This widely-acclaimed series continues to impress and inspire learners whether they’re studying Chinese on their own, or in a classroom setting. Intermediate Spoken Chinese and the corresponding Practice Essentials allow you to experience real-life situations in different Mandarin-speaking locales. Each of the common situations explored here—from shopping at a market to playing unexpected phone tag—is one you’re most likely to encounter as you interact with Mandarin Chinese speakers. An accompanying MP3 audio–CD and separate software CD reinforce listening comprehension correct pronunciation. The breakthrough foundation of these books is that you don’t need to know the characters in order to speak Chinese. This series provides separate “tracks” to help you master the skills of speaking and writing Chinese at your own pace. Some learners place greater emphasis on reading and writing, while others focus on developing a knowledge of spoken Chinese first, and then learn the characters. Both approaches are perfectly valid ways to learn Chinese, and the one you adopt will depend on your personal goals and the amount of time you have for weekly study. This series allows you total flexibility in this regard.