Textbook(s)

Main text: Colloquial Chinese (the character text in full-form) by P. C. T'ung and D. E. Pollard

Other: Additional character writing sheets and Aural/Oral lab materials will be handed out in the first session of class. There will be a fee for these materials.

Course Objectives

This course serves the same goals as Elementary Chinese N class, but goes at half the pace of N class. This course only starts in Spring semester every year. Students in the this course are expected to do the following by the end of the academic year:

• Be able to understand simple questions and answers
• Be able to comprehend short dialogues and passages read or spoken by Chinese natives at normal speed with familiar vocabulary.

• Be able to ask and answer questions in Chinese. 
• Be able to talk about simple everyday activities with accuracy and fluency. 
• Be able to handle simple survival situations (initiating conversations, shopping, asking for directions, etc.).

• Be able to comprehend short written dialogues and reading passages with familiar vocabulary.

• Be able to write Chinese phonetic symbols (Pinyin) correctly.
• Know the principles of writing traditional Chinese characters (stroke order, radicals, etc.). 
• Be able to write essays of approximately 200-300 characters about simple everyday activities.

Course Requirements

1. Attendance: Attendance in regular class and drill session will be counted in the calculation of your final grade.
2. Preparation: You are expected to work a minimum of one and half hours every day. Routine preparation includes listening to the tapes, writing characters, studying the vocabulary, patterns and texts, reading grammar notes. 
3. Homework Assignments: Written: Character exercises, grammar exercises, and short essays Oral: 1) Recite (from memory) the selected paragraph(s) of each lesson. 2) Audio tape your oral assignments as instructed.
4. Oral Sessions: All students in N classes are required to attend the weekly oral sessions.