Department of Asian and Asian American Studies
California State University, Long Beach
Chinese 201
(Fundamentals of Chinese)
Section 2, Call No.: 8366
Classes: TTh 10-11:50am, LA5-204
Dr. Tim Xie
Office: FO3-315; Telephone: (562) 985-5278
E-mail: txie@csulb.edu, URL: http://www.csulb.edu/~txie
Office Hours:
TTh 2:30-4:30
or by appointment through email
Course Description and
Objectives:
Chinese 201 is continuation of Chinese 102 and a course of intermediate 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 Intermediate Low, based on the proficiency guidelines of the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL).
About 7 lessons will be covered in this second semester. The number of characters students will learn is approximately 200. Supplementary teaching materials will be presented in class and available online.
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 in amazon.com.
Other learning materials
Handouts for classroom activities, character practice sheets, supplementary homework assignments, exercises, reading texts are available online http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/201/ or through the BeachBoard. Students can print these handouts in the university computer labs or at home if the free software Acrobat Reader is installed. Ask lab assistant for help regarding using Acrobat Reader.
Recommended Learning Tools:
Dictionary
Concise English-Chinese/Chinese-English Dictionary. The Commercial Press & Oxford University Press, 1986.
Software
CyberChinese Online by Prof. Li Sanpao and Jeff Winters. Available online (Students are encouraged to contact Prof. Winters at jwinter2@csulb.edu for subscription information).
Microsoft Chinese IME (input method editor) with Word.
Course web page-http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/201/ or Beachboard.
Learning Chinese Online page - 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.
A minimum of fourteen 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 counted as your performance in determining the final grade.
Homework:
Please submit your homework in due time. The homework will be assigned in class and downloadable from the course web page. The instructor will let you know when homework is due. One point from your final score will be deducted for each missing homework. The homework must be typed and submit electronically through email (csulbchn201@hotmail.com) .
Tests:
All tests and examinations (midterm and final) are obligatory. The tests will be given on the assigned days only. All the tests will be conducted in the lab using computers. No requests for taking the tests before or after the set date will be honored without a valid excuse or documentation.
Grading Policy:
Homework and exercises 10%
Lab time 10%
Attendance 10% (One point from your final scores will be deducted for missing one class without a valid excuse or documentation)
Three Tests 40%
Midterm (oral and written) 15%
Final (oral and written) 15%
Tentative Course Schedule (The schedule may be modified to ensure students' real and solid progress)
|
Week |
Tuesday |
Thursday |
|
1 |
8/31 Introduction and Review |
9/2 Lesson 23 |
|
2 |
9/7 Lesson 23 |
9/9 Lesson 23 |
|
3 |
9/14 Lesson 24 (Review) |
9/16 Test 1 |
|
4 |
9/21 Lesson 25 |
9/23 Lesson 25 |
|
5 |
9/28 Lesson 25 |
9/30 Test 2 |
|
6 |
10/5 Lesson 26 |
10/7 Lesson 26 |
|
7 |
10/ 12 Cultural event |
10/14 Lesson26 |
|
8 |
10/19 Lesson 26 |
10/21 earthquake drill |
|
9 |
10/26 Midterm |
10/28 Lesson 27 |
|
10 |
11/2 Lesson 27 |
11/4 Lesson 27 |
|
11 |
11/9 test 3 |
11/11 Veterans Day (Campus Closed) |
|
12 |
11/16 Lesson 28 |
11/18 Lesson 28 |
|
13 |
11/23 2 Lesson 28 |
11/25 No class (Thanksgiving week) |
|
14 |
11/30 2 Lesson 29 |
12/ Lesson 29 |
|
15 |
12/7 Lesson 29 |
12/9 Review |
|
16 |
12/14 Final Examination (10:15-12:15 LAB-305) |
|
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.