Chinese Target Language Expert Shuhong Zhao, from Huairou, China, in class with beginning students, Fall 2009.

The course exposes beginners to the Mandarin Chinese phonetic system Pinyin, the four tones, and carefully selected Hanzi--the writing system. Listening, speaking, visual recognition, and writing skills are learned through active participation by the students in communicative and hands-on situations. By the end of the course, the students are able to initiate, and to some degree, sustain, oral communication in Chinese while gaining recognition and writing ability of Hanzi via e-mail, handwriting, and calligraphy. 30-50 Hanzi is the goal. Cultural elements associated with Hanzi are introduced. Fall.

In this course students continue learning, listening, speaking, reading and writing skills using visual etymology, the four tones in Mandarin Chinese, and visualizing individual and combined radicals. The three inseparable dimensions of the Chinese language are studied in a more integrated manner: the visual, the phonetic, and the semantic, or Hanzi, Pinyin, and meaning. The interpersonal mode is stressed in communicative contexts. By the end of the course, the students are able to initiate, and to a greater degree, sustain, oral communication with some cultural nuances. Hanzi recognition and writing is increased via e-mail, calligraphy and simple handwriting. 70-80 Hanzi is the goal.

This course proceeds with an integrated approach to Hanzi/Pinyin and rebalances the four language skills. Speaking and listening continue to be a focal point while more emphasis is placed on writing (handwriting, e-mail, and calligraphy) and reading. Listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills are now developed into an interpretative mode as well as the interpersonal one. By the end of the course, students will be able to express simple descriptions, interpretations, questions, ideas, identification, questions, ideas, identification, and preferences. Students are expected to recognize and master 100-150 Hanzi. Historical and philosophic aspects are introduced while studying Hanzi.

This course must be taken concurrently with Chinese 2010. Chinese 2011 is an oral class and enhances the speaking aspect of Chinese 2010. It meets once a week to expand students' oral competence in dealing with topics and themes presented in the regular Chinese 2010 class.

The class engages students in more complex communicative contexts. The four basic language skills, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, enter a mainly interpretative mode while students continue to expand the interpersonal one. By the end of the course, the students are expected to interpret, question, identify, negotiate, compare and choose in an orally communicable Chinese. Chinese idioms are taught as both language and culture. Students' ability to write Chinese is evaluated only with Hanzi (calligraphy, e-mails, and handwriting). 170-200 Hanzi are expected to be recognized and put into use for some daily functions, career objectives, diaries, memos, among other simple writings.

This course must be taken concurrently with Chinese 2020. The class enhances the oral aspect of Chinese 2020. It meets once a week to expand students oral competence in dealing with topics and themes presented in the regular Chinese 2020 class.

This course integrates language and cultural studies through calligraphy--the writing of Chinese Hanzi and Japanese Kanji. It is open to both language and non-language students. This course carries a Global Heritage designation. It is conducted in English. Fall or Spring.

While proceeding with an integrated approach to Hanzi, Pinyin, the students continue to increase Hanzi and decrease Pinyin. The four basic language skills, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, are mainly in an interpretative mode. The communicative context is idea or opinion-oriented and requires interpretative, subjective and emotional expressions and responses. The students are expected to initiate, sustain, and expand conversations on the topics studied in previous courses as well as the current one. Social relationships, some philosophic concepts, government institutions, and artistic pursuits are taught as vital aspects of cultural studies. 250-300 Hanzi are expected to be recognized and put into use for brief discussions, debates and exchange of ideas done through handwriting and e-mails.

This course must be taken concurrently with Chinese 3010. Chinese 3011 is an oral class and enhances the speaking aspect of Chinese 3010. It meets once a week to expand students oral competence in dealing with topics and themes presented in the regular Chinese 3010 class.

In this course students continue to increase Hanzi and decrease Pinyin to attain a more authentic and more-native like language acquisition. While listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills are still developed in an interpretative mode, they progress towards a presentational direction. The communicative context at the 3020 level represents a bridge for student from the interpersonal to the interpretative and the presentational. Orally, the students are expected to initiate, sustain, and expand conversations on the topics studied from previous courses as well as the current one. Significant individuals and some historic/philosophic/ literary aspects are studied together with language acquisition. 350-400 Hanzi are expected to be recognized and put into use for thematic writing (e-mails and handwriting).

This course must be taken concurrently with Chinese 3020. This is an oral class and enhances the speaking aspect of Chinese 3020. It meets once a week to expand students oral competence in dealing with topics and themes presented in the regular Chinese 3020 class.

Culture is manifested in language and language verbalizes culture. This course studies how Chinese and Japanese languages and cultures reflect his symbiotic relation. Students are engaged in an intercultural dialogue with a linguistic approach. Open to both language and non-language students, it is conducted in English and carries a Global heritage designation. Fall or Spring.

Students have one or two options to take this course: Senior Project/thesis in the discipline of Chinese language and culture within the Department of Modern Languages or an Interdisciplinary Senior Project/Thesis between the Department of Modern Languages and other Departments/Programs.

The course is typically designed for students who have declared their majors (optional for minors) in Chinese. Students are expected to perform advanced-level taks. The four basic language skills, listening, speaking, reading writing are honed in a presentational mode. Cultivating students' awareness and appreciation of the richness of the culture of Chinese-speaking world is thematically structured. Authentic materials will be incorportaed into reading and listening. Oral communication will be enhanced with a theme or a vewpoint. 500-550 Hanzi are expected to be recognized and put into use for thematic writing (e-mails and handwriting).