CHIN 1103 (3 credits)
Preparatory Beginner's College Chinese
Chinese 1103 is a preparatory course for CHIN 1115 - Beginner's College Chinese I. It is designed for students who have no background in oriental languages and Asian culture and who would find CHIN 1115 too challenging to take as their first Chinese Language course. In this course, students will learn how to speak everyday Mandarin through a set of practical conversations. They will study the phonetic system, some basic sentence patterns, and 100-150 Chinese characters. They will also be introduced to Chinese culture through films and other activities.
CHIN 1115 (3 credits)
Beginner's College Chinese I
An introduction to spoken Mandarin and modern written Chinese with emphasis on the audio-lingual approach. After the oral-aural foundation has been laid, emphasis gradually shifts toward developing the student's ability to read written texts and to formulate basic sentences. New vocabulary items are introduced in both phonetic transcript and in characters.
CHIN 1215 (3 credits)
Beginner's College Chinese II
An introduction to spoken Mandarin and modern written Chinese with emphasis on the audio-lingual approach. After the oral-aural foundation has been laid, emphasis gradually shifts toward developing the student's ability to read written texts and to formulate basic sentences. New vocabulary items are introduced in both phonetic transcript and in characters. At the end of Chinese 1215, the student is expected to be able to understand and speak basic Mandarin and to read and write about 500-600 Chinese words.
CHIN 1117 (3 credits)
Beginner's College Chinese III
As a continuation of CHIN 1115 and CHIN 1215, this course offers further oral and written practice in Chinese including a thorough review of the language's structure and grammar, plus additional vocabulary. The emphasis will be placed on reading, conversation, composition and translation. At the end of CHIN 1117, the student is expected to be able to use all the basic sentence patterns in modern Chinese and know about 800 to 1,000 Chinese words.
CHIN 1217 (3 credits)
Beginner's College Chinese IV
As a continuation of CHIN 1117, this course offers further oral and written practice in Chinese including a thorough review of the language's structure and grammar, plus additional vocabulary. The emphasis will be placed on reading, conversation, composition and translation. At the end of CHIN 1217, the student is expected to be able to use all the basic sentence patterns in modern Chinese and know about 1,200 to 1,300 Chinese words.
CHIN 2221 (3 credits)
Mandarin Conversation for Chinese Dialect Speakers I
Designed for students with basic reading and writing skills in Chinese language but who speak only a dialect such as Cantonese. Through a set of practical situations, this course heavily emphasizes the Mandarin phonetic system, listening comprehension, and oral expressions.
CHIN 2223 (3 credits)
Mandarin Conversation for Chinese Dialect Speakers II
This course is designed for students to further develop Mandarin speaking skills, particularly aural comprehension and oral fluency.
CHIN 2211 (3 credits)
Intermediate Chinese Reading and Writing I
Chinese 2211 is a continuation of Chinese 1217. It is designed with a holistic approach to further develop students' reading, writing and speaking skills at an intermediate level. In Chinese 2211, students will learn around 600 commonly used Chinese characters and phrases, and develop further understanding of Chinese grammar. Students will acquire skills to enhance their Chinese literacy level as well as to nurture their appreciation of the Chinese language and literature through reading prose and short stories. Students will also gain insights into socio-culture knowledge embedded in the reading materials. Chinese films will be introduced at the same time to help develop a historical perspective of China in the twentieth century.
CHIN 2213 (3 credits)
Intermediate Chinese Reading and Writing II
Chinese 2213 is a continuation of Chinese 2211. It is designed with a holistic approach to further develop students' reading, writing and speaking skills at an intermediate level. In Chinese 2213, students will learn another 600 commonly used Chinese characters and phrases and be able to apply the grammatical concepts learned in the course in their own writing. Students will learn the format and rules of specific genres of practical writing in Chinese, such as resume, cover letter, etc. While still acquiring skills to enhance their Chinese literacy level, students will learn to nurture their appreciation of the Chinese language and literature through reading prose and short stories. Students will also gain insights into socio-culture knowledge embedded in the reading materials. Chinese films will be introduced at the same time to help develop a perspective of China in the present day.
