COURSES

Mandarin 4-5 & Reading 1 or 100 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 100 characters

Topics:

• What’s your plan for the weekend
• When will he come back
• There are plenty of drinks on the table
• She always smiles when talking to customers
• I am getting heavier
• Why are they suddenly missing
• I have known her for five years

Grammar:

• Result complement ‘hao’
• Negative structure ‘not … at all’
• Conjunction ‘na’
• Directional complement
• Successive occurrence of two actions
• Rhetoric question ‘neng … ma’
• Comparison of ‘haishi’ and ‘huozhe’
• Expression of existence
• Possibility indicator ‘hui’
• Structure of ‘you…you…’
• Accompanying action V1+ zhe+ V2
• Change indicator ‘le’
• Structure of ‘yue lai yue…’
• Possibility complement V+de, V+bu
• Casual question word for location ‘ne’
• Comparison of ‘gang’ and ‘gangcai’
• Express a period of time
• Express interest
• Clock time expressions

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Talk about leisure plans
• Organise outing activities
• Make telephone calls
• Discuss weather and climate
• Do daily shopping
• Describe appearance and personality
• Describe sickness and see a doctor
• Organise travel plans and transport
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know Chinese traditional sports

Mandarin 5 & Reading 1 or 120 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 150 characters

Topics:

• I will go wherever you go
• She speaks Chinese like a native speaker
• Mathematics is much harder than history
• Don’t forget to turn off the air conditioner
• Leave the important items with me
• I walked back
• Please pass me the fruits

Grammar:

• Comparison of adverbs ‘you’ and ‘zai’
• Interrogative pronouns 1
• Structure of ‘yue A yue B’
• Comparative sentences ‘A gen B yiyang’
• Comparative sentences ‘A bi B+ adj +modification
• Expression of approximate numbers
• ‘Ba’ sentences
• Adv ‘cai’ and ‘jiu’
• Compound directional complement
• Structure of ‘yibian… yibian…’
• Sequence sentences, ‘xian…zai/you… ranhou…’

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Describe house layout
• Host guests at home
• Give advice on diet and health
• Discuss language learning issues
• Talk about school subjects
• Make comparison
• Talk about packing and luggage for travel
• Describe locations and directions
• Describe daily activities and house chores
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know traditional Chinese wedding custom

Mandarin 5-6 & Reading 1 or 140 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 200 characters

Topics:

• The rest are alright
• I am so tired that…
• Doing sports is important
• I believe they will agree
• Don’t you recognise him
• I have been influenced by him

Grammar:

• Structure ‘chule…yiwai, hai/ye/dou…’
• Interrogative pronouns 2
• Degree indicator ‘jile’
• Structures of ‘if…’
• Complex complements of state
• Reduplication of single syllable words ‘AA de, BB de’
• Reduplication of disyllable verbs
• Interrogative pronouns 3
• Structure ‘zhiyao… jiu…’
• Preposition ‘guanyu’
• Extension of directional complements
• Comparison of ‘shi’, ‘rang’, ‘jiao’
• Passive voice with ‘bei’
• Structure of ‘zhiyou…cai…’

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Make comments
• Give advice on language learning
• Make complain about daily life
• Talk about colleagues and other people
• Give advice on sports, exercise and health
• Talk about raising pets
• Attend job interviews
• Talk about change of appearance
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know Chinese gift giving taboos

Mandarin 6-7 & Reading 2 or 160 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 300 characters

Topics:

• Simple love
• A true friend
• I have made a good impression on the manager
• Don’t be anxious to make money
• Buy the right, not the expensive

Grammar:

• 不仅。。。也/还/而且。。。
• 从来
• 刚vs刚才
• 即使。。。也。。。
• 在。。。上
• 正好
• 差不多vs几乎
• 尽管。。。却。。。
• 却
• 而
• 挺+adj
• 本来
• 另外vs另
• 首次。。。其次。。。再次。。。
• 原来vs本来
• 并
• 按照
• 甚至
• 肯定
• 再说
• 实际/实际上
• 对。。。来说
• 尤其vs特别

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss relationship and marriage
• Know about Chinese traditional Qixi Festival
• Discuss friends and friendship
• Talk about recruitment and job interview
• Know about Chinese traditional tunic suit and cheongsam
• Discuss business and company culture
• Talk about consuming habits
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know more idioms, slangs and common saying

Mandarin 7 & Reading 2 or 180 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 400 characters

Topics:

• The higher price, the better the quality
• The best doctor is yourself
• Beauty is not rare in life
• The sun will shine again after storm
• Standard of happiness

Grammar:

