Department of Asian and Asian American Studies
California State University, Long Beach
Spring, 2009
Chinese 102
(Fundamentals of Chinese)

 Section 2 Call No. 4195 TuTh 10:00-11:50AM LA2-204
Course Web Site: Beachboard or http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/102/
Dr. Tim Xie
Office: FO3-315 ; Telephone: (562) 985-5278
E-mail: txie@csulb.edu
Office Hours: TuTh 2:00-4:00pm
or by an appointment through email

Course Description and Objectives:

Chinese 102 is continuation of Chinese 101, a course of elementary Chinese for non-native Chinese speakers. It aims at helping students to develop further communicative skills in Chinese.

In this semester, students are supposed to learn more topics for oral communication. They are also expected to develop further reading and writing abilities. The proficiency level the students will reach by completing this course is Novice Mid/High based on the proficiency guidelines of the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

About 8 lessons will be covered in this second semester. The number of characters students will learn is approximately 200-250.

Chinese word processing ability is one of the objectives of this course. Students will learn to type Chinese texts using Pinyin input method.

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 CyberChinese, the computer aided multimedia learning software or learning Chinese online web site (see below).

Required Textbook:

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

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

Optional

A Practical Chinese Grammar (Mandarin) by Hung-nin Samuel Cheung et al. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1994. Available through Amazon.com

Other learning materials

Character practice sheets, supplementary homework assignments, exercises, reading texts will be available online through Beachboard or http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/102/Students can print these handouts in the university computer labs or at home if the free software Acrobat Reader is installed.

Recommended Learning Tools:

Dictionary

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

 

Software

  1. Cyber Chinese by Prof. Li Sanpao (installed in LAB 306, the Language Art Building. Or you can sign up for CyberChinese Online at http://cyberchinese-online.com for a small fee)

 

Web site

  1. Class web site: Beachboard or http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/102
  2. Learning Chinese Online - http://learningchineseonline.net

 

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 audio tapes and multimedia program CyberChinese for the textbook are available in the lab. Students must use these tapes and computer program to study before and after class.

A minimum of fourteen (14) hours of lab attendance is required for each student. (each month 4 hours at least) 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 in determining the final grade (see Grading policy below).

Homework:

Submit homework in due time. One point from your final score will be deducted for each piece of missing homework. Typed homework is accepted and encouraged. Send your typed homework to csulbchn102@hotmail.com. Contact lab assistants or instructor for using Chinese word processor in the lab or home.

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 date will be honored without a valid excuse or documentation.

Grading Policy:

Homework 10%

Attendance  10%

Lab time 10% (One point from your final scores will be deducted for missing one class without a valid excuse or documentation. Insufficient lab time will decrease your score.)

Five tests 40%
Midterm 15%
Final 15%

 

Tentative Course Schedule

 

Week

Monday

 

Tuesday

Wednesday

 

Thursday

 

1

1/26

1/27 Introduction and Review

1/28

1/29

Lesson 16

2

2/2

 

2/3

Lesson 16

2/4

2/5

Lesson 16

3

2/9

2/10

 Test 1

2/11

 

2/12

Lesson 17

4

2/16

 

2/17

Lesson 17

2/18

 

2/19

Lesson 17

5

2/23

2/24

Test 2

2/25

 

2/26

Lesson 18

6

3/2

 

3/3

Lesson 18

3/4

 

3/5

Lesson 19

7

3/9

 

3/9

Lesson 19

3/10

 

3/11

Lesson 19

8

3/16

 

3/17

Review and oral

3/18
 

3/19

Midterm

9

3/23

3/24

Lesson 20

3/25

3/26

Lesson 20

10

3/30

Spring Recess 

3/31

Spring Recess

4/1

Spring Recess

4/2

Spring Recess

11

4/6

 

4/7

Lesson 20

4/8

 

4/9

Test 4

12

4/13

 

4/14

Lesson 21

4/15

 

4/16

Lesson 21

13

4/20

 

4/21

Lesson 21

4/22

 

4/23

Test 5

14

4/27

4/28

Lesson 22

4/29

 

4/30

Lesson 22

15

5/4

 

5/5

Lesson 22

5/6

 

5/7

Lesson 23

16

5/11

 

5/12

Lesson 23

5/13

 

5/14

Lesson 23 and review

17

5/18

 

5/19

Final exam

5/20

 

5/21

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.