Beginning Hindi is designed to help first-year learners acquire the language by using it in real-life situations. The book and its accompanying audio files–available on the Press website–include clear explanations of language structures, engaging activities, and an organizational format that makes it easy to chart student progress.

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Beginning Urdu is a complete first-year textbook designed to help learners acquire the language by actively using it in real-life situations. The book and its accompanying audio files–available on the Press website–contain all that is needed to complete one full year of study, including clear explanations of language structures; useful, fun, and engaging activities; and an organizational format that makes it easy to chart student progress.

FEATURES• Develops all four skills—listening, speaking, reading, writing—through a wide range of tasks and activities, including role plays, games, and short conversations• Beautifully illustrated with full-color, authentic images and written in an accessible style• Introduces the sound system and script of Urdu• Organized around functional themes such as home and family, everyday life, the marketplace, personal responsibilities, and travel• Features straightforward grammatical explanations and topically organized vocabulary lists for each of the 34 chapters• Integrates cultural information within the thematic units and also presents culture through aphorisms, poetry, and photographs• Provides an activity set for each unit along with review activities, including tips for increasing fluency and sets of questions to help personalize learning• Contains Urdu–English and English–Urdu glossaries • Includes three appendices—Urdu numbers, additional grammatical structures for moving to advanced levels of proficiency, and a suggested syllabus Beginning Urdu covers approximately 150 contact hours and is designed to bring learners to the ACTFL proficiency level of mid- to high-intermediate in all four skills. The book also serves as a valuable resource for independent learners.

The Uyghurs are one of the oldest Turkic-speaking peoples of Central Asia. Their language is closely related to Uzbek, with which it shares a common ancestor. Modern Uyghur is spoken by about 11 million people in Xinjiang and 2 million people in Central Asia and elsewhere. This textbook offers beginning students a thematically organized and integrative approach to the Uyghur language that emphasizes communicative activities, step-by-step development of linguistic skills, and elements of Uyghur culture. A multimedia DVD includes audio that helps develop listening and speaking skills and videos filmed in different regions of Xinjiang, China.