Course Outline:

This course is for those with very little or no knowledge of Mandarin. Students will learn to understand, express and read simple words and phrases and take part in straightforward conversation. The aim is to introduce you to the basic linguistic skills and culture necessary for you to communicate simply but effectively. After completing this course students will be able to identify the alphabet/characters and basic sounds/tones, pronounce competently some vocabulary, expressions, intonations and pronunciations, be able to communicate using basic sentences, interrogatives and requests, have some basic grammatical concepts: nouns, adjectives and verbs and sentence structure, have some basic reading skills, be able to appreciate the Chinese culture and have confidence in using basic forms of the Mandarin language.

Students will also learn how to identify and read alphabet, script and characters confidently, converse using negatives and questions, exchange information in a variety of familiar situations, have better fluency in conversation, have a more extensive vocabulary content, gain better learning skills and strategies for language acquisition and have a better knowledge of the country, and its culture and customs. In each session there will be great emphasis given to pronunciation (in groups and pairs), which will enhance one’s fluency for communicating in Mandarin. Additional materials may be used in the classroom (music, video, etc.) where available and where suitable for the needs of the class.

Topics include

• Alphabet/Characters – Identification and Pronunciation (vowels, consonants, tones in words and structures).
• Greetings (meeting people) - Introducing and describing yourself and others.
• Asking and responding: your and someone’s name; country of origin; your well being (for example ‘how are you?’ ‘where are you from?’ or 'what’s your name?').
• Using basic communicative expressions in formal and familiar forms
• Small talk – idioms
• Time – time of the day, days of the week, months; birthdays
• Numbers – For example telephone number, address, money, age
• Cultural Perspective – geography, demography, and social customs
• Practice – Some language learning/study strategies
• Greetings and describing yourself and others, professions, finding out more about somebody
• Restaurants – ordering food, drinks etc.
• Directions
• Likes and dislikes, hobbies, activities, negatives, agreeing and disagreeing, personal opinions, social life, daily activities and routines, family and friends
• Grammar practice, pronouns, possessives, demonstratives, present and past time relations, singular and plural
• Practice, dialogues in formal and informal context – role plays, strategies for language learning, reading text

Please Bring:

For Linda's FACE TO FACE Class:

• Easy Steps to CHINESE ( SIMPLIFIED CHARACTERS VERSION) by Yamin Ma and Xinying Li. There are two books one is TEXTBOOK and another is WORKBOOK. They are published by BEIJING LANGUAGE AND UNIVERSITY. The students will be able to purchase on line for example Bookdepository, Amazon or from Abbey Book Store in the city. Ordering on line is much cheaper than from Abbey's.
• Notepad and pen