Courses

Status

Open

Estimated Completion Time

2 segments/36 weeks

Overview

Come and join various native speakers of Mandarin Chinese as they give you a lively introduction to the language and its rich culture. Join them in their everyday environment as they take you through different daily scenarios and give you the necessary skills to read, write and speak Chinese.

In this course you will learn the basic Chinese language. After one semester, you will be able to engage in conversation in Chinese including greeting people, introducing yourself to others, and exchanging basic information with others. You will be able to count from 1 to 1000, and make simple sentences in both spoken and written Chinese. You will also learn 160 “magical” Chinese characters, and use them on a variety of topics. As you walk through the units with us step by step, you will get to know not only the language itself, but also the culture where the language takes place and keeps developing.

At the very beginning, we will start by introducing you to a general knowledge of Pinyin, Mandarin Chinese, Chinese dialects, and Chinese characters.

Course Requirements

Besides engaging students in challenging curriculum, VLACS guides students to reflect on their learning and to evaluate their progress through a variety of assessments. Assessments can be in the form of self-checks and practice problems, worksheets, assignments, oral assessments, pre-tests and practice tests, quizzes, discussions, hands-on activities, and module and semester exams. Instructors evaluate progress and provide interventions through the variety of assessments built into a course, as well as through contact with the student in other venues.

Major Topics and Concepts

Segment 1

Vocabulary
- Greetings
- Nationalities
- Numbers 1-1000
- Family Vocabulary
- Introductions (names, age, address)
- Roads and Streets
- Pets
- Talking about Friends
- Telling Time
- Calendar (Days of the week, months, year)
- Seasons
- Holidays and Celebrations
Culture
- Major Cities in China
- Chinese Names
- Chinese Families
- Chinese Zodiac
- Chinese Festivals
Grammar
- Chinese Characters
- Pinyin
- Basic Sentence Structure
- Forming negations
- Verbs: jiào, y?u, hái, xing
- Prepositions

Segment 2

Vocabulary
- Food and drinks
- Table settings
- Colors
- Clothes
- Hobbies, games, and sports
- Directions
- Making appointments
- Ordinal Numbers
- Another way to state the days of the week
- Art
- Movies
- Music Instruments
- Business
- Asking and describing prices and brands
- Currencies
- Electric Appliances
Culture
- Chinese Cuisine
- 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
- Traditional Chinese Art
- Chinese Movies, actors and colors
- Chinese Companies and Products
- Shopping in China
Grammar
- Describing people and things (adjectives)
- How to state likes and dislikes
- Verbs: able to, can, háishi (had better), guò (action happened)
- Forming Questions
- Measure words
- Expressions: hé…yiq?(together with), néngbùnéng (could you?), zuì x?hu?n( like…the most)
- Adverbs
- Possessives or properties (de)

Credits 1

Competency Group Overview

Meets elective credit

Competencies

Personal Pronouns, Two Digit Number, and Adjectives
Students will demonstrate an understanding of personal pronouns, two digit numbers, and adjectives by comprehending and communicating in written and spoken Chinese on topics such as formal and informal greetings and introductions and personal descriptions.
The Basic Chinese Sentence Structure, Likes and Dislikes, and Adverbs
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the basic Chinese sentence structure, likes and dislikes, and adverbs by comprehending and communicating in written and spoken Chinese on topics such as foods and going to a restaurant.
Plural and Possessive Pronouns, Adverbs and Date
Students will demonstrate an understanding of plural and possessive pronouns, adverbs, and the date by comprehending and communicating in written and spoken Chinese on topics such as family, family events, personal descriptions, and place or origin.
Expressing Needs and Wants, Ability and Capability (会, 能, 可以), and Time
Students will demonstrate an understanding of expressing needs and wants, ability and capability(会, 能, 可以) and time by comprehending and communicating in written and spoken Chinese on topics such as school subjects, activities, and schedules.
Location and Position, Uses of 有 and 要
Students will demonstrate an understanding of location and position, uses of 有, and 要 comprehending and communicating in written and spoken Chinese on topics such as types of home, rooms, furniture, and chores.
Use of 过 to Express Past Experience, Question Formation, and Use of 吧 to Suggest
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the use of 过 to express past experience, question formation, and use of 吧 to suggest by comprehending and communicating in written and spoken Chinese on topics such as entertainment, recreation, transportation, and places in the community.

Pre-Requisites

None

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Mandarin Chinese 1