• 竟然。。。
• X倍
• 值得/值
• 其中
• 在。。。下
• 估计vs可能
• 来不及/来得及
• 离合词重叠用法
• 要是。。。
• 既。。。又/也/还。。。
• 使
• 只要。。。就。。。
• 可不是
• 因此/所以
• 往往 vs常常vs经常
• 难道。。。
• 通过vs经过
• 可是
• 结果
• 上
• 不过vs但是vs可是
• 确实
• 在。。。看来
• 由于
• 比如

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Do shopping and bargaining
• Give advice on good habits and health
• Know about Taiji and Taijiquan
• Discuss transportation and traffic conditions
• Discuss colours and personalities
• Discuss diet and sports
• Discuss the secret of success
• Debate on issues of life and happiness
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know more idioms, slangs and common sayings

Mandarin 7-8 & Reading 2 or 200 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 500 characters

Topics:

• It’s good to read
• Discover the world with your heart
• Watching Beijing opera
• Protect our mother earth
• The art of educating children

Grammar:

• 连。。。也/都。。。
• 无论/不管
• 并且
• 再。。。也。。。
• 对于vs关于
• 大概vs也许
• 偶尔
• 由
• 进行
• 随着
• 够
• 以
• 既然。。。就。。。
• 于是vs因此
• A, B, C什么的
• 想起来
• 弄
• 千万vs一定
• 来
• 左右vs大概

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss reading habits
• Discuss exams
• Know about some classic work in Chinese literature
• Talk about life experience
• Know about Confucius’ education ideas
• Talk about Beijing opera
• Talk about Chinese tea culture and chopsticks
• Discuss pollution and environment issues
• Discuss children’s education issues
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know more idioms, slangs and common saying

Mandarin 8 & Reading 2 or 220 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 600 characters

Topics:

• Life can be better
• Humans and nature
• Science, technology and the world
• Taste of life
• The view along the way

Grammar:

• 可
• 恐怕vs怕
• 到底
• 拿。。。来说
• 敢
• 倒
• 干
• 趟vs次
• 为了。。。而。。。
• 仍然
• 是否
• 受不了/受得了
• 接着vs然后
• 除此之外
• 把。。。叫做。。。
• 疑问代词活指用法
• 上
• 出来vs起来
• 总的来说
• 在于
• V+着+V着
• 一。。。就。。。
• 究竟vs到底
• 起来
• V+起

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss young peoples’ lives in China
• Discuss nature issues
• Discuss panda and other endangered animals
• Discuss new technology and its impact
• Talk about ordinary peoples’ lives
• Talk about travel experiences
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know more idioms, slangs and common sayings

Mandarin Advanced 1

Knowledge of 700 characters

Topics:

• Details of love
• Leaving a bunch of keys to our parents
• Choices make change possible
• Zilu carrying rice
• Spring water in Ji’nan
• Origin of Chuxi

Grammar:

• 如何vs怎么
• 靠
• 居然
• 以来
• 临
• 立刻vs马上
• 悄悄vs偷偷
• 包括
• 各自
• 勿
• 时刻
• 舒适vs舒服
• 至今
• 顶
• 。。。得+不行
• 反而
• 满足vs满意
• 从而
• 于
• 为(wéi)
• 起来
• 替
• 说不定
• 似的
• 纷纷
• 打听vs询问

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss relationship and marriage
• Discuss the generation gap issues
• Discuss children’s education issues
• Discuss the filial concept
• Discuss traditional Chinese festivals
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know more idioms, slangs and common sayings

Mandarin Advanced 1

Knowledge of 800 characters

Topics:

• Two idiom stories
• Three at dawn and four at dusk
• Lu Xun that you don’t know
• Miracle of debate
• Harm of alarm clock
• Overseas users of wechat

Grammar:

• 瞎
• 分别
• 根
• 便
• 忽然vs突然
• 倒
• 。。。来。。。去
• 要不
• 彼此vs互相
• 算
• 作为
• 曾经
• 亲自vs自己
• 毕竟
• 逐渐vs渐渐
• 或许
• 显示vs显得
• 来/过来
• 所
• 相当
• 数
• 持续vs继续
• 以及
• 程度
• 发达vs发展

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Know stories of Chinese idioms
• Know the story behind the Chinese restaurant Guangheju
• Debate on the social issues
• Discuss lifestyles and everyday habits
• Discuss telecommunication and social media
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know more idioms, slangs and common sayings

Mandarin Advanced 2

Knowledge of 1,000 characters

Topics:

• Cutting off the ‘Bottom of the basket’ in life
• Quadrangle courtyards in Beijing
• Being an armchair strategist
• Weight and diet
• Ending at the best moment
• Abstract art: beautiful or ugly?

