Dr Hua Xiang CMK.C516

Available as an outside option to all undergraduate and General Course students. Students can take this course in any year of their studies following approval from the teacher responsible and subject to their own programme regulations.

No previous knowledge of Mandarin is required; students with limited prior knowledge may be considered for the course subject to an interview with the course co-ordinator.

Beginners to intermediate study of the Mandarin language within the framework of social sciences and culture. In a dynamic and communicative way the course develops all four language skills (i.e. speaking, listening, reading and writing) through individual and group work, topical discussions, authentic and multi-media materials. The focus is on accuracy as well as communication that advance students’ language competence, transferable skills and cultural awareness. In this level, the students are required to read and write up to 750 Chinese characters.

60 hours of classes in the MT. 60 hours of classes in the LT. 24 hours of classes in the ST.

Six hours per week (144 hours in total), which will feature: (a) interactive topical work; (b) oral practice; (c) grammar and vocabulary work; (d) tutorials; and (e) guided study using IT and web-based materials.

The students will be required to complete weekly exercises. This includes grammar activities, writing Chinese characters and online communicative materials.

CH Xiang, 2010, Mastering Chinese, London. Palgrave Macmillan.

X Liu (ed.), 2006, New Practical Chinese Reader, Vol. 1, text book and workbook,  Beijing. Beijing Language and Cultural University Press.

Y Po-Ching & D Rimmington, 2002, Beginners Chinese – A Grammar and Workbook, Routledge.

Oxford Chinese Dictionary, 2010, Oxford Dictionaries.

Exam (60%, duration: 3 hours) in the main exam period.
Oral examination (20%) in the ST.
Continuous assessment (20%) in the MT and LT.