Chin 101 Fundamentals of Chinese Fall 2013 Class Time: Sec. 3 TuTh 10:00 am – 11:50 am Class Room: PH2 - 101; Call Number: 5253

Instructor: Xiaowen Wu Office: LA5-269
Office Phone: 562-985-4515 Instructor’s email: xiaowen.wu@csulb.edu
Office hours: TuTh 12:15 pm –1:45 pm or by appointment

Course Description:

Chin 101 is the first semester of a full-year course of elementary Chinese designed for non-native speakers. Students with prior knowledge of Chinese are not eligible for taking this course. It provides basic training in pronunciation, grammatical structures, commonly used expressions, character recognition and writing. It aims at developing students’ elementary level of communicative skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing, and knowledge of the Chinese language and culture as well.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the Chin 101, Chin 102 sequence, the students are expected to acquire:

1. The knowledge of the Chinese phonological system and grammar,
2. The ability to converse, read and write on simple topics related to students’ daily life,
3. The ability to command 250-300 words and approximately 150 characters,
4. The ability to type Chinese texts using a Chinese word-processor,
5. And to reach the language proficiency level of Novice Mid--based on the ACTFL’s (the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages) guidelines.

Course Outline:

(1) The class time will be used for lectures and activities.
(2) “Survival Chinese” will be taught in the first several weeks of the class.
(3) Afterwards, students will learn useful expressions and grammatical structures.
Approximately 14 lessons will be covered in the first semester.
(4) The teaching schedule and content may be changed based on students’ progress.
(5) Students are expected to preview each lesson (including grammar points and vocabulary) before class, complete the assigned homework and study the covered contents after class.
(6) Characters will not be practiced in class. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the Workbook, the computer aided multi-media learning software CyberChinese and Learning Chinese Online web page (see below).

Requirements:

Students are expected to (1) attend the class (all officially unexplained absences will be treated as “unexcused”); (2) review the grammar and memorize the vocabulary of each lesson before class; (3) finish the assigned preparation, language lab work, and homework on time; (4) take tests, mid-term and final and (5) participate in the class activities.

Textbooks:

(1) Practical Chinese Reader: Book 1 (Traditional character edition). Beijing Language Institute. Boston: Cheng & Tsui Company, 1990.

(2) Practical Chinese Reader I & II: Writing Workbook (Traditional character edition) edited by Teng, Shou-hsin. Boston: Cheng & Tsui Company, 1990.

(3) Chin 101 Study Guide and Homework (including character practice sheets and homework sheets), available online (http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/101/) or through the course Beachboard. Students should print the handouts and bring them to class.

Recommended Learning Tools:

Dictionary
• Concise English-Chinese/Chinese-English Dictionary. The Commercial Press & Oxford University Press, 1986.
Software
•Pinyin Master, by Professor Sanpao Li and Jeff Winters, available in LAB 306 (Language Art Building) • Cyber Chinese, by Professor Sanpao Li and Jeff Winters, available in LAB 306 • Penless Chinese software, installed in LAB 306. It can also be downloaded from http://www.penlesschinese.org/download.html
Web site •Chinese 101 class page (http:/www.csulb.edu/~txie/101) •Learning Chinese online