Grammar:

• 何况
• 何必
• 多亏
• 激烈vs强烈
• 所谓
• 则
• 为。。。所。。。
• 起
• 通常vs常常
• 过
• 迟早
• 再三
• 即
• 个别
• 非
• 临时vs暂时
• 以
• 平常
• 宁可
• 极其
• 其余
• 可见
• 目前vs现在

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Talk about the origin of basketball
• Talk about quadrangle courtyards in Beijing
• Know the story behind idiom –纸上谈兵
• Discuss diet and health issues
• Talk about abstract art
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know more idioms, slangs and common sayings

Mandarin Advanced 2

Knowledge of 1,000 characters

Topics:

• Turnip pancakes in my hometown
• Picture story book stalls
• Uncle Hanzi
• Reading and thinking
• Letting go
• Volunteer teaching

Grammar:

• 般/闻/趁
• 动词+得/不+起
• 支
• 凭
• 硬
• 偶然
• 尽快
• 一旦
• 难免
• 自从
• 一致
• 某
• 幸亏
• 行动
• 义务

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Talk about traditional Chinese cuisine
• Talk about the stories of Chinese characters
• Discuss reading and thinking issues
• Discuss young people’s education
• Discuss some volunteer work
• Know more characters and vocabularies
• Know more idioms, slangs and common sayings

Mandarin 5-6 or HSK Level 2

Topics:

• Numbers
• Greetings and socializing
• Family and friends
• Day and date
• Locations and directions
• Shopping
• Public transportation
• Past experiences
• Weather and climate
• Sports and leisure
• Picking up people from the airport
• Food and drink

Outcomes:

You will:

• Be able to read 250-300 characters
• Be able to use 400 words
• Have improved reading comprehension
• Have improved listening and speaking skills
• Be prepared for the HSK Level 3 Test

End of course test:

30 minute in-house character test

Mandarin 7-8, Mandarin Reading 1 or HSK Level 3

Topics:

• Inviting and declining an invitation
• Praising and responding
• Making comparisons
• More on sports and leisure
• Language learning
• Travel experiences
• Seeing a doctor
• Comforting people
• Shipment of luggage
• Helping people to make arrangements
• Chinese proverbs

Outcomes:

You will:

• Be able to read 500-550 characters
• Be able to use 800 words
• Have improved reading comprehension
• Have improved listening and speaking skills
• Be prepared for the HSK Level 4 Test

End of course test:

30 minute in-house character test

No prior reading knowledge

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

Stage 3

Duration of course:

2-3 school terms (40-60 hours)

• The Pinyin phonetic alphabet and basic strokes
• Numbers
• Greetings
• Names and age
• Family
• Occupation
• Dates and days
• Time and daily activities
• Means of transport
• Colours
• Clothing
• Parts of the body
• Chinese character structure and stroke order
• Chinese cultural notes

Outcomes:

Children will:

• Be able to read 150-200 characters
• Be able to use 300-400 words
• Be able to write texts of 50-60 words
• Have improved reading comprehension
• Have improved listening and speaking skills
• Have improved writing skills

End of course test:

No test

Completion of Easy Steps to Chinese Book 1 or 1 year of study

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

Stage 4

Duration of course:

2-3 school terms (40-60 hours)

Topics:

• Revision of the Pinyin phonetic alphabet and basic strokes
• Revision of Chinese characters
• Countries, nationalities and languages
• School subjects
• Making phone calls
• Weather and seasons
• Seeing doctor
• Hobby 1: Music
• Hobby 2: Sports
• Hobby 3: Dance
• Vegetables and fruits
• Daily meals
• Eating out
• House and furniture
• Neighbourhood
• Chinese character structure and stroke order
• Chinese cultural notes, traditions and stories

Outcomes:

Children will:

• Be able to read 250-350 characters
• Be able to use 500-600 words
• Be able to write texts of 100-150 words
• Have improved reading comprehension
• Have improved listening and speaking skills
• Have improved writing skills

End of course test:

No test

No prior or very little knowledge required.

Age Group: 

4-5 years

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent: 

Stage 2

Duration of course: 

1-2 school terms (20-40 hours)

Topics:

• Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Numbers
• Greetings
• Apologizing and responding
• Given name and surname
• Family
• Age
• Colours

Grammar:

• Initial and final sounds
• Tones
• ‘What’ questions
• ‘Ma’ questions
• Personal pronouns
• ‘There is’/’there are’

Outcomes: 

Children will be able to:

• Sound the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Use the tone system
• Count
• Know the names of colours
• Greet people
• Introduce themselves and others
• Talk about family members
• Ask and answer basic questions about people, age and family
• Relate their likes and dislikes
• Recognize some basic Chinese characters
• Sing Chinese songs

Early Learning 1 (Beginner) or equivalent

Age Group: 

4-5 years

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

Stage 3

Duration of course:

2 school terms (40 hours)

Topics:

