CHNS110 Elementary Chinese I
Department of Language & Literature: Chinese
- I. Course Number and Title
- CHNS110 Elementary Chinese I
- II. Number of Credits
- 3 credits
- III. Number of Instructional Minutes
- 2250
- IV. Prerequisites
- None
- Corequisites
- None
- V. Other Pertinent Information
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Students are expected to spend between six and nine hours per week outside of class in activities, such as learning vocabulary, reading, completing written exercises, working on pronunciation, preparing oral presentations, and working with the multimedia files that accompany the text.
This course meets the General Education requirement in Arts/Humanities.
This course meets the General Education requirement in Diversity. - VI. Catalog Course Description
- In this course students learn the basics of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Chinese. Oral proficiency, correct pronunciation, listening comprehension, and grammatical accuracy are all stressed, as well as the cultural and historical backgrounds of Chinese-speaking countries.
- VII. Required Course Content and Direction
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Course Learning Goals
Students will:
- acquire and demonstrate an elementary degree of competence in the four language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing [Arts/Humanities];
- recognize and respond appropriately to most common spoken situations;
- analyze some basic Chinese texts;
- demonstrate basic mastery of written Chinese; and
- explain some common aspects of life in Chinese-speaking countries [Diversity].
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Planned Sequence of Topics and/or Learning Activities
Grammatical topics, phonetics, vocabulary, and conversation:
The pronunciation of Mandarin -- Pinyin and its spelling rules
Tones and articulation of tones
The Chinese writing system and its development
Structure of Chinese characters and basic strokes
Word order
Creating compound words
Interrogative pronouns
Oral practice, pattern drill, and dialogue exerciseVocabulary and social contexts:
Greetings, numbers, describing oneself
The family
Classroom expressions
Asking for directions
Occupation and nationalityCultural contexts:
History of the Chinese language
Geography and history of the Chinese-speaking world
China, Hong-Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore and its historical significance
Chinese cultural festivals, traditions, and legends
Chinese historical stories and important figures
Chinese manners and customs -
Assessment Methods for Course Learning Goals
Students will:
- take frequent quizzes and chapter tests;
- complete homework, such as short compositions and grammatical exercises;
- perform listening comprehension exercises;
- participate in oral interviews and/or presentations that assess proficiency levels; and
- complete short essay questions on tests and quizzes relating to cultural practices in the Chinese-speaking world, especially in contrast to the United States.
Quizzes and tests taken in class include the cultural topics presented in the course. Students articulate similarities and differences in the various cultures of the world and demonstrate familiarity with the skills necessary to make informed judgments.
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Reference, Resource, or Learning Materials to be used by Student:
Students use text, workbook, and multimedia resources of first-year proficiency-based Chinese program. See course syllabus.
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Approval / Revision Date: Approved 5/1999; Revised 10/2011; New Core 8/2015