"Practical Chinese", also known as "The Effective Way of Learning Reading, Writing, and Speaking Chinese," is a 10 book series that aligns its curriculum with the ACTFL guideline and has been used by many schools, as well as for individual study. Based on daily conversations, the contents of the book series incorporate language and culture. The exercises are gradually expended, starting from writing characters by following stroke orders, translating words in Chinese, asking and answering questions according to your real situation, translating sentences, and performing oral presentations. The later chapters are based on the words from the previous chapter, and the higher level is the expending of the lower levels in the terms of the words and the sentence structures. This is an idea self-study material. With English and pinyin, it helps none Chinese speakers learn at home, and help all learners to build a solid foundation. Introduction to pinyin is included in the level one book. This can also make a great supplement for Chinese study because of the richness of the cultural information.
The book series covers the Pre-K through college level. There is a workbook and a CD/cassette to accompany to each level, which can be purchased separately. There is a game package, "Practical Chinese Learning Games, 10 in 1", for parents/teachers to make learning fun, easy, and more effective. For more game ideas, "Games for Learning Chinese" provides more than 50 activities for instructors to use at home or in school.
