Course syllabus

 

CHINESE 200: Intermediate Modern Chinese 1

SEMESTER 1, 2018

15 points

 
Course Convenor: 

Margaret Lee - ms.lee@auckland.ac.nz 

Other teaching staff:    Siqi Chen

 Schedule of Lecture and Tutorials – 5 hours per week
1 grammar lecture:  Mondays 2-3
AND
4 tutorial classes:
Tuesdays 2-3 or 3-4 room CAG –G14*
Wednesdays 2-3 or 3-4 room 201E-151*
Thursdays 2-3 or 3-4 room 201E-151*
Fridays 2-3 or 3-4 room 201E-902*
*Please check SSO to confirm the classroom details, as this information is subject to sudden change.

Summary of Course Description: 
Welcome to CHINESE 200. This course and its companion course CHINESE 201, Intermediate Chinese B, are continuations of the Stage 1 courses CHINESE 100 and 101.  This course is designed to develop the communicative use of the language in the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.  It expands your grasp of grammar and vocabulary through exposure to various topics of interest in contemporary Chinese society. Ultimately it serves as a transitional bridge between Chinese carefully prepared for foreign learners in Stage 1 and 100% authentic Chinese produced by Chinese for Chinese that you will encounter in Stage 3.

 All class meetings, including the Monday grammar lectures, will be taught largely in Chinese, though the occasional English word or phrase might be used by the teacher from time to time. Lastly, because you have already acquired a solid foundation in the structure of Chinese characters in CHINESE 100 & 101, no time will be spent in class teaching you how to write newly-introduced Chinese characters. You can practice how to write them on your own outside of class based on the principles of character structure and writing you learned last year.

 It is important to emphasise that although this course is a continuation of CHINESE 100 & 101, from now on the expectations of you will be a bit different. Whereas last year the pace of the class was slow enough that most of you were not under very much daily pressure, this year the pace will be faster. Furthermore, the starting point for success this year assumes that you have already attained a strong mastery of everything that was taught last year. For those of you who did not achieve a strong result in CHINESE 101, this means that you will need to spend extra time getting yourself up to speed with last year’s material. Over the past few years of teaching this course your instructors have, by the end of the second semester, consistently seen remarkable progress with the language being made over the course of the yearby the vast majority of students.

 In CHINESE 200 you will be introduced to word processing on the computer. The reasons for doing this are:

1. Empirical evidence has proven that using Chinese WP will substantially facilitate character recognition and word memorization;
2. By the end of Chinese 101 you would have already gained enough knowledge of basic character components (including the common radicals) and structure to be self-reliant when encountering new characters in the future. At this point, then, you were ready to look at writing in terms of expression of ideas and composition style rather than in terms of the number of strokes and stroke order. Since writing an essay in either one’s own native language or in a foreign language takes time and multiple drafts before getting it “right”, using a computer to do this in Chinese is much faster and much more efficient than writing out everything in each draft by hand;
3. For those of you planning on working in China in the future, your work-related Chinese writing will almost certainly be typed, not hand-written.

This course is designed and delivered according to a particular philosophy of successful language learning.  Basic principles of this philosophy include the following:

• Learning another language is NOT learning vocabulary; it is learning SENTENCE structures (into which vocabulary items are subsequently placed).
• Daily study of a foreign language is required, both in class and outside of class, and that relying instead on a sudden burst of concentrated study just before a test or exam as the primary means of getting by is highly ineffective.
• By far the most effective way for you to advance your Chinese skills is to train yourself to constantly and actively practice making use of your limited vocabulary and grammar knowledge to express as many of your complex thoughts and ideas as possible, thus gaining the confidence and independence to operate on your own. Youshould always be clear in your own mind what the core meaning is that you are trying to express, ever mindful of the need to render that underlying core meaning into a version of Chinese that is grammatically correct and natural according to the rules of Chinese.

Based on the above philosophy, one key focus of classroom instruction will be on developing the skills of circumlocution (the ability to talk about something that you do not know how to say directly) and paraphrasing (being able to say the same thing in different words). To encourage you to come to class every day fully prepared to take an active role in what is happening there, 10% of the internal assessment will be based on ‘course participation’.  Points for tutorial attendance are not a free gift to everyone and need to be earned. If you are more than ten minutes late to a tutorial without a documented reason, you will not be counted as present that day.

Important information

Students who study Chinese for the first time at the University of Auckland must complete a Language Ability Declaration and may be called for an interview and a placement test.  Failure to complete the Language Ability Declaration will result in deletion of the enrolment.

