Unit name | Language for General Purposes (Ab-initio Mandarin Chinese) |
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Unit code | LANG11047 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Dr. Foster |
Open unit status | Open |
Pre-requisites |
Students will normally be expected to have obtained the minimum of a GCSE grade C or above in at least one other foreign language |
Co-requisites |
none |
School/department | School of Modern Languages |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
An introduction to Mandarin Chinese focusing on the general structures and functions of the language. The unit will include practice in the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) in order to enable students to communicate effectively in the target language at an elementary level. The cultural context of the language will also be considered. The unit will include: general communication skills; grammar foundation; general vocabulary development; an introduction to understanding and using Chinese characters; listening and speaking skills; social skills; cultural and social aspects of the Chinese language.
Students will:
Overall, students will attain a level comparable with key elements of the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) Level 1.
3 hours of teaching per week covering all four topics of Reading writing speaking and listening. Classroom based learning is supplemented by online access to resources delivered via Blackboard. Regular formative homework is set.
The four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – are assigned equal weighting for the purposes of assessment (25% each).
For reading and writing there is a formal mid-sessional examination at the end of TB1 and a formal examination in the summer examination period.
The overall pass mark for language courses is 40%.
A course book clearly identified by the Director of Foreign Language Teaching as suitable for this level. Reading and reference material will be provided on Blackboard.