NPCR is a new series of textbooks designed for native English speakers to learn Chinese. It consists of seventy lessons in s'ix volumes, covering beginning to intermediate levels, for three years of instruction. It has been compiled under the guidance of the new NOTCFL Syllabus and in consultation with the HSK Guicleline. The objective of this series is to develop the student's ability to communicate using Chinese through the study of language structure, language function, and related cultural knowledge along with the training of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. In order to make the study of Chinese easier and more interesting, this textbook has the following features:

◇The student will be in the cultural setting of Chinese society with several international students, Ding Libo (son of Gubo and Ding Yun), Lin Na and Ma Dawei. Through many interesting experiences, the student will not only learn authentic Chinese but also understand Chinese society and culture.

◇The instruction of functional items is emphasized. The student will learn to use Chinese from the very beginning of the learning process.

◇Attention is paid to the instruction of pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and discourse and a gradual increase in difficulty, orderly advances and multiple repeats are stessed along with the usage of four large cycles to help students understand the language structure of Chinese.

◇A new method of teaching Chinese characters is utilized to help students read and write intriguing characters.

◇Combined instruction of the four basic skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing, is emphasized.

◇Offering tremendous flexibility, the instructional materials are suitable for users at different starting points and with different goals.

◇Abundant practice materials are supplied for the student to use inside and outside the classroom.

◇Each volume comes with a student's Workbook and an Instructor's Manual along with audio cassette and CD-ROM. Texts in traditional characters are provided.

Liu Xun is a professor at Beijing Language and Culture University, part-time professor at China People's University and Beijing University of Foreign Languages, member of the Hanban Expert Advisory Committee for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, board member of World Chinese Teaching Association and consultant of Chinese teaching for the New York State Department of Education. His research focuses on Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, Second Language Acquisition, teaching material development, teachers'training, etc. He once assumed the main responsibility in the design of the first set of HSK. He has compiled and co-compiled TCFL textbooks such as Practical Chinese Reader (1-4), Chinese Textbook for Children, Elementary Chinese, One Hundred Lessons on Communicative Chinese, etc, and has published monographs such as Introduction to Chinese as a Foreign Language Pedagogy, Introduction to Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, Brief Introduction to Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, An Overall View of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and a number of academic papers.