BA Sociology and Chinese / Course details

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 proper pronunciation of sounds and intonations unfamiliar to non-native Chinese speakers
• introduce basics of grammar and the writing system
• develop students’ communicative skills to be able to express themselves 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 and express themselves in basic role-play and dialogue on everyday matters (for oral expression) 

•  use approximately 822 Chinese words and phrases (for written expression) 

•  about 370 will be basic characters which students must be able to identify and write 

•  about 452 will be phrases which students should be able to identify only

• read passages and write simple sentences to form a paragraph (100 characters), as well as translate those sentences into English 

• understand the basic structures 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 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 phonetics, vocabulary, sentence patterns, grammar and discourse
• Reach HSK 1 or above ( CEF1)

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

Feedback methods:

• 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 handout, or by email to the class)

• Liu, Xun. 2002. A New Practical Chinese Reader (Textbook & Workbook), Book 1. 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 

Exceptions to word processed assignments: The assessed coursework should be hand written.  

Language of Assessment: English and Chinese.

(pass mark of 40 required on first sitting; students who fail to meet this requirement may be required to change degree programme as outlined in the regulation here)