them.

2. Vocabulary and Grammar Practice. If you understand what you’ve read, you may have a passive familiarity with the words and patterns in the chapter. These modules are designed to make sure you can actually use them to express your own ideas.

3. Discussion Practice. Finally, you’ll be expected to discuss what you’ve read and share your own opinions. Beginners may not spend much time in this part of the lesson, while slightly more advanced learners should expect to spend much more time in these discussions (which are more like an actual “book club”).

Our Teachers

All of AllSet Learning’s teachers have been trained in person in Shanghai. They encourage communication, correct pronunciation, and hold our clients to a higher standard. They’re also quite engaging to talk to!

To guarantee flexibility and schedule coverage as full as possible, each of our clients will have multiple teachers. They will coordinate clients’ studies through the AllSet Learning Hub.

Lesson Policies

We offer flexible scheduling and a money-back guarantee. Check out the details on our policies here.

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