Enduring Understanding

After successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
1. Have a good mastery of the pinyin system so that they can pronounce and transcribe correctly all sounds used in modern standard Chinese;
2. Have a good command of basic strokes and the stroke-order for writing Chinese characters;
3. Read short and simple texts and write approximately 350 characters;
4. Master basic sentence patterns and use them to produce their own sentences;
5. Be able to conduct simple conversations.

 

 

Course Design

 

  • Lecture presentation.
  • Reading and interpretation of written material and in-class exercises, including discussion using that material.
  • Oral repetition to refine pronunciation.
  • Listening comprehension with tapes and DVDs.
  • In-class writing and translation drills.
  • Research project on cultural aspects of the Chinese-speaking-world.
  • Speech presentation, pair and group work about cultural aspects of China and other Mandarin-Chinese-speaking places and communities.
  • Film viewings and cultural discussions.


Additional Resources Needed


Required Textbooks:

 

Required Technology:

  • Computer that meets the minimum system requirements listed on the Live Classroom page
  • Internet connection (Broadband preferred)
  • Headset with microphone combination
  • E-mail account (recommended)
  • Printer
  • Scanner or access to a fax machine (Your school should have this available for you
  • DVD Player (in PC or consumer player)
  • Web camera for computer (recommended
  • Writing tablet (recommended)- (Genius Mouse Pen 8x6 - $50; Bamboo [Small] Pen tablet with pen only - $70 - from Amazon.com)

 

Content Topics

 

Introduction and Review

Review of Chinese 1 Topics

 

Unit 5

Text: Color, Clothing and Appearances

 

Unit 6

Text: Sports, Animals and Transportation

 

Unit 7

Text: Directions, Price and Languages

 

Unit 8

Text: Weather, Animals Body Parts and Comparisons

 

 

 

Key Skills

 

Listening

  • Listen to recordings of each lesson after studying the vocabulary list;
  • Do listening comprehension based on more mini-dialogues or solo narrations.

Speaking

  • Ask concrete, personal questions related to our daily lives. By stringing together short questions and answers, students will be able to construct their own mini-dialogues, practice in pairs or take turns asking or answering the questions;
  • Express own opinions on a number of topics in paragraph-length discourse

Reading comprehension

  • Read sentences the instructor provides; answer questions.
  • Read the short passage which is related to the lesson learned.
  • Read slightly modified authentic materials, such as a personal ad or movie listings.

Writing and Grammar

  • Clearly understand the important grammar points
  • Answer questions or complete sentences using specific grammatical forms.
  • Translate sentences or paragraphs given by the instructor.
  • Write simple compositions on daily topics after expressing orally.
  • Vocabulary quizzes.
  • Write statements based on information given in class by the instructor or induced by audio and audio visual materials.
  • Demonstrate correct character writing on Character workbook.
  • Write or read basic dialogues emphasizing cultural aspects of the Mandarin-Chinese-speaking-world.
  • Present one project related to Chinese culture.

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Assessments

 

  • Oral Presentation, class participation, and attendance: 25%
  • Homework and Projects: 30%
  • Quizzes: 20%
  • Midterm and Final Exam: 25%

 

 

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