• Revision of the Pinyin phonetic alphabet and Mandarin pronunciation
• More greetings
• About yourself
• More on family topics
• Large numbers
• More on likes and dislikes
• School uniform and clothes
• Looks and appearance
• Animals
• Fruit and vegetables
• Drink and food
• My school bag
• My home and my room
• Chinese songs
• Basic Chinese characters
• Chinese character structure and stroke order
• Chinese cultural notes, traditions and stories

Grammar:

• More on ‘ma’ questions
• More on ‘what’ questions
• Question words: ‘who’, ‘whose’
• ‘This is’/’that is’
• I wear …
• Adjectives
• ‘You have’
• Every day: ‘mei tian’

Outcomes:

Children will be able to:

• Count to large numbers
• Introduce themselves and others
• Talk about family members and kinship
• Ask and answer questions about people, their appearance, age and family
• Answer simple questions
• Comprehend simple Mandarin conversations
• Recognize additional basic Chinese characters
• Sing more Chinese songs

No prior knowledge

Age Group:

6-8 years

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

Stage 3

Duration of course:

1-2 school terms (20-40 hours)

Topics:

• Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Numbers
• Greetings
• Apologizing and responding
• Given name and surname
• Family
• Age
• Colours
• Chinese songs

Grammar:

• Initial and final sounds
• Tones
• ‘What’ questions
• ‘Ma’ questions
• Personal pronouns
• ‘There is’/’there are’
• Likes and dislikes
• Basic Chinese characters
• Chinese character structure and stroke order
• Chinese cultural notes

Outcomes:

Children will be able to:

• Sound the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Use the tone system
• Count
• Know the names of colours
• Greet people
• Introduce themselves and others
• Talk about family members
• Ask and answer basic questions about people, age and family
• Relate their likes and dislikes
• Recognize some basic Chinese characters
• Sing Chinese songs

Early Learning 1 (Beginner) or equivalent

Age Group:

6-8 years

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

Stage 3

Duration of course:

2 school terms (40 hours)

Topics:

• Revision of the Pinyin phonetic alphabet and Mandarin pronunciation
• More greetings
• About yourself
• More on family topics
• Large numbers
• More on likes and dislikes
• School uniform and clothes
• Looks and appearance
• Animals
• Fruit and vegetables
• Drink and food
• My school bag
• My home and my room
• Chinese songs
• Basic Chinese characters
• Chinese character structure and stroke order
• Chinese cultural notes, traditions and stories

Grammar:

• More on ‘ma’ questions
• More on ‘what’ questions
• Question words: ‘who’, ‘whose’
• ‘This is’/’that is’
• I wear …
• Adjectives
• ‘You have’
• Every day: ‘mei tian’

Outcomes:

Children will be able to:

• Count to large numbers
• Introduce themselves and others
• Talk about family members and kinship
• Ask and answer questions about people, their appearance, age and family
• Answer simple questions
• Comprehend simple Mandarin conversations
• Recognize additional basic Chinese characters
• Sing more Chinese songs

No prior knowledge

Age Group:

9-12 years

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

Stage 4

Duration of course:

1-2 school terms (equivalent to 20-40 hours)

Topics:

• Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Numbers
• Greetings
• Apologizing and responding
• Given name and surname
• Family
• Age
• Colours
• Chinese songs

Grammar:

• Initial and final sounds
• Tones
• ‘What’ questions
• ‘Ma’ questions
• Personal pronouns
• ‘There is’/’there are’
• Likes and dislikes
• Basic Chinese characters
• Chinese character structure and stroke order
• Chinese cultural notes, traditions and stories

Outcomes:

Children will be able to:

• Sound the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Use the tone system
• Count
• Know the names of colours
• Greet people
• Introduce themselves and others
• Talk about family members
• Ask and answer basic questions about people, age and family
• Relate their likes and dislikes
• Recognize some basic Chinese characters
• Sing Chinese songs

Junior 1 (Beginner) or equivalent

Age Group: 

9-12 years

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

Stage 4

Duration of course:

2 school terms (40 hours)

Topics:

• Revision of the Pinyin phonetic alphabet and Mandarin pronunciation
• More greetings
• About yourself
• More on family topics
• Large numbers
• More on likes and dislikes
• School uniform and clothes
• Looks and appearance
• Animals
• Fruit and vegetables
• Drink and food
• My school bag
• My home and my room
• Chinese songs
• Basic Chinese characters
• Chinese character structure and stroke order
• Chinese cultural notes, traditions and stories

Grammar:

• More on ‘ma’ questions
• More on ‘what’ questions
• Question words: ‘who’, ‘whose’
• ‘This is’/’that is’
• I wear …
• Adjectives
• ‘You have’
• Every: ‘mei’

Outcomes:

Children will be able to:

