CHN 101 First Year Chinese 1

Lecture Hours: 4
Credits: 4

First course of a three-course sequence in introductory Mandarin Chinese language and culture class. Emphasizes effective communicative skills in both the written and spoken language. Includes an understanding of the practices and products of native Chinese culture. Helps the early beginning learner to acquire language proficiency as well as cultural awareness and understanding.

Prerequisite: Placement into WR 115 (or higher), or completion of WR 090 (or higher) with a grade of C or better; or consent of instructor.
Student Learning Outcomes:

Transcribe dictated text in pinyin script, including tone.
Demonstrate understanding of simple words, phrases, and questions supported by context and redundancy.
Pronounce Chinese phonetic symbols (pinyin) and words accurately and understandably.
Engage in everyday spoken language: exchange basic greetings and personal information, list and describe people and objects, and communicate in predictable settings with appropriate vocabulary.
Interpret simple Chinese characters and phrases; respond to simple questions in written form.
Compose simple colloquial Chinese texts in Chinese characters.
Describe selected aspects of geography, history, artistic heritage, and cultural practices in the Chinese world.
Interpret a few behaviors and basic nonverbal cues in very limited situations, and use appropriate form of address.

Content Outline

Introduction
- Syllabic structure, Pinyin, and pronunciation
- Writing system and basic radicals
- Numbers
Lesson 1
- Basic greetings and self-introductions
- Last name, first name
- Use last name to address male or female
- Nationality
- Basic grammar structure
- How to form a question sentence ending in ~ ne, ma~
- Negative adverbs ~bú
- Adverb also ~yě
- Writing numbers, name and nationality
Lesson 2 Family
- Introduce family members
- Describe a family photo
- Ask about someone’s profession
- Name some common professions
- Using the particle ~de, the possession word ~yǒu, the adverb ~dōu, the measure word ~ge, and question pronoun ~shéi
Lesson 3 Time and Date
- Discuss times and days
- Numbers 0, 1-100 and higher
- Using date and time for a dinner invitation
- Using the calendar for day, week, month and year
- Sentence structure and complements
- Affirmative and negative
- Using the adverb also (hái)
- Using pronouns as modifiers and using the particle ~de
Lesson 4 Hobbies
- Name common hobbies
- Engage with someone about hobbies
- Making plans for weekend activities with friends
- Word order in Chinese
- Affirmative and negative questions
- The conjunction word ~nà
- Change a statement sentence to a question sentence by ending with ~hǎo ma
- The modal verb (want to, would like to)
- Using verb and object as a detachable compound
Lesson 5 Visiting Friends
- Welcome a visitor
- Introduce one person to another
- Asking or offering beverages
- Using adjective words to describe a place
- Using words ~yīxià or yīdiǎn er to moderate tone of voice
- Using adjectives ~hěn as predicates
- Using the preposition ~zài, the particle ~ba, le, the adverb ~cái, and the casual words ~suànle, shéi ya, shì ma