Mandarin Chinese : Beginner

Course Description

This beginner-level course is suitable for individuals with no prior knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. The course covers Chinese phonetic systems, including Pin-yin or Taiwanese Mandarin Phonetic system ㄓㄨˋ ㄧㄣ, basic vocabulary, and grammar in Chinese. Suggested Learning Hours: 90 - 100 Hours The course places greater emphasis on oral drills and listening comprehension, and also covers various aspects of Chinese culture and history, such as the origins of Chinese characters and idioms. By the middle of the course, you should be able to: 1. Build a solid foundation in pronunciation. 2. Demonstrate the ability to use basic sentence structures of Modern Chinese in both speaking and writing. 3. Engage in basic conversational interactions. 4. Master 600 characters, 1272 words, and 129 important grammar points (for the new Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) stream); or master 504 characters, 804 words, 13 affixes, and 107 grammar points (for the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) stream). The course aims to develop your audio-lingual proficiency and enhance your reading and writing skills. Upon completion, you should be able to converse with Chinese speakers and present speeches on assigned topics. Learning Outcomes: 1. Speak accurately, clearly, and fluently. 2. Deliver short speeches on given topics. 3. Distinguish sounds and tones and comprehend short sentences. 4. Read extra reading materials provided for lessons, including short passages on different topics for training in reading comprehension. 5. Achieve HSK Level 3: Master 900 characters, 2245 words, and 210 important grammar points; or achieve TOCFL Level 3: Master 801 characters, 1265 words, 25 affixes, and 241 grammar points.