MANDARIN

MANDARIN

Level 1

MN 1001 - MANDARIN CHINESE FOR BEGINNERS 1
Credit Points
15
Course Coordinator
Dr G Sharman

Pre-requisites

None. 

Notes

Please note, this course is designed for beginners to Mandarin and is not available to native speakers.

Overview

This course aims to familiarize students with the basics of spoken and written forms of Mandarin Chinese. Emphasis will be placed first on speaking and listening, particularly pronunciation and tones. The written form will be presented first through the medium of pinyin and gradually students will be introduced to a small number of to the most high frequency characters. The emphasis will be on dialogue and role play.

Structure

3 one-hour classes per week; 1 tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (40%);
Course Work - Language exercises (60%).

Resit: Examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Course work (60%).

2 formative assessments of different aspects of written Chinese language, 1 formative assessment of aural Chinese language, and 1 formative assessment of oral Chinese language.

Feedback

The above assessments are given CAS marks, and written or verbal feedback is also given.

Additional informal feedback on performance is also given in both written language classes and oral/aural classes.

MN 1501 - MANDARIN CHINESE FOR BEGINNERS 2
Credit Points
15
Course Coordinator
Dr G Sharman

Pre-requisites

Mandarin Chinese for Beginners 1

Notes

Please note, this course is designed for beginners to Mandarin and is not available to native speakers.

Overview

Building on Mandarin Chinese for Beginners 1 this course will continue to familiarize students with the basics of spoken and written forms of Mandarin Chinese. Emphasis will be placed first on speaking and listening, particularly pronunciation and tones, and on aural comprehension. While students will continue to learn through the medium of pinyin they will be introduced to more of the most high frequency characters. The emphasis will be on dialogue, role play. The grammatical structure, drills and simple reading, translation and writing exercises will be used.

Structure

3 one-hour classes per week; 1 tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Course work - language exercises (60%); Examination (40%).

Examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Course work (60%)

2 formative assessments of different aspects of written Chinese language, 1 formative assessment of aural Chinese language, and 1 formative assessment of oral Chinese language.

Feedback

The above assessments are given CAS marks, and written or verbal feedback is also given. Additional informal feedback on performance is also given in both written language classes and oral/aural classes.

Level 2

MN 2001 - MANDARIN FOR BEGINNERS 3
Credit Points
15
Course Coordinator
Dr G Sharman

Pre-requisites

MN 1001 and MN 1501 or by permission of the Head of School.

Notes

Please note, this course is designed for beginners to Mandarin and is not available to native speakers.

Overview

Building on work done in MN 1501, the course will further develop all four basic language skills, reading, writing, speaking and listening. Classes on grammatical and linguistic analysis will contribute to the development these skills.

Structure

1 weekly one-hour written language and grammar class; 1 weekly one-hour oral practice class; 1 weekly one-hour aural comprehension class; 1 weekly reading and writing class.

Assessment

1st attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (75%) and 1 oral examination (25%). A satisfactory level of performance in coursework covering a range of linguistic skills will exempt candidates from the examination. (A CAS of 12 overall in the formative in-course assessments).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (75%) and 1 oral examination (25%).

Formative Assessment

3 formative assessments of different aspects of written Mandarin language; 1 formative assessment of aural Mandarin language; and 1 formative assessment of oral Mandarin language.

Feedback

The above assessments are given CAS marks, and written or verbal feedback is also given. Additional informal feedback on performance is also given in written language classes; oral classes; aural classes; and reading comprehension/composition classes.

MN 2501 - MN 2510: MANDARIN FOR BEGINNERS 4
Credit Points
15
Course Coordinator
Dr G Sharman

Pre-requisites

Normally MN 2001 or permission of Head of School.

Notes

Please note, this course is designed for beginners to Mandarin and is not available to native speakers.

Overview

Written and spoken Mandarin.
Introduction to very basic cultural phenomena.
Reading passages.
Writing exercises.
Translation exercises.
Role play.
Dialogue.
Readings and discussions about Mandarin culture.

Structure

3 language classes and 1 oral class per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Coursework (60%), Examination (40%), Oral (10%), written (30%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Four written assessments, in weeks 3, 6, 8 and 11.

Feedback

The above assessments are given CAS marks, and written or verbal feedback is also given. Additional informal feedback on performance and workshop participation is also given.