BA Chinese and Japanese

This is a beginner’s level language course which teaches the skills of reception (reading and listening), production (speaking and writing) in Mandarin Chinese, and translation of the material learned into English.

This course aims to:

• familiarize the students with the basics of spoken and written forms of the Chinese language
• emphasise on the listening and speaking system and consolidation of proper pronunciation of sounds and intonations unfamiliar to non-native Chinese speakers
• introduce more aspects of the basics of grammar and the writing system
• develop students’ communicative skills to be able to express themselves more freely in simple pair-work, group work, role-play, dialogue, drills and written expression

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• understand more basic structure of the Chinese language
• develop the basic communicative function of the language

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• read new Chinese words correctly according to its phonetic rules
• form phrases by combining the basic characters
• express themselves more freely in both spoken and written forms 

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• develop four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing
• master vocabulary, sentence patterns, grammar and discourse
• reach HSK 2 or above (CEF2) 

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• manage their time efficiently
• develop efficient Chinese keyboard entry skills
• use basic spoken and listening communication skills
• find the right help and support and learn how to learn
• explore Chinese culture and society

• Comments made during class discussion regarding the relevance and coherence of student responses/participation in discussion.
• Written comments on assessed coursework.
• Face to face discussion in private meetings during the office hours.
• Global feedback on the assignment (delivered orally in class, posted to blackboard as a hand-out, or by email to the class).

• Liu, Xun. 2002. A New Practical Chinese Reader (Textbook & Workbook), Book 2. Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press (set textbook). 

• Ma, Yanhua. 2011. Jump High: A Systematic Chinese Course (Intensive Reading and Workbook) Books 0 and 1. Beijing Language and Culture University Press (additional learning material) 

•  et al. 2007. Step by Step: Intensive Chinese Elementary (Reading & Writing, Characters and Speaking) Books 1 and 2. Beijing: Huayu Jiaoxue Press (additional learning material) 

• Handouts