California State University, Long Beach
Department of Asian and Asian American Studies
Fall 2007
Chinese 101
(Fundamentals of Chinese)

 Section 3 Call number 1858

Instructor: Dr. Tim Xie

txie@csulb.edu

Classroom LAB 305, Days and Time TuTh 10:00-11:50 AM

Office: FO3-315 Hours: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 3:00-5:00pm or by appointment.

Course Description and Objectives:

Chinese 101 is a course of elementary Chinese for non-native Chinese speakers. The students with prior knowledge of Chinese are not eligible for taking this course. It aims at developing students' elementary communicative skills and knowledge of the Chinese language and culture

In this semester, students will learn the Chinese phonological system, the basic conversational topics, vocabulary and grammar. They will also learn how to read and write Chinese characters. The proficiency level that the students will reach by completing this course is Novice Mid based on the ACTFL's (the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages) proficiency guidelines.

About 15 lessons will be covered in the first semester. The number of characters students will learn is approximately 150. The teaching schedule and content may be changed based on students' learning ability and progress. Any schedule and content changes will be announced through e-mail and will be posted on the class web page.

Chinese word processing ability is one of the objectives of this course. Students will learn how to type Chinese texts using Chinese word-processor.

The class time will be used for instructor's lecturing and students' activities including listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students are expected to preview each lesson before class, complete the assigned homework and study the covered contents after class. Characters writing will not be practiced in class. In order to learn how to write characters, students can take advantage of the Workbook, or the computer aided multi-media learning software CyberChinese or Learning Chinese Online web page (see below).

Required Textbook:

1.      Practical Chinese Reader Book I (Traditional character edition)  by Beijing Language Institute, Boston: Cheng & Tsui Company, 1990.

2.      Practical Chinese Reader I & II: Writing Workbook (Traditional character edition) edited by Teng, Shou-hsin. Boston: Cheng & Tsui Company, 1990.

3.      CHIN 101 Study Guide and Homework (including character practice sheets and homework sheets), available online (http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/101/)

 

Recommended Learning Tools:

Dictionary

  1. Concise English-Chinese/Chinese-English Dictionary. The Commercial Press & Oxford University Press, 1986.

Software

  1. Pinyin Master by Prof. Li Sanpao & Jeff Winters, installed in LAB 306 (Language Art Building).
  2. Cyber Chinese by Prof. Li Sanpao & Jeff Winters, installed in LAB 306 (Language Art Building).
  3. Penless Chinese software, installed in LAB 306 (Language Art Building). It can also be downloaded from http://www.penlesschinese.org/download.html

Web site

  1. Chinese 101 class page - http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/101
  2. PCR E-book, developed by Prof. Tim Xie- http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/PCRopen/pcrebook.htm

 

Language Labs:

Lab attendance is an extremely important part of taking the course. Since the class meeting time is limited, most work will be done by students in the lab: learning Pinyin, listening to the recording of the texts and viewing the video clips of the lessons, learning to write and type characters and doing exercises and homework. The multimedia program CyberChinese for the textbook is installed in the lab. Students must use this program to study before and after class.

A minimum of fourteen (14) hours of lab attendance is required for each student.  The lab time will be logged. Do not forget to sign in and sign out when you go to the lab. By the end of the each month and semester, the lab manager will send the instructor the log time report. The lab time will be taken into consideration as your performance in determining the final grade.

Homework:

Please submit homework in due time. The homework will be assigned in class. The instructor will let you know when homework is due and how to submit it.

Tests:

All tests and examinations (midterm and final) are obligatory. The tests will be given on the assigned days only. No requests for taking the tests before or after the set dates will be honored without a valid excuse or documentation.

Grading Policy:

Homework 10% (One point from your final scores will be deducted for each missing homework.)

Attendance 10% (One point from your final scores will be deducted for missing one class without a valid excuse or documentation. )

Lab attendance 10% (Insufficient lab time will decrease your score.)

Four Tests 40%
Midterm 15%
Final 15%

Course Schedule (subject to change)  

Week

Tuesday

Thursday

1

 9/4 Introduction, Lesson 1

9/6 Lesson 2

2

9/11 Lesson 3

9/13 Test 1

3

9/18 Lesson 4

9/20 Lesson 5

4

9/25 Lesson 6

9/27 Review of Lesson 6

5

10/2 Test 2

10/4 Lesson 7

6

10/9 Lesson 8

10/11 Lesson 9

7

10/16 Lesson 7-9 review

10/18  Test 3

8

10/23 Lesson 10

10/25 Lesson 12

9

10/30 Lesson 10-12 review

11/1 Midterm

10

11/6 Lesson 13

11/8 Lesson 13

11

11/13 Review

11/15 Test 4

12

11/20 Lesson 14

11/22 Thanksgiving

13

11/27 Lesson 14

11/29 Lesson 14

14

12/4 Lesson 15

12/6 Lesson 15

15

12/11 Lesson 15

12/13 Oral

16

12/18
Final Examination from 10:00AM - 12:00PM.

12/20

 

University Withdrawal Policy

It is the students' responsibility to withdraw from classes. Instructors have no obligation to withdraw students who do not attend courses, and may choose not to do so. Withdrawal from a course after the first two weeks of instruction requires the signatures of the instructor and department chair, and is permissible only for serious and compelling reasons, such as documented illness and a change in work hours/schedule. Students should be aware that the definition of "serious and compelling reasons" as applied by faculty and administrators may become narrower as the semester progresses. During the final three weeks of instruction, withdrawals are not permitted except in cases such as accident or serious illness where the circumstances causing the withdrawal are clearly beyond the student's control and the assignment of an incomplete is not practical. Ordinarily, withdrawals in this category involve total withdrawal from the university. The College of Liberal Arts adheres to this policy strictly, and does not sign withdrawal forms in the final three weeks of class for other reasons.