This text is an excellent second year book. It concentrates on using sentences is a variety of situations. However, it is not a stand alone work. The publication was apparently meant to supplement first year learning materials. And in that effort is suceeds admirably. The format includes a main dialog, substitutions, mini dialogs and cultural notes. And the course is designed with enough repetition to make retention easy. Although the book covers twenty chapters and six cassettes, I still found myself wanting more. In fact I have found that most Chinese language courses are not all-inclusive. They require supplemental material. And this course is no exception. But unlike other texts, it does not pretend to be the only course you will ever need. In any case, this makes a fine addition to any Chinese language learning library.