• Count to large numbers
• Introduce themselves and others
• Talk about family members and kinship
• Ask and answer questions about people, their appearance, age and family
• Answer simple questions
• Comprehend simple Mandarin conversations
• Recognize additional basic Chinese characters
• Sing more Chinese songs

Completion of Chinese Made Easy for Kids, Book 1 or 1 year of study

Age Group:

13-15 years

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

Stage 5

Duration of course:

2 school terms (40 hours)

Topics:

• Revision of Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Revision of Chinese characters
• Where do you live?
• More on family life
• Day, date and birthday
• The Chinese zodiac
• More on colours
• Describing people
• School life
• My classmates
• Nationalities
• More Chinese characters
• Chinese songs
• Chinese cultural notes, traditions and stories

Grammar:

• Question words: ‘where’, ‘how many’, etc
• Measure words
• More on adjectives
• Reduplicated adjectives
• You have …
• More on likes and dislikes
• Prepositional phrases
• Some: ‘you de’

Outcomes:

Children will be able to:

• Make friends by asking for name, age, nationality, language spoken, zodiac sign
• Talk about family members and kinship
• Ask the time, day, date and birthday
• Describe daily activities
• Talk about school life
• Tell more about their likes and dislikes
• Create and tell their own stories
• Recognize and write more Chinese characters
• Sing more Chinese songs

Junior 1 (Beginner) or 1½ years of study

Age Group:

13-15 years

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

Stage 5

Duration of course:

2 school terms (40 hours)

Topics:

• Revision of Chinese characters
• Vocabulary revision
• Nationalities
• Chinese and other languages
• My school
• Classroom and everyday instructions
• The time
• Daily activities
• Meals
• Transportation
• Hobbies
• More Chinese songs
• More Chinese characters
• Chinese cultural notes, traditions and stories

Grammar:

• Question words: ‘how’, ‘why’, etc
• Can: ‘hui’
• Modal verb ‘would like to’: ‘xiang’
• Please: ‘qing’
• Don’t: ‘bie’
• Topic and comment sentence structure
• Time expressions
• Usually: ‘yiban’
• Adverbs

Outcomes:

Children will be able to:

• Ask the time, day, date and birthday
• Describe everyday routines
• Talk about school life
• Discuss hobbies
• Talk about travel by different modes of transport
• Create and tell their own stories
• Recognize and write more Chinese characters
• Sing more Chinese songs

• No prior reading knowledge

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

• Stage 3

Duration of course:

• 2-3 school terms (40-60 hours)

• The Pinyin phonetic alphabet and basic strokes
• Numbers
• Greetings
• Names and age
• Family
• Occupation
• Dates and days
• Time and daily activities
• Means of transport
• Colours
• Clothing
• Parts of the body
• Chinese character structure and stroke order
• Chinese cultural notes

Outcomes:

Children will:

• Be able to read 150-200 characters
• Be able to use 300-400 words
• Be able to write texts of 50-60 words
• Have improved reading comprehension
• Have improved listening and speaking skills
• Have improved writing skills

End of course test:

• No test

• Completion of Easy Steps to Chinese Book 1 or 1 year of study

NSW Department of Education Syllabus equivalent:

• Stage 4

Duration of course:

• 2-3 school terms (40-60 hours)

• Revision of the Pinyin phonetic alphabet and basic strokes
• Revision of Chinese characters
• Countries, nationalities and languages
• School subjects
• Making phone calls
• Weather and seasons
• Seeing doctor
• Hobby 1: Music
• Hobby 2: Sports
• Hobby 3: Dance
• Vegetables and fruits
• Daily meals
• Eating out
• House and furniture
• Neighbourhood
• Chinese character structure and stroke order
• Chinese cultural notes, traditions and stories

Outcomes:

Children will:

• Be able to read 250-350 characters
• Be able to use 500-600 words
• Be able to write texts of 100-150 words
• Have improved reading comprehension
• Have improved listening and speaking skills
• Have improved writing skills

End of course test:

• No test

No prior or very little knowledge required.

Topics:

• Revision of Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Large numbers
• Family and friends
• Work
• Ordinal numbers
• Days and date
• Weather and climate
• Travel plans
• Locations and directions
• Transport
• Monetary units
• Measure words
• Shopping (1)

Grammar:

• More on affirmative-negative questions
• Location and direction words
• More question words: where, how, why, etc
• Measure words
• More on particle ‘le’
• Modal verbs ‘xiang’, ‘yao’, ‘keyi’
• Modal verb ‘hui’
• Verbs with complements (1)
• Sentences with ‘gei’
• Verbs with the result complement (1)
• Past tense
• Present continuous tense

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Describe locations and give directions
• Travel by different modes of transport
• Discuss the weather and climate
• Discuss travel plans
• Go shopping
• Arrange to go out for various activities
• Ask for and make comments