Assessments Summary:

Weighting of coursework assessments and dates:
15% Oral Test Week 5 March 29
20% Computer based Mid-semester written test Week 7 April 23  (6:00-7:00, HSB 151)
15% Oral presentation Week 12 (May 31) Group1/(June1): Group 2
10% *Class participation On-going assessment
40%  Computer based exam

* You must attend at least 50% of the tutorials to receive any points in this category

All tests and assessments are held during scheduled lecture hours unless otherwise stated. No make-ups will be available.  In genuinely exceptional circumstances well supported with documentation, students may apply for an aegrotat or compassionate pass by following the procedures set out in the University's examination regulations

You should be aware of what constitutes plagiarism. Check out the website below for info. http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/about/teaching-learning/honesty

Week 1 (Chinese 101 Revision)
Monday (February 26):          Course Introduction, Section C (Translation) of CHINESE 101exam
Tuesday (February 27):         CHINESE 101 Grammar Revision Chapters 9 -10
Wednesday (February 28):    CHINESE 101 Grammar Revision Chapters 11-12
Thursday (March 1):              CHINESE 101 Grammar Revision Chapters 13-15
Friday (March 2):                   CHINESE 101 Reading comprehension discussion and Oral Revision

 Week 2 Fundamental Spoken Chinese (FSC)&Fundamental Written Chinese (FWC) Chapter 16
|Monday (March 5):                Grammar Lecture
Tuesday (March 6):                Chapter 16
|Wednesday (March 7):          Chapter 16
Thursday (March 8):               Chapter 16
Friday (March 9):                   Oral Chapter 16

 Week 3 FSC &FWC Chapter 17
|Monday (March 12):              Grammar Lecture
Tuesday (March 13):              Chapter 17
Wednesday (March 14):         Chapter 17
Thursday (March 15):            Chapter 17
Friday (March 16):                 Oral Chapter 17

 Week 4 FSC  & FWC Chapter 18|
Monday (March 19):              Grammar Lecture
Tuesday (March 20):              Chapter 18
Wednesday (March 21):         Chapter 18
Thursday (March 22):            Chapter 18
Friday (March 23):                 Oral Chapter 18

 \Week 5 FSC  & FWC Chapters 19
Monday (March 26):             Grammar Lecture
Tuesday (March 27):              Chapters 19
Wednesday (March 28):         Chapters 19
Thursday (March 29):            Oral Test
Friday (March30):                  Easter Friday

 Mid-semester break/Easter - Monday 2 April – Saturday 14 April 2018

 Week 6 FSC  & FWC Chapters 20
Monday (April 16):                Grammar Lecture  
Tuesday (April17):                 Chapters 20
Wednesday (April 18):           Chapters 20
Thursday (April 19):              Chapters 20
Friday (April 20):                   Oral Chapters 19 and 20

Week 7 Transitional Chinese (TC) : Chapter 1坐火车到北京)
Monday (April 23):                Computer based Mid-Semester Test 6:00-7:00, HSB 151
Tuesday (April 24):                Grammar Lecture(坐火车到北京)  
Wednesday (April 25):           ANZAC Day
Thursday (April 26):              Exercise (坐火车到北京)
Friday (April 27):                   Oral (坐火车到北京)

Week 8 TC:日记一则
Monday (April 30):                Grammar Lecture (日记一则)
Tuesday (May 1):                   Text (日记一则)
Wednesday (May 2):             Exercises (日记一则)
Thursday (May 3):                 Exercises (日记一则)
Friday (May 4):                      Oral (日记一则)

Week 9 TC:上网
Monday (May 7):                   Grammar Lecture (上网)
Tuesday (May 8):                   Text (上网)
Wednesday (May 9):             Exercises (上网)
Thursday (May 10):               Exercises (上网)
Friday (May 11):                    Oral (上网)

Week 10 TC: 回家过年
Monday (May 14):                 Grammar Lecture (回家过年)
Tuesday (May 15):                 Text (回家过年)
Wednesday (May 16):            Exercises (回家过年)
Thursday (May 17):               Exercises (回家过年)
Friday (May 18):                    Oral (回家过年)

Week 11 TC:手机卡
Monday (May 21):                 Grammar Lecture(手机卡)
Tuesday (May 22):                Text(手机卡)
Wednesday (May 23):           Exercises (手机卡)
Thursday (May24):                Exercises  (手机卡)
Friday (May 25):                    Oral (手机卡)

 Week 12 Revision
Monday (May 28):                 Revision
Tuesday (May 29):                 Revision
Wednesday (May 30):            Revision
Thursday (May 31):               Oral presentation Group 1
Friday (June 1):                     Oral presentation Group 2

Required textbooks:
1. Sanders, Robert & Nora Yao. 2009. Fundamental Spoken Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. (Chapters 16-20)
2. Nora Yao, Margaret Lee & Robert Sanders. 2009. Fundamental Written Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. (Chapters 16-20)
3. Robert Sanders & Margaret Lee. Transitional Chinese: From the Wading Pool to the Swimming Pool (Chapter 1-3). This free reader is available from the Faculty of Arts Distribution Centre.

 

Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – check course information for details.