Chinese Classes:
Speak Chinese I Speak Chinese II Speak Chinese III
Speak Chinese I
Semester: Fall 2008
Pre-requisite(s) (if any): none
Catalog description:
This course is designed as introduction to modern Chinese for speakers of English with no previous knowledge of the language. It will be offered in two separate parts of 7 weeks each and focus primarily on developing and enhancing students’ listening and speaking abilities. After taking both parts of this course, students will be able to produce correct pronunciations of the sounds of modern standard Chinese including its four tones, master the usage of 300 of the most frequently used words, write approximately 100 characters, make use of about 30 sentence patterns, and carry simple conversations on daily topics. In addition, through cultural notes and other contextual material the course will enrich students’ knowledge about modern Chinese culture and its traditions.
This course does not assume any previous knowledge of Chinese. It is ideally suited to the needs of college students, professionals, and members of the community with an interest in Chinese language and culture. Part II of the course is open to students with Chinese language background as well as anyone who has already acquired basic Chinese proficiency and would like to continue learning Chinese.
Instructor: Ms. Li Dongmei, visiting instructor of Chinese from Jilin University
Office: Scott Hall 222
Office Phone: (732) 932-7985
Office Hours: TBA
Email: dongmei@rci.rutgers.edu
Course Dates:
Part I: September 3 – October 17, 2008
Part II: October 27 – December 19, 2008
Type of meetings weekly (hours): 4 hours/week
Lecture: X Recitation: X Laboratory: Other: Evening class
Meeting Time:
MW 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Place: TBA
Course Text: Wu, Zhongwei, ed. Contemporary Chinese 1 (Beijing: Sinolingua, 2003; ISBN7-80052-880-4)
Tentative Semester Schedule:
Part I (9/3-10/15/2008)
Week |
Date |
Textbook |
Content |
1 |
9/3 |
Rumen 0.1 |
Chinese Phonetics |
2 |
9/8 |
Rumen 0.2 |
Common greetings; names; nationalities |
9/10 |
Rumen 0.3 |
“What” questions; difficult sounds; the neutral tone |
|
3 |
9/15 |
Rumen 0.4 |
“Where” questions; tone sandhi; Chinese characters & their origin |
9/17 |
Rumen 0.5 |
Asking a price; measure words; continued work on pronunciation |
|
4 |
9/22 |
Rumen 0.6 |
Days of the week; production & function of retroflex |
9/24 |
Rumen 0.7 |
Dates (year, month, day); quiz on pronunciation & Chinese characters |
|
5 |
9/29 |
Lesson 1 |
Asking each other’s names, nationalities, etc. |
10/1 |
Cont. |
||
6 |
10/6 |
Lesson 2 |
Introducing oneself & others |
10/8 |
Cont. |
||
7 |
10/13 |
|
Review |
10/15 |
Final Exam |
Part 2 (10/27-12/17/2008)
Week |
Date |
Textbook |
Content |
1 |
10/27 |
Lesson 3 |
Talking about family, age, etc. |
10/29 |
|
Cont. |
|
2 |
11/3 |
Lesson 4 |
Making requests |
11/5 |
|
Cont. |
|
3 |
11/10 |
Lesson 5 |
Shopping |
11/12 |
|
Cont. |
|
4 |
11/17 |
Lesson 6 |
Making plans; making an invitation, etc. |
11/19 |
|
Cont. |
|
|
11/25 |
No classes. Thanksgiving Recess |
|
11/27 |
|||
5 |
12/1 |
Lesson 7 |
Planning a trip; expressing worry; describing a person |
12/3 |
|
Cont. |
|
6 |
12/8 |
Lesson 8 |
Asking for directions |
12/10 |
|
Cont. |
|
7 |
12/15 |
|
Review |
12/17 |
Final Exam |
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Speak Chinese II
Semester: Fall 2008
Pre-requisite(s) (if any): Chinese level I or equivalent
Catalog description:
This course, offered in two separate segments of seven weeks each, is aimed at advanced beginning students of Chinese who have taken Speak Chinese I or have equivalent proficiency in the language. It is designed to develop students’ mastery of the Chinese language in all four language skills including speaking, listening, reading, and writing. On completion of the course, students will be able to use idiomatically ca. 800 basic words, engage in simple daily conversations, express their own opinions and needs using circumlocution or substitution, and construct sentences of greater complexity. In addition, students will be able to read simple written texts related to their studies and everyday situations, understand the overall meaning of such texts, and distinguish essential information from extraneous details. They will be able to compose short texts of paragraph-length on familiar topics. The course is also designed to further strengthen students’ interest and confidence in learning Chinese, broaden their knowledge of Chinese culture, heighten their awareness of cultural differences, and foster their ability to function adequately in an international environment.
Students who intend to take Speak Chinese II should have learned Chinese for at least half a year to one year, are able to use 300 to 500 words, and can make themselves understood in Chinese in a range of social situations.
