This is an excellent, user-friendly book for learning the Chinese language.

Yi Ren has taught thousands of Americans to speak Chinese fluently. Now, she and co-author Xiayuan Liang share their secrets for fast mastery of Mandarin Chinese with you. China has 1.3 billion people and due to initiatives to phase out regional dialects in favor of Mandarin Chinese, nearly all of them can communicate in Mandarin. Don't let yourself be intimidated by this rewarding language. Although it is true that mastery of the Chinese language takes time, Mandarin Chinese actually has simpler grammar than English and there are no conjugations--meaning anyone can learn a few important phrases in no time.

Chock full of extra hints and tips drawn from the authors' many years of experience teaching Mandarin Chinese in adult evening classes, Chinese for Beginners focuses on realistic situations you'll encounter when you meet people in China. New words are explained in terms of how you'll actually use them to communicate with new friends. The audio-CD is another great way to learn Chinese and lets you listen and repeat and remember the sentences with ease, and will help you soon declare with pride, "I can say that in Chinese "

Chinese for Beginners includes:

• Lighthearted approaches that bring Chinese to life in a down-to-earth fashion.
• Real-life dialogues and situations to help you converse with confidence .
• An "Extend Your Vocabulary" feature in each chapter helps you to remember and understand more words that you'd think possible .
• Native-speaker audio recordings teach you to pronounce Chinese tones accurately.
• Answer Keys help you keep track of your learning process .
• Interesting notes, idioms, sayings, photos, poems, and insider tips about China's culture, special places, and everyday life add to the adventure.

This user-friendly guide to learning the basics will work for anyone who wants to speak and understand Chinese for business, for pleasure, or for travel--and who wants to enjoy the process of learning a new language while they're at it