Short-term Spoken Chinese is the set of textbooks for short-term intensive training programs for foreigners. Particularly noted for its clarity of sentence exercises, vocabulary and text comprehension, it includes 5 levels of study. Elementary volumes are designed for beginners who have had some Chinese study in the past and know about 800 characters. Pre-Intermediate is designed for students who know about 1500 characters and are just ready to make the leap into the intermediate stage.