Description:

Develops basic functional language ability in spoken and written Chinese. Students practice sounds and tones, vocabulary, and grammatical constructions. Students learn both traditional and simplified characters and practice using Chinese in authentic situations.

Outcomes:

After completing this class, students should be able to:

• Identify thirty action words. For instance, go, come, see, eat or drink. In a vocabulary quiz listing ten such action words, students will be able to translate eight of them correctly.
• Write Chinese character equivalents of those action words. In a vocabulary test students will be able to correctly write eight out of ten of these characters.
• Demonstrate an understanding of a short passage on an everyday topic and be able to summarize the main points of the passage with eighty per cent accuracy. For example, after listening to a passage on the geography of China, they will recognize references to Beijing and the local topography.
• Demonstrate an understanding of a passage spoken by a classmate and summarize the main points of that talk. For example, they will be able to write where someone comes from, what their major is and what their family composition is.
• Present a two minute speech in Chinese and convey ten facts about themselves with eighty percent accuracy.
• Read a passage written in Chinese characters about someone’s background and answer questions designed to test their comprehension. For example, the passage might explain someone’s daily schedule and listeners will answer questions about the passage with eighty percent accuracy.
• Use a Chinese word processor and write a passage that has fewer than four errors.
• Compose a calligraphic work of their own choosing in manuscript form and instructor will judge that work after traditional aesthetic principles.