Chinese (Mandarin) Advanced Course

Course aim

This course aims to help you with your listening, speaking, reading and writing skills but the main emphasis is on listening and speaking. You will have plenty of opportunities to listen to authentic materials from various sources, to present your work orally to the class and to work in groups to discuss topics which are of interest to you. You also have opportunities to develop your reading, writing and/or interpreting skills if that is relevant to your needs. You will develop good skills in comprehending, responding to and using formal and informal language in various social and work or study related settings. The courses cover key aspects of advanced grammar and vocabulary to develop both your accuracy and fluency in Chinese, while any errors with grammar or tones will be corrected sensitively with an emphasis on developing your ability to notice errors and self-correct. This course is delivered by the Language Centre

Method

The course is taught in Chinese and uses a range of materials, including A Kaleidoscope of China: An Advanced Reader of Modern Chinese and supplemented by additional materials from a wide range of sources. The course will be discussion based, with regular topical seminars. In addition to written texts, authentic audio and visual materials will also feature in the course in each of the three terms. Preparation for the class is highly recommended, and homework is set each week. You are expected to attend regularly, participate in class and complete homework regularly to ensure learning progress.

This will be achieved through 20 hours of blended learning: this is composed of 15 hours of online structured lessons with the teacher. This is supplemented by a minimum of 5 hours of guided independent learning supported by complementary material. The course objective will be achieved within the 10-week course.

Materials

The course is based on the textbook A Kaleidoscope of China: An Advanced Reader of Modern Chinese - Chih-p'ing Chou, Jungyu Wang, Joanne Chiang, Hua-Hui Wei - Google Books (ebook)

We recommend that you wait until your first class as your teacher will clarify if you need to purchase the textbook.
Course materials, if not supplied, are not included in the fee.

Entry requirements and progression route

This course is aimed at students who have completed the full Pre-Advanced Course (Chinese Pre-Advanced 1, 2, and 3) HSK 4 level (as a minimum) or 5, or equivalent (approximately 1200 hours of formal study). After completing Advanced 1, you can progress onto Advanced 2, and then Advanced 3.

Please note, that each term, courses are subject to quorum requirements.

For course dates and information, please see our timetables