Ideal For: Beginning-level students. Ni Hao, Volume 2 is the second level of the Ni Hao series and is ideally suited to students in middle school or high school. The text uses Chinese characters extensively, accompanied by pinyin as a pronunciation guide. As the student becomes familiar with the characters and vocabulary, the pinyin is gradually omitted. Each chapter includes a variety of engaging activities to develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. �Something to Know� sections explore relevant Chinese cultural, historical, and geographical topics, enriching cultural understanding and enhancing students' interest in learning the language. Ni Hao, Volume 2 introduces more than 440 words and phrases and 140 written characters. Appendices with Chinese-English and English-Chinese �Words and Expressions� contain pinyin, English, and traditional and simplified character listings for words learned in the text. Includes free download of the textbook version of the Ni Hao Language Lab. This textbook is in simplified characters. What's new in the 3rd Edition? A new section "About Pinyin and characters" betters students' knowledge on pinyin rules and the origin of Chinese characters. Two new review lessons were added for each end-semester sum up. Offers a smoother transition from the introductory level to this elementary level, with stronger focus on the important sentence structure, but using a shorter vocabulary list. The language introduced is more frequently and functionally repeated. Settings and illustrations are closely related to students' daily life and are spiced with humor to lift students' learning spirit. Comics were also added to reinforce learning. In the Workbook, exercises are now catered for individual sections in each lesson. New items introduced in each section are grouped for easy learning and handy referral. In addition to exercises, each lesson includes both the listening and reading tasks for summative learning and testing. The settings of these tasks often poke fun at teenagers to incur laughter. Includes free download of the textbook verion of the Ni Hao Language Lab with purchase of the textbook.