As the second generation of the Practical Chinese Reader series, New Practical Chinese Reader (NPCR) is a series of comprehensive Chinese teaching materials for adult students in countries other than China. The two generations together have exerted an influence in the international Chinese teaching circles for over 30 years. Its third edition centers on a few international students, telling interesting stories about their life and friendship with their Chinese friends and teachers in China. The revision regarding the third edition adheres to the aim of making it “easier to learn” for students and “more convenient to use” for teachers and maintains the pedagogy of “the integration of structure, function and culture”, striving to develop students’ comprehensive use of the Chinese language, especially the ability of cross-cultural communication, through the learning of language structures, functions and relevant cultural knowledge as well as the training in listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

This textbook pays attention to the cultivation and practice of learners’ reading style, but without neglecting the establishment of their oral expression skills. It is a new attempt and exploration in integrating the Chinese language input and output. 

1.      Typicality

The corpora involved in the textbook are not only typical essays with complete frameworks, but also current affairs that keep pace with the times. They are topics discussed by Chinese people today, keeping the teaching material updated and fresh.

2.      Practicality

Based on different teaching requirements, intensive reading and skimming can be carried out to cultivate learners’ diverse reading skills. At the same time, reading comprehension is developed revolving around the text to improve learners’ reading and expression skills.

3.      Operability

The textbook has compiled various types of questions, such as Multiple Choice, True or False, Short-answer Questions, etc., in order to check learners' mastery of the text, and reference answers to exercises are provided at the back of the book.