This book is the first volume of a two-volume basic course in spoken American English. The text is divided into thirteen learning units of three lessons each plus four review units. The first lesson in a learning unit includes a dialogue, basic sentences, learning drills, and words and expressions. The second lesson involves reading, conversation practice, learning drills, and words and expressions. The third lesson contains basic sentences, learning drills, conversation and pronunciation exercises, practice exercises, and words and expressions. The basic organization of the course is around the verb and verb phrase. The structure and vocabulary are cumulative; grammar is presented inductively. A small amount of grammar will be found in the text itself, mostly in the form of tables. The present and past tenses of the verb "be" and its use in the formation of the continuous plus the "going to" future and the present and past of other verbs, excluding modals, are the framework for the grammar. Other grammatical points are included but the basic objective is to have the student master fundamental verb structures. Tape recordings, workbooks, and a teacher's manual have been created to supplement the course. For Volume Two, see FL 002 497. (VM)