Introduces Mandarin Chinese: Chinese characters, Pinyin transcriptions, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and listening/speaking skills. Covers basic conversational skills. Presents Chinese culture.
Goals, Topics, and Objectives
CHN-130 is designed to enable students to reach the Novice Low level on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency scale, focusing on language learning through communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities.
- Greetings, introductions, and farewells
- Language structure
- Chinese phonetic (Pinyin) system:
- Simple finals
- Initials
- Compound finals
- Chinese tones
- Chinese writing systems
- Formation of Chinese characters
- Basic Chinese Radicals
- Basic strokes
- Stroke order
- Grammar
- Verbs: (a)The word “last name” (xing姓) used as a verb, (b) To be, (c) You(有), in the sense of “to have” or “to possess”, (d) You (有), in the sense of “to exist”
- Pronouns: As modifiers or possessives when used with the particle de (的)
- Adjectives
- Adverbs: Very, also, and both/all (hen很, ye也, and dou都)
- Negations bu & mei (不/没)
- Interrogatives: (a) Questions ending with ma（吗）, (b) Questions ending with ne（呢）, (c) Questions with interrogative pronouns (three of the five W’s ---What (shenme什么), How many (ji 几) & Who (shei谁)
- Measure words
- Word order
- Vocabulary
- Narration
- Typing Chinese characters on a computer
- Numbers
- Geography of Chinese-speaking countries
- Chinese culture
- Use appropriate greetings, introductions, and farewells
- Describe basic elements of the Chinese language structure
- Read, spell, and pronounce the phonetic symbols Pinyin in Chinese
- Distinguish the differences between the four tones in Chinese
- Demonstrate correct stroke order when writing Chinese characters
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge of Chinese grammar
- Compare and contrast Chinese and English word order
- Recognize and write approximately 100 Chinese characters in simplified form
- Construct sentences and paragraphs with vocabulary learned in Pinyin or in characters
- Use computer-based technology to write Chinese characters
- Demonstrate knowledge of the formation of Chinese numbers and be able to write and articulate Chinese numbers up to 9999
- Identify countries and major geographical features of the Chinese-speaking world and be able to locate major cities in Mainland China on map
- Describe elements of Chinese culture that differ from the U.S. norm
Note: A grade of C- is not transferable and is not accepted by some programs at HFC.
Assessment and Requirements
Assessment of academic achievement will be identified and implemented by the class instructor. Methods will include, but not be limited to:
- Participation
- Weekly/regular quizzes
- Homework assignments
- Chapter/unit tests
- Oral/receptive-expressive exam(s)
- Midterm/final exam
All sections of this level will use a textbook (and any accompanying materials) selected by the course coordinator and approved by the World Languages Committee.
Outcomes
- Humanities and Fine Arts
- Humanities