CHIN 2215 (3 credits)
Intermediate Chinese Reading and Writing III
CHIN 2215 is a continuation of CHIN 2213. It is designed to further develop students' reading, writing, and speaking skills at the intermediate level. Students will learn another 500 Chinese words and further grammatical concepts. Through reading relevant materials, students will gain more social and cultural knowledge of China, develop their appreciation for Chinese language and literature, and enhance their Chinese literacy level. In this course, students will continue to practice their narrative writings. At the same time, they will also learn how to describe things and convey their emotions accurately and vividly. Chinese films will be introduced to provide students with current images and scenes of China.
CHIN 2217 (3 credits)
Intermediate Chinese - Reading and Writing IV
CHIN 2217 is a continuation of CHIN 2215. It is designed to further develop students' reading, writing, and speaking skills at the intermediate level. Students will learn another 500 Chinese words and further grammatical concepts. Through reading relevant materials, students will gain more social and cultural knowledge of China, develop their appreciation for Chinese language and literature, and enhance their Chinese literacy level. Students are also expected to develop more sophisticated skills of composition, such as how to make analytical comments appropriately. Chinese films will be introduced to provide students with current images and scenes of China. This course will lay a solid foundation for students who want to learn Chinese at the advanced level.
CHIN 3331 (3 credits)
Introduction to Classical Chinese I
Part one of an introduction to classical Chinese. It is designed for students who are fluent in Mandarin Chinese or one of the Chinese dialects and who can read and write Chinese comfortably at an intermediate level, e.g., completion of elementary school or higher in China or Taiwan. After a brief introduction to the history timeline of China, students will start examining a selection of early works of literature and philosophy ranging from ca. 1000 BC to 100 BC. Basic grammar of ancient Chinese writing will be explained; a group of commonly used words will be compared with their counterparts in modern Chinese. At the end of this course, students will have gained a general idea of the early development of Chinese prose, poetry and other literary forms, as well as a deeper understanding of Confucianism, Taoism and other schools. They will be expected to understand and use some of the ancient vocabulary, as well as to appreciate the beauty and the wisdom of a number of Classical Chinese works.
CHIN 3333 (3 credits)
Introduction to Classical Chinese II
Part two of an introduction to classical Chinese. It is designed for students who are fluent in Mandarin Chinese or one of the Chinese dialects and who can read and write Chinese comfortably at intermediate level, e.g., completion of elementary school or higher in China or Taiwan. In this course, students will study a selection of ancient poetic and prose works ranging from the Han Dynasty (ca. 200BC - 200 AD) until the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). More grammatical analysis and comparisons will be done between the ancient and the modern languages. At the end of this course, students will have gained a general idea of the whole development of Chinese history and literature. They will be expected to understand and appreciate a number of ancient works, as well as to be able to use their knowledge to create some simple works of their own in classical style.
Note: students can take either Chin 3331 or 3333 first and then do the other one.
CHIN 3381 (3 credits)
Chinese Literature in 20th Century I
This course is designed to introduce students to modern Chinese literature from the May 4th Movement in 1919 to 1949, when the People's Republic of China was established. It will also introduce students to basic literary theories and guide them to appreciate the most famous modern Chinese fiction, prose, and poetry in an analytical perspective. The learning process helps students to explore literature and to deepen its appreciation.
CHIN 3383 (3 credits)
Chinese Literature in 20th Century II
This course is designed to introduce students to modern Chinese literature from 1949, when the People's Republic of China was established, to the end of the 20th century. It will also introduce students to literary theories and guide them to appreciate the most famous modern Chinese fiction, prose, and poetry in an analytical perspective. The learning process helps students to explore literature and to deepen its appreciation. |
