Prospectus

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Chinese - Beginners

Course
2012-2013

Tag(s)

GC

Admission Requirements

Similarly tagged 200-level and 300-level courses. Students that do not meet this prerequisite should contact the instructor regarding the required competencies before course allocation.

Description

This course aims at the development of communicative skills, with a special focus on listening and speaking skills. The introduction of cultural knowledge about China and its people is an integral part of the course.

Course Objectives

This is a elementary course, that will be followed by a course in the second semester. The two courses together form an integrated basic language course. At the end of the learning period, the learner will be able to understand basic Chinese sentence structures and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate practical and interculturalrelevance (e.g. exchange of personal and family information, addressing others, shopping, local geography, etc.).

  • Learners will acquire communicative skills enabling them to converse about simple and routine matters. They will be able to describe aspects of their personal backgrounds, immediate environments and other matters in areas of immediate need in simple terms. (roughly corresponding to CEFR A1 level, A2 after the second course)

  • Learners will be able to read and understand short, simple texts on familiar matters containing the highest frequency vocabulary. (roughly corresponding to CEFR A1 level, A2 after the second course) Learners will be familiar with cultural aspects of everyday life in China.

  • Learners will be able to write 400 Chinese simplified characters (800 after the second course). They will be able to write very simple phrases and sentences about everyday aspects of their environment in linked sentences, take notes of personal information, and compose a simple advertisement. (roughly corresponding to CEFR A1 level)

  • Learners will acquire 450 (900-950 after the second course) vocabulary items. After the second course
    learners will master basic Chinese grammar constructions and expressions, which is sufficient for
    basic daily conversation.

Mode of Instruction

The teaching method will be based on communicative-oriented approach, with strong focus on pronunciation and speaking fluency.

Assessment

TBA

Literature

Ding Anqi, Lily Jing, Xin Chen. 2010. Discover China Student’s book one. UK: Macmillan Education.

Betty Hung. 2010. Discover China Workbook book one. UK: Macmillan Education.

Recommended Reading:

Claudia Ross, Jing-heng Sheng Ma. 2006. Modern Mandarin Chinese
Grammar. London: Routledge. (ISBN: 0-415-70010-8)

Contact Information

N/A

Weekly Overview

As this is a general language course, all language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) will be dealt with every week.

Preparation for first session

N/A