Like its predecessor, the second edition of Fundamental Spoken Chinese places primary importance on providing a clear, systematic, and graduated introduction to the basic grammar and vocabulary of spoken Mandarin Chinese through chapters that center on identified sentence patterns and vocabulary items rather than particular social functions or daily activities. The authors continue the tradition of separating the teaching of oral and written skills, leaving the instruction of reading and writing in Chinese characters exclusively to the accompanying Fundamental Written Chinese, also in its second edition. The lessons in the two textbooks, however, are keyed to each other in terms of vocabulary and grammar, so they may be used simultaneously or the parallel written skills introduced at a later time. Both textbooks were developed for learning in the classroom and for independent study.

The bilingual teacher's manual provides detailed instructions on how the different types of drills, exercises, and activities in the Fundamental Spoken Chinese Exercise Book reinforce students' oral and aural proficiency. These Core Pedagogical Instructions are followed, when appropriate, by brief summaries of grammatical explanations presented in the Fundamental Spoken Chinese textbook, together with their specific grammar note numbers for easy reference.