Welcome to Encounters, a groundbreaking Chinese language program that features a dramatic series filmed entirely in China. The program's highly communicative approach immerses learners in the Chinese language and culture through video episodes that directly correspond to units in the combination textbook-workbook. By combining a compelling story line with a wealth of educational materials, Encounters weaves a tapestry of Chinese language and culture rich in teaching and learning opportunities. Encounters follows a carefully structured and cumulative approach. Students progress from listening and speaking to the more difficult skills of reading and writing Chinese characters, building grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation skills along the way. The Encounters program includes: * Two Full-color Student Books for introductory Chinese study * Annotated Instructor's Editions with answer keys and suggested class activities * Two Character Writing Workbooks linked directly to the Student Book * Ten hours of video materials, comprising dramatic episodes, cultural segments, and animations, all integrated with the Student Books * A total of 200 minutes of audio material, linked to the Student Books, for listening and speaking practice * A website, www.encounterschinese.com, providing access to all audiovisual material of the program upon adoption Each new, print copy of a Student Book comes with a 10-digit access code which provides one year of complimentary access to the website and its media. Students who purchase an eBook, or who are looking to extend their access to the website material, must buy a new access code. These codes are available at http://yalebooks.com/yupbooks/encounters.asp.

Cynthia Y. Ning is associate director of the Center for Chinese Studies and U.S. director of the Confucius Institute of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, where she has taught courses in Chinese language and film for more than 25 years. She is the former president and executive director of the Chinese Language Teachers Association. John S. Montanaro recently retired as Senior Lecturer in Chinese at Yale University, where he taught for more than 30 years.