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Department of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia

Special Course in Chinese 1

Course Code:
155900828
Unit value:
1
Taught in:
Full Year
This course will run for two terms, three hours per week. It is a beginner’s course designed to provide a basic introduction to modern written and spoken Chinese. Students will benefit from training in all four language skills, ie. reading, writing, listening and speaking. The 50 most basic grammar patterns and some 400 Chinese characters will be introduced. Students are expected to master a vocabulary of up to 600 words at the end of the course. They will be able to understand and express themselves in simple, everyday situations.

Prerequisites

None

Objectives and learning outcomes of the course

This course will run for two terms, three hours per week. It is a beginner’s course designed to provide a basic introduction to modern written and spoken Chinese. Students will benefit from training in all four language skills, ie. reading, writing, listening and speaking. The 50 most basic grammar patterns and some 400 Chinese characters will be introduced. Students are expected to master a vocabulary of up to 600 words at the end of the course. They will be able to understand and express themselves in simple, everyday situations.

Workload

Total of 20 weeks teaching with 4 hours classroom contact per week.

Scope and syllabus

P C T’ung and D E Pollard: Colloquial Chinese, lessons 1-9 (simplified version)

Method of assessment

One three-hour written examination taken in May/June (50%); one oral/aural examination (20%); coursework submitted throughout the course (30%).

Suggested reading

P C T’ung and D E Pollard: Colloquial Chinese, lessons 1-9 (simplified version)
Character Text for Colloquial Chinese (SIMPLIFIED SCRIPT)