Mandarin Elementary 1 & 2 or 30-40 hours of prior study

Topics:

• Reinforcing Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Revision of measure words
• Revision of money
• Shopping (2)
• Talking about clothes, size and colours
• Making comparisons
• Discussing past experiences
• Food and drink
• Eating at a restaurant
• Catching a taxi and buying train tickets
• Booking a hotel room
• Making a complaint
• Character study

Grammar:

• Questions of choice using ‘or’
• Verbs with the directional complement
• ‘Shi … de’ structure
• ‘Yao … le’
• Prepositional phrases
• Not at all: ‘yi … ye bu’
• Asking for permission and responding
• The modal verb ‘can’
• Verb + ‘guo’
• Continuous and future tenses
• Verbs with complements (2)
• Adverbs ‘hai’ and ‘zai’
• Adverbs ‘cai’ and ‘jiu’
• Verbs with the result complement (2)
• ‘Shi bu shi’ sentences

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss clothes, sizes, colours and price
• Issue an invitation and decline an invitation politely
• Express different concepts of ‘can’
• Order food at a restaurant
• Book a hotel room
• Catch a taxi and buy train tickets

Mandarin Elementary 3 or 40-50 hours of prior study
Knowledge of 100 characters

Topics:

• Your experience learning Mandarin
• Describing locations and giving directions
• Travel experiences in China
• Organizing a travel itinerary
• Travel advice
• Chinese culture
• Seeing a doctor
• Health and exercise
• Sports
• Chinese food
• Organizing a party
• Comparing Chinese and Western food
• Character study

Grammar:

• Verb + object + verb + ‘de’ (得) + complement
• ‘Lian … ye …’ (连 …也 …)
• ‘Duoshao’ (多少) versus ‘ji’ (几)
• ‘Shi … de’ (是 … 的) to indicate the past
• The comparative using ‘bi’ (比)
• While: ‘yibian … yibian …’ (一边 … 一边 …)
• Verb with complement ‘wan’ (完)
• Using ‘de … bing’ (得 … 病) to describe health problems
• More + verb: ‘duo’ (多) + verb
• ‘Shenme’ (什么) used in negative sentences and as an indefinite pronoun
• ‘Bingqie’ (并且) versus ‘he’ (和)
• ‘Ba’ (把)’Or’: ‘haishi’ (还是) versus ‘huozhe’ (或者)

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss your Chinese language learning experience
• Discuss travel experiences and organize an itinerary
• Give and ask for directions
• Use public transport
• Talk about health conditions and see a doctor
• Plan a leisure activity
• Discuss the difference between Chinese food and Western food

Mandarin Intermediate 1 or 60-70 hours of prior study
Knowledge of 200 characters

Topics:

• Celebrating Chinese New Year
• Personal interests and hobbies
• Chinese literature
• Sports and games
• Primary school education in China
• University life in China
• Studying overseas
• Looking for jobs
• Aspirations and careers
• Character study

Grammar:

• Adverbs: ‘cai’ (才) versus ‘jiu’ (就)
• Chinese couplets (春联)
• Plural ‘-men’ (们)
• 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac
• ‘Since’: ‘zicong… yilai’ (自从 … 以来)
• More on verbs with the result complement and the potential complement
• ‘Yixie’ (一些) versus ‘youxie’ (有些)
• More on particle ‘le’ (了)
• Comparing and contrasting
• ‘However’: ‘er’ (而), ‘danshi’ (但是)
• Topic-comment sentence structure
• The passive voice
• Conditional sentences (‘If … ‘)

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Convey Chinese New Year greetings
• Discuss personal interests and hobbies
• Discuss education in China
• Discuss overseas study experiences
• Discuss aspirations and career paths

Mandarin Elementary 2 or 80 hours of prior study
Knowledge of 300 characters

Topics:

• Public transport
• Environmental issues
• Computers and the internet
• New technology and the information revolution
• Marriage as a social issue
• Child rearing
• Lifestyle changes in China
• The Open Door Policy and reform in China
• Urban and country life in China
• China’s economic growth (1)
• Character study

Grammar:

• Formal passive voice marker ‘bei’ (被)
• ‘Dei’ (得): have to and its negative form
• Informal passive voice markers: 让，叫，给 …
• More on end of sentence particle ‘le’ (了)
• ‘Not only … but also …’ (不但 … 而且 …)
• 在 … 上
• 学 versus 学会
• ‘De’ (得) before a verbal phrase or clause
• 宁愿 … 也 …
• 凑合
• 无论 … 还是…, 不管 … 还是 …
• More on 把 sentences
• 虽然 … 但是 …
• 要是…, 就好了!
• Idioms and proverbs (成语和俗语，俚语)

