"Ouvertures" uses culture as the organizing principle to its communicative approach in the teaching of speaking, reading, listening, and writing. It offers content-based instruction where a cultural theme serves as a unifying element within each chapter. It also promotes a contrastive approach to culture that encourages (self-)exploration rather than judgments. And, finally, "Ouvertures" seeks to provide a manageable amount of material while paying thorough and appropriately distributed attention to all five skills.