BA course 'Chinese Language Proficiency (Elementary 1+2)'*

This course is taught to students in the first four terms of their BA study. The course presents an introduction to modern Chinese spoken language (Mandarin / putonghua) and Chinese written language (simplified characters). The texts used concern present-day issues relevant for society. Through practical tasks using different written and audiovisual materials, students are taught to master different types of communicative practices including simple description of people, objects and places, presentation of their own opinions and those of others, summary and dialogue. To support the mastering of the language, the students are introduced to the grammar of modern Chinese and its use. Grammatical topics relevant to the training of specific communicative skills are introduced, mainly regarding areas of Chinese grammar which have proven difficult to students with a European language background. As homework, students are on a regular basis requested to prepare renarrations and summaries of the studied material in Chinese language. The instructor holds frequent unannounced tests, dictations, and quizzes. During these first two study years, students learn approximately 1600 Chinese words. The course consists of 4 double lessons weekly in the language classroom. Each week’s lectures introduce new Chinese vocabulary and structures, train memorization and the use of spoken and written forms in simple well-defined linguistic environments.

*This course was part of the study programme 'BA and MA in Business, Language, and Culture (Chinese)' offered at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) between 2007 and 2021. The programme ended in 2021.