We teach Modern Standard Chinese, known as 普通话 Pǔtōnghuà. References are made to other forms of Mandarin Chinese spoken in different regions.

Our courses aim to develop your linguistic skills and intercultural competence. You can find out more on the general information page.

Courses

We offer a variety of courses based on the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) framework. HSK is an international standardized test for Chinese language proficiency.

We run preparatory workshops in Semester 2 for students who opt to sit for HSK levels 1, 2 and 3. HSK take place in official HSK centres.

The following Mandarin Chinese courses are available for members of the public:

Semester 1

• Introduction to Chinese Characters
• Chinese for Business Beginner Part 1
• Complete Beginner
• Lower Intermediate Part 1
• Intermediate Part 1
• Learn Chinese with Weekly News

Semester 2

• Introduction to Chinese Characters
• Chinese for Business Beginner Part 2
• Post Beginner
• Lower Intermediate Part 2
• Intermediate Part 2
• Learn Chinese with Weekly News
• HSK Preparatory Workshops

Placement test

If you have never learned Mandarin Chinese with us before, please take this placement test so that you know which course is suitable for you.

Please also refer to the course descriptions below.

Course descriptions

Introduction to Chinese Characters (Semester 1 and 2)

This course is a supplement to Complete Beginner and Chinese for Business Beginner Part 1. There is no additional charge for this course.

You will be practising writing Chinese characters with the support of your tutor on this course. You will learn:

• the origins, evolution and structures of Chinese characters
• to read and write useful phrases and sentences

Complete Beginner (Semester 1)

Enrol on this course if you have never studied Chinese before, or if you know a few basic phrases.

We recommend you take 'Introduction to Chinese Characters' alongside this course at no additional cost.

Post Beginner (Semester 2)

Enrol on this course if you have completed the Complete Beginner course with us, or if you can:

• note down words and phrases you hear using pinyin
• engage in basic conversations, exchanging information such as age, name, nationality, and occupation
• read and write around 50 basic Chinese characters

Chinese for Business, Beginner Part 1 (Semester 1)

This course will develop your competence and fluency in a range of business contexts. Enrol on this course if you have never studied Chinese before or if you know some basic Chinese phrases.

We recommend you take 'Introduction to Chinese Characters' alongside this course at no additional cost.

In addition to developing your language skills, this course will help you:

• explore Chinese workplace practices and work culture
• understand Chinese society within a business context
• explore Chinese social media use and its application in workplace communications
• develop your intercultural competence and improve your employability skills

We recommend you take 'Introduction to Chinese Characters' alongside this course at no extra cost.

Chinese for Business, Beginner Part 2 (Semester 2)

Enrol on this course if you have completed Chinese for Business, Beginner Part 1, or if you can:

• engage in basic business conversations, addressing people appropriately in different contexts
• exchange basic information such as time, dates, venue, nationality and occupation

This course will cover:

• staff recruitment and job hunting
• digital marketing and multichannel selling
• introducing products and services
• negotiating a deal

Lower Intermediate Part 1 (Semester 1)

Enrol on this course if you have completed the Post Beginner course, or achieved the Chinese standard examination HSK 1, or if you can:

• engage in conversations on topics such as the weather, routine and leisure activities, state preferences
• read and understand short texts written in Chinese characters on familiar topics
• produce short texts using Chinese characters to give basic information and describe simple situations

Lower Intermediate Part 2 (Semester 2)

Enrol on this course if you have completed Lower Intermediate Part 1, or achieved the Chinese standard examination HSK 1, or if you can:

• perform simple tasks such as shopping, asking for information such as directions and opening hours
• understand straightforward written resources on familiar topics written in Chinese characters
• write short texts using Chinese characters to give essential information and describe simple experiences

Intermediate Part 1 (Semester 1)

Enrol on this course if you have completed Lower Intermediate Part 2, or achieved the Chinese standard examination HSK 2, or if you can: 

• engage in conversations on a number of non-abstract topics such as travel and leisure activities
• read and understand straightforward written resources on a variety of familiar topics
• produce structured texts in Chinese characters on a variety of familiar topics, including past events and future plans

Intermediate Part 2 (Semester 2)

Enrol on this course if you have completed Intermediate Part 1, or achieved the Chinese standard examination HSK 2, or if you can:

• engage in conversations in a variety of situations with a degree of confidence
• read and understand written resources in Chinese characters on familiar matters and some abstract topics
• produce structured texts in Chinese characters with a degree of confidence on topics such as shopping, travel, jobs and abstract topics

Learn Chinese with Weekly News (Semester 1 and 2)

Enrol on this course if you have completed Intermediate level Part 2, or have reached the Chinese standard examination HSK level 3 or above.

In this course we will discuss bite-sized news items that are written in graded Chinese following the HSK levels. During this course you will:

• further develop your independent learning skills
• have personalised learning experience to take your Chinese language skills to a higher level
• develop your intercultural competence and improve your employability skills

HSK Preparatory Workshops

We will run preparatory workshops in Semester 2 for students who opt to sit for HSK levels 1, 2 and 3. These workshops are run alongside the respective courses.

Course dates and times

All courses consist of 10 weekly interactive sessions delivered either in person on our Claverton Down campus or live online remotely.

Enrolments will open on Wednesday 18 September and close on Thursday 7 November.

Semester 1 lessons will start in the week beginning 7 October 2024.

Timetable for Semester 1

Student experience

"Chinese is the most challenging language I have learnt but our teacher has said many times in class: ‘See, learning Chinese is easy!’ and somehow it does feel easy with her." (Olivia Wolfheart)

Read students' experiences of learning Mandarin Chinese in the following blogs:

• Challenging myself with Chinese
• A Brit in Beijing: My first trip to China
• How a Virtual Exchange improved my confidence in speaking Chinese
• Nǐ hǎo Shanghai: My summer internship in China

In addition to our courses, there are opportunities to develop your language and intercultural skills informally with other students through Peer Assisted Learning, Virtual Exchange, the Virtual Chinese & English Club on Microsoft Teams and the Language Café.