Quite simply the most serious early intermediate textbook currently available for thoughtful American students at the university level. --Professor Stephen O'Harrow, Director, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawai'i at Manoa This is a second-year, intermediate Vietnamese language course designed for high school, college or self-study. Continuing Vietnamese is your next step toward master; it follows the best-selling, linguistically-based Elementary Vietnamese, and helps you progress to an intermediate level of communicating in Vietnamese. Invaluable for anyone planning to travel, study or work in Vietnam, this complete language course has been extensively tested at Harvard University. The accompanying MP3 audio CD helps to develop listening comprehension and ensure correct pronunciation. The book contains ten lessons, each composed of two parts. Part 1, the dialogue part, introduces the learner to conversational Vietnamese as it's currently spoken in Hanoi so that the learner will be able to participate in engaging conversation on a variety of topics. Part 2, the narrative part, includes written materials that are characteristic of formal Vietnamese. It aims to develop the learner's reading and writing skills as well as speaking skills. The lessons focuse on various aspects of life in present-day Vietnam, including topics such as culture, history, geography, economy, theater, music, tourism, literature, poetry, cinema and sports. Each lesson helps you to learn Vietnamese by building your Vietnamese proficiency using several complementary elements to thoroughly develop your skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Key features of Continuing Vietnamese include: MP3 Audio files offering native speakers' renditions of all the dialogues and narratives, vocabulary, grammar and usage explanations, everyday Vietnamese expressions, pronunciation drills and exercises, and even some popular Vietnamese proverbs. Exercises and practice activities which hone your skills throughout the learning process. Cultural notes that help bring Vietnam to life. A contemporary focus on today's Vietnamese speech patterns. A format that sharpens all four language skills: listening, speaking, writing and reading.