Intermediate Chinese I Intensive Chinese Language & International Business Program Summer 2016 June 5-Week 1 Course - Shanghai

This course is designed for students who have at least one year of college-level Chinese language study. Built on the basic Chinese language structures learned at the beginner level, this course continues building skills in listening comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, and develops cultural skills through rigorous practice and communicative activities. Particular attention will be devoted to expressing individuals' and other people's ideas and to synthesizing information. New and more complex characters, vocabulary and grammatical patterns are also acquired to strengthen appropriate communication.

More specifically, this course combines several integrated approaches aimed at developing your communication skills. Most in-class time, driven by the textbook and supplemental texts, is devoted to speaking and practicing Chinese through exposure to Chinese characters, grammatical structures, language functions and vocabulary. In order to help develop your linguistic and intercultural skills, instructors integrate many group-based and individual activities into the class, such as independent presentations, case studies, group discussions & projects, and language exchanges with local Chinese students. Lessons also focus on a wide range of contemporary cultural and societal themes, such as environment protection, consumption habits and marriage customs, which not only enrich your vocabulary and linguistic knowledge, but also develop the skills of self-expression and strengthen critical thinking.

Conducted mainly in Chinese, this class requires daily preparation as well as a high level of personal engagement. Your constant attention and dynamic participation are indispensable. Though you may not understand every word said in class, you should look/listen for patterns and contextual clues in order to gain a global understanding of learning situations and the sense behind them. Learning to derive global meanings from speech and text that you may not entirely understand is a powerful tool that will hone your ability to understand your environment as you navigate your way through Chinese-speaking cultures, both literally and figuratively.

By the end of the course, you will be expected to demonstrate mastery of basic grammar and lexical structures as well as the ability to conduct relatively demanding conversations that express personal ideas and opinions, dreams, hopes and ambitions. You will also to be able to write short texts that clearly and simply relate personal experiences, impressions and opinions.

Previously coded as CHN211