The 2 CDs combine grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, reading, writing, comprehension, and the American accent into a simple, step-by-step learning process. Students start by writing out what they hear, and then comparing what they have written with thebook’s printed version. In the process, they begin learning the elements of grammar, staring with the simple present tense of the verb 'to be' and progressing to all other tenses and parts of speech. Students gradually learn how to use English words andpronounce them properly in grammatically correct sentences. Following each chapter’s introductory sentence, they are given a brief story. A short test at the end of each chapter helps them determine their learning progress. The dictations start out quite simple and become progressively more difficult from one chapter to the next. A dictionary at the back of the book lists 1000 high-frequency words with translations into eight languages: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Russian, French & German