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Foreign Languages Centre, Unit Catalogue 2008/09


FL10246 Mandarin Chinese stage 1 semester 1 (6 credits)

Credits: 6
Level: Certificate
Semester: 1
Assessment: CW 40%, EX 60%
Requisites:
Aims: The course aims to provide the linguistic foundation enabling students to acquire the basic functional language and skills necessary for communication in predictable everyday situations. The course provides basic cultural information and introduces students to some social convention of the country/ countries where the target language is spoken.
Learning Outcomes:
On completion of the course, students will be able to:
* Take part in a basic factual conversation.
* Deal with routine questions and statements.
* Understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of immediate relevance.
* Read straightforward information within a known area.
* Write notes, complete forms and write short paragraphs adapting given phrases and applying new grammatical structures with a degree of accuracy.
* Read and write approx. 20 to 30 characters.
Skills:
Speaking, Reading, Listening and Writing in the target language - all assessed
Interpersonal skills, communication, team skills - facilitated
IT skills - facilitated
Intercultural skills - facilitated and taught
Autonomous learning - facilitated
Research and organisational skills - facilitated
Cognitive - taught.
Content:
The course introduces the students to the basic elements of the target language through the four core skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing reproducing typical scenarios and situations experienced when visiting or receiving visitors from a country where the target language is spoken, for example, providing basic personal and family information, local geography and employment. It follows a graded programme of study familiarising participants with a number of fundamental grammatical structures specific to the target language.
In addition to the two hours of class tuition, which concentrate on integrated skills, one hour will be spent on focussing on the grammatical structures of the language to promote accuracy in writing using Pinyin and on practising reading and writing Chinese characters.