Mandarin Chinese Beginner Syllabus

Mandarin Chinese Beginner Instructor: Xin (Eric) Liu

Course: Wang Fang., Wang Feng., & Liu Liping. 汉语水平考试标准教程 HSK Standard Course. ISBN: 978-7-5619-3709-9. Published by Beijing Language and Culture University Press.

All other additional materials (including authentic materials) will be provided by the instructor in class based on the content of the lessons. Mandarin Chinese language input needs to be installed on computer in order to practice typing Chinese.

Objectives: Mandarin Chinese beginner course is designed for learners with no previous knowledge of the language or culture. This course integrates listening, speaking, reading and writing in real-life scenarios to provide learners the linguistic and cultural knowledge of the target culture. By the end of the beginner course, learners will be able to undertake linguistic tasks such as greetings, asking for time and directions, self-introduction and introducing others, talking about weather, talking about hobbies and food, etc. in the basic linguistic forms of the target language.

Schedule:

Week 1 (拼音&声调) the basic pinyin system and tones will be introduced, and the differences between the Chinese and English phonological systems will be compared through practices. 

Week 2 (部首&笔画) the writing system (Chinese characters) will be introduced through the introduction of basic character radicals and the radical orders.

Week 3 (你好) greetings & basic personal pronouns, and review the pinyin and tones through practices on common words.

Week 4 (谢谢你) thank you, you are welcome, numbers & basic classroom phrases in Chinese.

Week 5 (你叫什么名字) ask for names, nationality and occupation through the introduction of the basic sentence structure with 是/不是.

Week 6 (他是我的汉语老师) personal pronouns, the interrogative pronouns 谁/哪, the structural particle 的 and the interrogative particle 呢.