chinese syllabus

University of the Philippines - Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy Department of Linguistics

Chinese 10: Beginner Mandarin I Course Syllabus (Second Semester, S.Y. 2015 – 2016) TTh 8:30 – 10:00 AM || PH 428 _____________________________________________________________________________________

Instructor: Elsie Marie Or Email Address: elsiemarie.or@gmail.com Consultation Hours: Tues to Fri, 1:00 – 5:00 PM Faculty Center Room 2114 / Department of Linguistics

Course Description and Objectives: This course is designed for students who have little or no prior knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. The main focus of this course is to develop the students’ oral communication skills in Mandarin. This course aims to help students acquire basic tools to enable them to further their studies in the language, such as by mastering the Pinyin system, and by introducing them to basic Mandarin sentence patterns. Students will also learn how to read and write several Chinese characters. Different aspects of Chinese culture, history and traditions will also be introduced. By the end of the course, students should be able to engage in simple conversations in Mandarin.

Course Outline C10 Topics (Lessons 1 – 6) Introduction to Mandarin Chinese Introduction to the Chinese Writing System The Pinyin System Common Greetings and Everyday Expressions Making Introductions Numbers Talking about Your Family Pointing Objects Out Saying Where

Tentative Dates for Exams & Project Deadlines Speaking Exam #1: February 23 (Tue) Written Exam #1: March 17 (Thu) Written Exam #2: May 17 (Tue) Speaking Exam #2: May 19 (Thu)

Course Requirements Participation & Homework Report Quizzes Mid-Term Exam Final Exam

15% 15% 20% 25% 25%

Grading Scale

Focus on Verbs Time Expressions Making Appointments Talking about Plans, Hobbies, and Habits

96 – 100 = 1.0 91 – 95 = 1.25 86 – 90 = 1.5 81 – 85 = 1.75 76 – 80 = 2.0

71 – 75 = 2.25 66 – 70 = 2.5 61 – 65 = 2.75 60 = 3.0 Below 60 = 5.0

Shopping & Talking about Prices Main Textbook: Wu, Zhong Wei. (2010). Contemporary Chinese. Beijing: Sinolingua.

Supplementary hand-outs will also be provided.

Course Requirements Exams All exams are cumulative and wil cover everything that has been studied up to the day of the examination. The written examination will make up 70% of exam score, while the speaking exam will make up 30% of your exam score.

Report Students will choose a story from Chinese mythology, legends, or folklore to report on.

Discuss what this story reveals about ideals and beliefs about Chinese society, and compare this with a similar Philippine folklore, and the Filipino traditions and beliefs reflected in this story.

Guidelines: 1. Students will report by pairs.

2. Reports will be presented every Thursday at the start of the class.

3. Reporters are advised to come early and set-up as soon as they come to class.

4. Each report will only last 15 minutes.

5. Reporters must come on time. They will incur 20% point deductions if one or both of the reporters is/are late.

6. Grading criteria (five-point grading scale will be used): a. Content (accuracy of information, demonstrates mastery of topic, etc.) b. Organization (topics presented in a logical sequence, length of presentation, etc.) c. Delivery (clear & audible voice, engaging presentation, etc.) d. Visual (effectiveness of visual aids, etc.) e. Creativity (innovativeness in the presentation of the topic, visual aids, etc.) f. Peer Evaluation (classmates’ evaluation of the report)

Quizzes Quizzes are given every meeting, as schedule permits, to check students’ understanding of the lesson, and to help them retain information from the lessons. Quizzes may or may not be announced in class. It is advised that the students always come to class prepared for a quiz.

Homework All homework, unless stated otherwise, will be written on your writing notebook.

Guidelines for the writing notebook ! The writing notebook will be used for practice writing Chinese characters and for practice in constructing sentences and essays. ! Write each character at least five times each. Students are encouraged to write more as needed to master these Chinese characters. ! Write your answers to the exercises at the end of lessons in your Chinese character workbook on the writing notebook. Copy the questions as well. ! For each lesson finished in class, students must choose at least ten words to use in constructing sentences. ! The notebook may be used as a learning journal to write notes or questions addressed to the instructor. It may also be used to practice writing short Chinese compositions.

Oral Exams, Skits and Other Group Presentations The following criteria will be used: A. Individual exams with instructor a. Communication skills (40%) (correct and prompt responses, ability to ask questions for clarification, etc.) b. Application of grammatical knowledge (40%) (use of correct sentence patterns, appropriate word choices, etc.) c. Pronunciation (20%) B. Graded group presentations a. Creativity (20%)

b. Vocabulary and grammar (30%) c. Organization & coherence (30%) d. Performance (cooperation, flow of presentation, props & visual aids, memorization, fluency, clarity, expressiveness and pronunciation) (20%)

Classroom Policies 1. Students who come in 15 mins. after the start of the class will be marked as late. Three marks of tardiness is equivalent to one mark of absence from class. A student who is absent for more than six sessions will be asked to officially drop the course, unless the absences are excused due to valid reasons, or he/she formally drops the course.

2. Late submissions of projects and assignments will NOT be accepted.

3. Always come to class prepared. Expect a quiz every meeting. If we are going to take up a new lesson in the following meeting, expect to be quizzed on the vocabulary words for the new lesson. If we just finished going through a lesson, expect a check-up quiz either before the end of the class or on the next meeting.

4. There are no make-up quizzes. No exceptions. Quizzes are checked and discussed right after they are taken. If the student was absent or late for a quiz for no valid reason, his/her next quiz will be deducted with two points.

Only the quizzes that were taken by the students will be included in the computation of their final grades.

5. If a student misses an exam, he/she must first present a medical certificate or a formal excuse letter from a parent/guardian/instructor/coach before he/she can take the make-up exam.

6. If a student is late for an exam, he/she will not be given extra time to finish the exam.

7. For consultations and rescheduling of exams due to excused absences, set an appoinment first with the instructor. If you are late for your make-up exam and did not inform your instructor, you will not be allowed to take the exam anymore and will be given a grade of zero.

8. Students are not allowed to use their digital cameras to take pictures of notes on the board. Copy notes by hand.

9. Students are responsible for finding out about lessons, assignments, and exams they might miss due to their absence from class. The teacher will not follow up on you. Check the class’s Facebook group for announcements, assignments, etc.

Virtual Classroom For announcements and links to online sources: UPD Chinese Classes Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/updchineseclasses