This publication will provide secondary level students with a basic understanding of the development and structure of Chinese (guo yu) language characters. The authors believe that demystifying the language helps break many cultural barriers. The written language is a good place to begin because its pictographic nature is appealing and inspires confidence to decipher the rest. The first part of the publication presents and talks about some Chinese characters. After studying these characters, students are asked to translate a brief reading written mostly in English with some Chinese characters used for particular words and concepts. Chinese calligraphy is then discussed. To help students learn to write some characters, specific directions and illustrations are provided. A map showing where the various dialects are spoken is presented. The last part of the publication describes how to speak quo yu. A basic pronunciation guide is given. However, it is best if students can hear the language spoken. Teachers are asked to try to find a Chinese person to help them make a cassette tape of the simple conversation exercises. (Author/RM)