Knowing a language is more than memorizing grammar rules and word lists. You need to know how to say what to who, and when. That kind of practical knowledge is called "functional language."

This program is not a textbook or a reference grammar; it's an interactive teaching phrasebook. The program selects ten specific situations that a visitor to China is likely to encounter, and provides useful phrases that helps you communicate in Chinese.

The focus is on speaking and listening, so the program doesn't use Chinese characters. Instead, all Chinese is presented in the pīnyīn romanization system for spelling Chinese in a familiar alphabet. Throughout the program, you can hear real audio recordings from a native speaker of Chinese with standard pronunciation. You can record yourself and compare your pronunciation with the model.

The program is highly interactive. Each of ten units progresses from a presentational mode, and gradually adds more interaction. Through each unit, you practice recognizing, identifying, re-creating, producing, and speaking phrases. By the end of the unit, you are presented with a situation, and if you have followed the lesson in order, you will be able to respond in spoken Chinese.

Created by a Ph.D. in Linguistics, with over 25 years of language teaching experience, this program makes use of the state of the art in instructed language acquisition techniques, and the latest concepts of effective computer-assisted language learning.

Units include:
1. Introducing yourself and others.
2. Asking for information.
3. Making requests.
4. Asking how to say or do something.
5. Describing things.
6. Expressing needs.
7. Complaining.
8. Expressing preference.
9. Refusing politely.
10. Making recommendations.