New Practical Chinese Reader (English Edition) is a series of textbooks designed for native English speakers who are starting to learn Chinese. It can be used by self-learners and can also be taught in the classroom. The purpose of this book is to develop the learner’s communicative ability in Chinese by learning language structures, functions and related cultural knowledge as well as by training their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

There are detailed teaching instructions, answers to the listening exercises and listening script in the instructor’s manual. Two tests and answers to the tests are also provided.

An accompanying CD includes the recording of the tests and is sold in separation form.

Liu Xun is a professor at Beijing Language and Culture University, part-time professor at China People's University and Beijing University of Foreign Languages, member of the Hanban Expert Advisory Committee for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, board member of World Chinese Teaching Association and consultant of Chinese teaching for the New York State Department of Education. His research focuses on Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, Second Language Acquisition, teaching material development, teachers'training, etc. He once assumed the main responsibility in the design of the first set of HSK. He has compiled and co-compiled TCFL textbooks such as Practical Chinese Reader (1-4), Chinese Textbook for Children, Elementary Chinese, One Hundred Lessons on Communicative Chinese, etc, and has published monographs such as Introduction to Chinese as a Foreign Language Pedagogy, Introduction to Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, Brief Introduction to TCSL.