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss public transport
• Discuss environmental issues
• Discuss the influence of computers and the internet on people’s lives
• Discuss new technology and its impact on everyday life
• Discuss marriage and children
• Discuss lifestyle changes
• Discuss economic growth

Mandarin Intermediate 3 or 100 hours of prior study
Knowledge of 400 characters

Topics:

• Reading about and discussing recent events and other topical issues
• Giving an oral presentation
• Social issues
• Business issues
• Chinese culture
• Slang, proverbs, idioms
• Character study

Grammar:

• Grammar points from the reading material provided
• Complex sentences
• Useful expressions
• Written and colloquial expression
• Formal and informal styles

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss social life in China
• Discuss social issues in China
• Use more slang, proverbs and idioms
• Give a speech at a social occasion or present a report at a business event
• Communicate at a higher level in a variety of contexts
• Understand spoken Mandarin in a variety of contexts

Mandarin Advanced 1 or 120 hours of prior study
Knowledge of 800 characters

Topics:

• Cultural/social topics
• The changing world
• Global issues
• Youth culture
• Individuals and the community
• China’s economic growth (2)
• Cross-cultural issues
• Further news studies

Grammar:

• Grammar points from the reading material provided
• Complex sentences
• Useful expressions
• More slang terms
• Written and colloquial expression
• Formal and informal styles

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Express your ideas, opinions and thoughts on various topics
• Discuss attitudes, opinions and ideas
• Better understand written and spoken language
• Argue and debate various topics
• Use a wider range of vocabulary
• Understand different Mandarin genres

No prior knowledge

Topics:

• Introduction to Mandarin
• Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Formal and informal greetings and leave-taking
• Name, nationality, job and age
• Introducing yourself and others
• Family and friends
• Numbers
• Asking the time
• Daily activities
• Day and date
• Making suggestions

Grammar:

• Yes/no questions
• This is/that is
• Have/not have
• Question words: ‘shenme’, ‘ne’, ‘ba’, ‘shei’
• Topic + comment structure
• ‘… hao ma?’

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Greet people formally and informally
• Introduce yourself and others
• Discuss and gather personal information about jobs, nationalities and age
• Discuss family members and marital status
• Ask the time and date
• Describe daily activities
• Make suggestions
• Particle ‘le’

No prior knowledge

Topics:

• Revision of Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Revision of numbers
• Revision of other key topics from Mandarin 1
• Locations
• Giving directions
• Monetary units
• Measure words
• Shopping
• Changing buses
• Money exchange
• Phone calls
• Past experiences

Grammar:

• Affirmative-negative questions
• Location and direction words
• More question words: where, how, why, etc
• Measure words
• More on particle ‘le’
• Reduplication of verbs
• Modal verbs ‘xiang’, ‘yao’, ‘keyi’
• Modal verb ‘hui’
• Ordinal numbers
• Sentences with ‘gei’
• Verbs with the result complement (1)
• Past experiences: verb + ‘guo’

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Describe locations and give directions
• Handle monetary units and express different currencies
• Go shopping
• Arrange to go out for various activities
• Talk about clothes, sizes, colour and prices
• Travel by bus
• Exchange money
• Make phone calls

Mandarin 1 & 2 or 30-40 hours of prior study

Topics:

• Reinforcing Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Revision of measure words
• Revision of money, prices, size and colours
• Weather and climate
• Leisure and sports
• Picking up people from the airport
• Food and drink
• Inviting people to events
• Declining an invitation
• Persuasion
• Apologies, running late and being absent
• Borrowing and lending things
• Character study

Grammar:

• Questions of choice: or
• Verbs with the directional complement (1)
• ‘Shi … de’ structure
• ‘Yao … le’
• Prepositional phrases
• Not at all: ‘yi … ye bu’
• Asking for permission and responding
• The modal verb can
• Continuous and future tenses
• Adverbs ‘hai’ and ‘zai’
• Adverbs ‘cai’ and ‘jiu’
• Verbs with the result complement (2)
• ‘Shi bu shi’

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss the weather and climate
• Issue an invitation and decline an invitation politely
• Talk about sports and leisure
• Express different concepts of ‘can’
• Order food and drinks
• Apologise
• Read 20 characters

Mandarin 3 or 50-60 hours of prior study

Topics:

• Character revision
• Review expressing past experiences
• Revision of all question words
• Praising and responding
• Making strong suggestions
• Making comparisons
• More about the weather
• More on sports and leisure
• Language learning
• Travel experiences
• Buying air and train tickets
• Character study

Grammar:

• Both … and: ‘you … you’
• Rhetorical questions
• Verbs with the potential complement (1)
• Past and perfect tenses
• Comparisons with ‘bi’
• If: ‘yaoshi’
• ‘Ba’ sentences
• Chinese proverbs
• Complex sentences
• More on adverbs
• Verbs with the duration complement (1)
• As soon as … then …: ‘yi … jiu’

