Department of Asian and Asian American Studies

California State University, Long Beach

Chinese 350: Business Chinese for Bilinguals

Spring 2007

Tuesdays 2:00-4:45 LA2-108

Instructor: Dr. Tim Xie

Office: FO3-315; Telephone: (562) 985-5278

E-mail: txie@csulb.edu, URL: http://www.csulb.edu/~txie

Office Hours: TBA or  by e-mail

 

Course Description and Objectives:

 

The rapid growth of international trade in Greater China (China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) has greatly enhanced economic growth and foreign capital investment in the past two decades. In recent years China has attempted to accommodate increased demand for greater market access for American goods and services. Supported by a strong economy and an increasingly open door policy, Greater China has emerged as an important economic giant in world affairs and has considerable influence over Asia and the globe. In the words of one scholar:

 

    "It is not unimaginable or unrealistic to assume that early in the 21st century the  combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Greater China will surpass those of the European Community and the United States; it will be the world's leading trader and in possession of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves; it will be a  source of state-of-art high technology and scientific and medical advances; it will be the world's largest consumer; it will garrison the world's largest military  establishment; and may be the pre-eminent member of the Group of Nine nations   (including Russia). Greater China will also overtake Japan as the dominant regional power, with Shanghai and Hong Kong the financial nexus of East Asian economic dynamism." (David Shambaugh, "Introduction: The Emergence of Greater China", The China Quarterly, December, 1993, p. 653.)

 

This course will prepare business majors for meeting new challenges in Asia and Greater China. The prospective businesspeople will benefit greatly from their learned knowledge and mastery of language skills. CHIN 350 is designed for students with the native/near native proficiency in Chinese who wish to improve their reading and writing skills for business purposes. The students must be able to read and write Chinese for general purposes, e.g. read and write letters to family members, read ads, news and/or some articles in the Chinese newspapers. The course will introduce a variety of written business forms in Chinese, examine business culture, practice and etiquette. After completing this course, the students will be able to use Chinese for business purposes. Specifically, they will achieve the following goals:

 

Speaking: Be able to talk about business issues, conduct business negotiations and make presentations in Chinese.

 

Reading: Be able to recognized simplified characters, read and discuss newspaper articles on business related issues, review business documents including invoice, shipping documents, bank statements, and brochures advertising products and commodities.

 

Writing: Be able to write resumes, business letters, product brochures or advertisements and draft a formal presentation.

 

Typing: Be able to use Chinese word processing software to type business-related documents, use e-mail to communicate with Chinese partners in Chinese and do web searching in Chinese.

 

Class Procedures

 

Class will be conducted in Chinese. The students will read assigned documents or articles. The instructor will give lectures on each topic and lead discussions. The variety of written forms of business styles will be introduced one by one. Students will be asked to compose letters, documents and advertisements, and fill out different kinds of forms in Chinese. All the written assignments must be typed. Students are required to have an email account for communicating with instructor and peers.

 

Each student will also be asked to find a “business associate.” They will devise fictitious companies. These would be the “companies” they will represent throughout the semester for the language practice.

 

Additional readings will be assigned in class.

 

 

Required Textbook:

 

1.      Business Chinese: An Advanced Reader by Cui Songren, 2004. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.

 

Optional and Recommended Learning Tools:

 

1. Advanced Business Chinese by Fangyuan Yuan. Yale University Press. 2004.

 

2. Business Writing in Chinese by Zhao Hongqin and Lü Wenzhen, 1992. Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press.

 

3. Microsoft Office (Word and PPT) and Chinese IME, email programs and web browser

 

Tests and Grading Policy:

 

The course grade will be based on a cumulative point-percentage system derived from scores on the following categories:

 

                                Category                                                                               Point-Percentages

                        Tests                                                                            30%

                        Homework and projects                                               20%

                        Classroom participation                                                10%    

                        Midterm and Final examination                                      40%        

                        T O T A L:                                                                   100%

 

Grade scale:  A (90-100%), B (80-89%), C (70-79%), D (60-69%), and F (below 60%)

 

The tests and exams 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. Absence for each class without any valid excuses or missing homework will lead to losing one point for your final score.

 

Tentative Course Schedule (subject to change)

 

Week

Content

1 (1/30)

Introduction (1): Traditional vs. simplified characters

2 (2/6)

L1 Establish Business Relationship (1)

3 (2/13)

L2 Procedures of International Trading (2)

4 (2/20)

Supplementary reading and disucssion

5 (2/27)

Review and Test 1

6 (3/6)

L3 Asking Price

7 (3/13)

L4 Price Negotiation

8 (3/20)

Supplementary reading

9 (3/27)

Midterm

  (4/3)

Spring Recess

10 (4/10)

L5 Commodity quality

11 (4/17)

L6 Quantity and Unit of Ordering

12 (4/24)

Review and Test 2

13 (5/1)

L8 Delivery and Shipment

14 (5/8)

L9 Payment

15 (5/15)

L10 Insurance

16 (5/22)

Final examination week

 

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.