Chinese 1 - The grammatical structures, vocabulary, pronunciation, tones, and writing system of Mandarin Chinese are presented together in an integrated, communication-oriented curriculum. College-level texts are used and some 400 characters and vocabulary items are learned by the end of Chinese 1. Both inside and outside the classroom, the speaking, listening, reading and writing of Chinese are reinforced through multimedia technology, cultural activities and projects.
Chinese 2 - Grammar patterns, vocabulary, good pronunciation and the learning of characters continue to be stressed. Students will now be familiar with most of the basic sentence patterns and will have doubled their vocabulary and character knowledge. Speaking and other productive language skills are stressed, while increasing cultural knowledge is approached through various media and contexts.
Chinese 2 (Honors) Requires departmental approval. Prerequisite: Excellence in Chinese 1 or equivalent. The curriculum will continue to build on students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills at an accelerated pace. Students are required to speak the target language in phrases and sentences whenever possible and understand sentences or strings of sentences when spoken to. Level appropriate literacy in reading and writing of Chinese characters is also required. Web-based online aural and oral training programs will be employed for speaking and listening comprehension training purposes. Occasionally, students will be expected to do independent research on projects using a hardcopy or online dictionary or other resources.
Chinese 3 - Speaking, listening, reading and writing continue in a communication-oriented classroom, while the reading of intermediate level texts, using a Chinese dictionary, begins. Increasing vocabulary and developing reading and decoding skills are primary goals, as is improving writing and composition ability. Students will be exposed to a wide variety of media and linguistic forms to broaden their familiarity and comfort with Chinese language and culture.
Chinese 3 (Honors) Requires departmental approval. Prerequisite: Excellence in Chinese 2 or Chinese 2 (Honors) or equivalent. This class is a pre-Advanced Placement-level course that reinforces students’ listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Students are required to speak the target language in strings of sentences and paragraphs when spoken to. Level appropriate literacy in reading and writing of Chinese characters is also required. Web-based online aural and oral training programs will be employed for speaking and listening comprehension training purposes. Students will be expected to do independent research on projects using a hardcopy or online dictionary or other resources.
Chinese 4 (AP) - Requires departmental approval. The AP Chinese Language and Culture course is designed to be comparable to fourth semester college/university courses in Mandarin Chinese (approx 250 hrs of college level classroom instruction). The goal of the course is to further develop communicative skills in Chinese across the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational), in preparation for the Advanced Placement Chinese exam. Students will read a wide variety of authentic texts ranging from works in the literary form to more colloquial and modern writings. Writing and composing in the presentational mode will take on a greater role, and as the AP exam is entirely internet based, students will be required to submit most of their written work and communications via computer. The AP exam also has sections evaluating listening and speaking, so the course will include a variety of activities to improve all of the communicative areas. Cultural knowledge and awareness is also a key component of the course. This course is open to students who have displayed strong ability in Chinese 3, or with the permission of the instructor.
Chinese 5 (Honors) Requires departmental approval. This course focuses on further enhancing students’ listening, speaking, reading and writing skills as burgeoning communication tools rather than as an academic subject matter. The class will use a student-centered and content-based pedagogical approach as well as be conducted entirely in the target language with authentic materials, which include a variety of well-known (con) texts of different genres, be it classical or modern, essential in understanding Chinese culture and sensitivity. Students are required to take ownership of this class through active participation in, and contribution to, all aspects of the curricular design, including material selection, homework and activity design, as well as performance assessment. In accordance to ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) guideline, students who successfully complete this class will reach the “advanced-low level of proficiency” both in speaking and writing the target language.
The Intellectual History of Ancient China This term course is designed to introduce various topics in Chinese history from antiquity up to the Tang dynasty (618-906 A.D.) The focus will be on the thinkers and writings that had the greatest impact on China’s political development and culture. We will examine the works of various philosophical traditions, such as Confucianism and Taoism, as well as literary and religious traditions. We will read primary works in translation and secondary materials on Chinese history and thought, from the time of Confucius (551-479 B.C) to the mid-Tang dynasty (8th century A.D.). We will place these ideas and developments in their historical context, and explore their meaning, past and present, through class discussion, essays and quizzes. A research paper will allow deeper study in a relevant topic of particular interest to the student. (Winter Term)
Introduction to Dao De Jing and Chinese Sound and Script This term course is designed to introduce basic Chinese orthography and pronunciation system through the reading of the seminal philosophical text Dao De Jing as translated by Ames and Hall in 2003. It is a foundation and preparatory course on Chinese culture and language for non-Chinese major students who are interested in learning aspects of Chinese language and culture, and/or upper formers who are interested in studying Chinese language, Asian studies, or general humanity subjects in college. This class is also suitable for Chinese students or Chinese- American students who wish to gain insights into their own heritage by reading Dao De Jing with English translation and Chinese in tandem. (Spring Term)