This lively course teaches Mandarin Chinese to a broad range of learners in a modern, structured and engaging way. Mastering Chinese is available as a complete pack - paperback book with two CDs (ISBN 9781352001365). The CDs can be purchased separately (ISBN 9780230200548), or you can just purchase the paperback book alone (ISBN 9780230200135). Please check you have the correct ISBN. The focus is on acquiring basic conversational skills, and the text has a friendly, non-formal style, building up gently and with a wealth of lively, imaginative exercises.  The text places some emphasis on correct pronunciation, as this is so important in Mandarin.   It introduces right from the start the fascinating Chinese script and includes essential grammar, along with interesting cultural insights.  Pinyin, the standard system of spelling using the Roman alphabet to transliterate Chinese, is also included to help build confidence. This is all you would expect from a modern Chinese language course but can't find! 

CATHERINE HUA XIANG is Language Coordinator for Mandarin at the LSE Language Centre, London, and was previously Mandarin Chinese Coordinator, Language Centre, University of Bristol, UK.