Instructor: Ms. Li Dongmei, visiting instructor of Chinese from Jilin University
Office: Scott Hall 222
Office Phone: (732) 932-7985
Office Hours: TBA
Email: dongmei@rci.rutgers.edu
Course Dates:
Part I: September 2 – October 16, 2008
Part II: October 28 – December 18, 2008
Type of meetings weekly (hours): 4 hours/week
Lecture: X Recitation: X Laboratory: Other: Evening class
Meeting Time:
TTh 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Place: TBA
Course Text: Wu, Zhongwei, ed. Contemporary Chinese 2 (Beijing: Sinolingua, 2003; ISBN: 7-80052-902-9)
Tentative Semester Schedule:
Part I (9/2-10/16/2008)
Week |
Date |
Textbook |
Content |
1 |
9/2 |
Lesson 1 |
Talking about experiences & change |
9/4 |
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2 |
9/9 |
Lesson 2 |
Talking about health & illness |
9/11 |
|||
3 |
9/16 |
Lesson 3 |
Asking where, when, and how an action took place |
9/18 |
|||
4 |
9/23 |
Lesson 4 |
Expressing praise & good wishes |
9/25 |
|||
5 |
9/30 |
Lesson 5 |
Talking about the weather |
10/2 |
|||
6 |
10/7 |
Lesson 6 |
Talking about home |
10/8 |
|||
7 |
10/14 |
|
Review |
10/16 |
Final Exam |
Part 2 (10/28-12/18/2008)
Week |
Date |
Textbook |
Content |
1 |
10/28 |
Lesson 7 |
Talking about studying |
10/30 |
|||
2 |
11/4 |
Lesson 8 |
Making a schedule of activities, buying tickets, etc. |
11/6 |
|||
3 |
11/11 |
Lesson 9 |
Renting a room or apartment |
11/13 |
|||
4 |
11/18 |
Lesson 10 |
Talking about leisure culture & sports |
11/20 |
|||
|
11/26 |
No classes. Thanksgiving Recess |
|
11/28 |
|||
5 |
12/2 |
Lesson 11 |
Expressing blame |
12/4 |
|||
6 |
12/9 |
Lesson 12 |
Expressing disappointment; comforting someone |
12/11 |
|||
7 |
12/16 |
|
Review |
12/18 |
Final Exam |
||
Semester: Fall 2008
Pre-requisite(s) (if any): Chinese level II or equivalent
Catalog description:
This course is intended for intermediate to advanced students of Chinese. It is designed to further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities with particular emphasis on conversational skills and strategies. After taking this course, students will be able to use ca. 1500 common words and expressions, initiate and sustain conversations on a variety of topics, understand texts on a wide range of subjects, discuss and debate various common topics, support their opinions with well formulated reasons, and express intelligibly their position and attitudes toward a subject, including their own work and area of specialization. They will also be able to form complex sentences and compose texts comprising several paragraphs. In addition, students will deepen their knowledge of Chinese culture, understand how the meaning and usage of certain words have changed over time, and can relate the emergence of new words to the massive transformation that has taken place in the life of ordinary Chinese over the last three decades.
Students intending to take Speak Chinese III should have learned Chinese for at least one and half to two years, have mastered the usage of 800 to 1,000 frequently used words, and are able to engage in conversations on a variety of topics in a clear and coherent manner.
Instructor: Ms. Li Dongmei, visiting instructor of Chinese from Jilin University
Office: Scott Hall 222
Office Phone: (732) 932-7985
Office Hours: TBA
Email: dongmei@rci.rutgers.edu
Course Dates:
Part I: September 5 – October 17, 2008
Part II: October 31 – December 19, 2008
Type of meetings weekly (hours): 2 hours/week
Lecture: X Recitation: X Laboratory: Other: Evening class
Meeting Time:
F 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Place: TBA
Course Text: Wu, Zhongwei, ed. Contemporary Chinese 3 (Beijing: Sinolingua, 2003; ISBN: 7-80052-918-5)
Tentative Semester Schedule:
Part I (9/5-10/17/08)
Week |
Date |
Textbook |
Content |
1 |
9/5 |
Lesson 1 |
Review of advanced Chinese grammar: ba-sentence; shi … de construction |
2 |
9/12 |
||
3 |
9/19 |
Lesson 2 |
Review of advanced Chinese grammar: use of shei, shenme, etc. in conjunction with dou, ye, or bu |
4 |
9/26 |
||
5 |
10/3 |
Lesson 3 |
Review of advanced Chinese grammar: use of sentence patterns ji … you …, you … you, and yibian … yibian, etc. |
6 |
10/10 |
||
7 |
10/17 |
|
Final Exam |
Part 2 (10/31-12/19/08)
Week |
Date |
Textbook |
Content |
1 |
10/31 |
Lesson 4 |
Advanced Chinese grammar: rhetorical questions in Chinese |
2 |
11/7 |
||
3 |
11/14 |
Lesson 5 |
Advanced Chinese grammar: use of zhao and liao as complements |
4 |
11/21 |
||
|
11/28 |
No class. Thanksgiving Recess |
|
5 |
12/5 |
Lesson 6 |
Advanced Chinese grammar: expressing an approximate value; reduplication of verbs |
6 |
12/12 |
||
7 |
12/19 |
|
Final Exam |