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Offer congratulations on various occasions
• Make comparisons
• Discuss language learning
• Discuss travel experiences
• Give travel advice
• Buy air and train tickets
• Read 50-60 characters

Mandarin 4 or 60-80 hours of prior study. Knowledge of 50-60 characters

Topics:

• Character revision
• Revision of complex sentences
• Booking a hotel room
• Seeing a doctor (1)
• Comforting people
• Seeing people off at a train station or railway
• Shipment of luggage
• Bon voyage
• Helping people to make arrangements
• More Chinese proverbs
• Character study

Grammar:

• Reduplication of adjectives
• More on ‘ba’ sentences
• More on complex sentences
• More adverbs
• More measure words
• Verbs with the result complement (3)
• Passive voice: ‘bei’
• Verbs with the duration complement (2)
• Verbs with the potential complement (2)
• ‘yi … jiu …’
• the more …, the more …
• the adjective ‘getting’: ‘yue lai yue’
• continuation and progression of an action: ‘zhe’

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Book a hotel room
• See a doctor
• Comfort people
• See people off at a train station or airport
• Ship luggage
• Use more Chinese proverbs
• Read 100-150 characters

Mandarin 5 or 100 hours of prior study.

Knowledge of 100-150 characters

Topics:

• Your experience learning Mandarin
• Travel experiences in China
• Organizing a travel itinerary
• Travel advice
• Chinese culture
• Seeing a doctor (2)
• Health and exercise
• Chinese food
• Organizing a party
• Comparing Chinese and Western food
• Character study

Grammar:

• Verb + object + verb + ‘de’ (得) + complement
• ‘Lian … ye …’ (连 …也 …)
• ‘Duoshao’ (多少) versus ‘ji’ (几)
• ‘Shi … de’ (是 … 的) to indicate the past
• The comparative using ‘bi’ (比)
• While: ‘yibian … yibian …’ (一边 … 一边 …)
• Verb with complement ‘wan’ (完)
• Using ‘de … bing’ (得 … 病) to describe health problems
• ‘More’ + verb: ‘duo’ (多) + verb
• ‘Shenme’ (什么) used in negative sentences and as an indefinite pronoun
• ‘Bingqie’ (并且) versus ‘he’ (和)
• ‘Ba’ (把)
• ‘Or’: ‘haishi’ (还是) versus ‘huozhe’ (或者)

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss your Chinese language learning experience
• Discuss travel experiences and organize an itinerary
• Give and ask for directions
• Use public transport
• Talk about health conditions and see a doctor
• Plan a leisure activity
• Discuss the difference between Chinese food and Western food
• Read 150-200 characters

Mandarin 6 or 120 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 150-200 characters

Topics:

• Celebrating Chinese New Year
• Personal interests and hobbies
• Chinese literature
• Sports and games
• Primary school education in China
• University life in China
• Studying overseas
• Looking for jobs
• Aspirations and careers
• Character study

Grammar:

• Adverbs: ‘cai’ (才) versus ‘jiu’ (就)
• Chinese couplets (春联)
• Plural ‘-men’ (们)
• 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac
• ‘Since’: ‘zicong … yilai’ (自从 … 以来)
• More on verbs with the result complement or the potential complement
• ‘Yixie’ (一些) versus ‘youxie’ (有些)
• More on particle ‘le’ (了)
• Comparing and contrasting
• ‘However’: ‘er’ (而) or ‘danshi’ (但是)
• Topic-comment sentence structure
• The passive voice
• Conditional sentences (‘If … ‘)

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Convey Chinese New Year greetings
• Discuss personal interests and hobbies
• Discuss education in China
• Discuss overseas study experiences
• Discuss aspirations and career paths
• Read at least 300 characters

Mandarin 7 or 120-150 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 300 characters

Topics:

• Public transport
• Environmental issues
• Computers and the internet
• New technology and the information revolution
• Marriage as a social issue
• Child rearing
• Lifestyle changes in China
• The Open Door Policy and reform in China
• Urban and country life in China
• China’s economic growth (1)
• Character study

Grammar:

• Formal passive voice marker ‘bei’ (被)
• ‘Dei’ (得): have to and its negative form
• Informal passive voice markers: 让，叫，给…
• More on end of sentence particle ‘le’ (了)
• ‘Not only … but also …’ (不但 … 而且 …)
• 在 … 上
• 学 versus 学会
• ‘De’ (得) before a verbal phrase or clause
• 宁愿 … 也 …
• 凑合
• 无论 … 还是 …, 不管… 还是 …
• More on 把 sentences
• 虽然 … 但是 …
• 要是 …，就好了!
• Idioms and proverbs (成语和俗语，俚语)

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss public transport
• