Designed to help students reach an intermediate level of Chinese proficiency in speaking, listening, reading and writing in cultural context. Students will be able to describe and present at paragraph length and understand pedagogically prepared and authentic materials.
Beginning Chinese introduces Hanyu Pinyin, the international system of phonetic spelling for Mandarin Chinese, and explores the four tones of the language. It teaches the fundamentals of pronunciation, vocabulary and basic grammar necessary for building skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Basic Chinese
Whether you want to travel to China or just communicate with Chinese people, learning basic Chinese is an essential first step. In this course, you will learn the most important words and phrases for survival and interacting in Chinese.
You will also learn how to write these words using a system called pinyin, which uses the same alphabet as English, but adds markings above letters that represent their tones. This is because spoken Chinese is a tonal language, meaning that changes in the pitch of your voice when you pronounce a syllable can completely change its meaning! For example, (“Ni Hao”) means “you good” in pinyin.
Lastly, you will learn how to use a few simple grammatical rules that will help make your Chinese sound more natural. For example, you will learn how to express agreement and questions, as well as how to introduce yourself and others. You will also learn how to address your boss (, lao ban) and coworkers (, yuan gong). This is important because it shows respect for your superiors and indicates that you are willing to work hard. There are more information that you can learn on this at tutor lingua cinese.
Intermediate Chinese
A continuation of conversational skills with more challenging and varied topics. Focus on pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar essentials as well as cultural knowledge.
In this course, you will learn how to express yourself in everyday situations using Mandarin Chinese. You’ll be able to ask directions, order food in a restaurant and discuss your day-to-day life. You’ll also be able to read basic Chinese characters and use them in conversations with native speakers.
At this level, you’ll start to develop a deeper understanding of the structure of Chinese through the introduction of more complex grammar points and vocabulary. You’ll also begin to understand more of the culture in China through various video and media materials. The course will help you build your foundation of grammatical skills, which are key to progressing in the language. You’ll also practice your new Chinese skills through interactive videos based on authentic Chinese stories. All videos are available in both traditional and simplified Chinese.
Advanced Chinese
At the advanced level, students step beyond pedagogically prepared materials and begin incorporating authentic readings and listening materials into their study. The emphasis in this stream is on developing the student’s ability to use higher-level grammar to discuss complex social and cultural topics. Supplementary Chinese movies, songs and proverbs are also used to help the students develop their linguistic, cultural and writing skills.
Students are able to communicate with a degree of spontaneity on a variety of topics. They can write essays and short passages in Chinese based on research and analysis of various cultural topics. They can also read and discuss advanced-level articles written in the Chinese language.
Chinese Custom: The course is intended to increase students’ understanding of China’s society, culture and tradition through reading and appreciation of Chinese contemporary literary works. It improves students’ capability of journalistic reading by teaching them the skills to skim, scan, guess, generalize and evaluate a newspaper article.
Traveling Chinese
The ability to communicate with locals is an incredibly rewarding part of travel, and knowing even just some Chinese phrases is the best way to break down this communication barrier. Learning these simple words and phrases, along with their pronunciation and slang, should be an important aspect of your trip planning process, regardless of where in the world you’re going!
It’s crucial to remember that speaking a language comes from imitation, so listening and reading will be the most important skills to focus on first. It’s also good to practice repeating vocabulary associated with traveling, such as food and hotel terms.
Fortunately, there are many resources available for travelers interested in learning Chinese. SRS apps, like Anki and uTalk, can provide an excellent platform for reviewing basic Chinese phrases, and Mandarin podcasts are an invaluable source of listening practice. Graded readers, aimed at non-native speakers, are another great option for stepping up your reading skills.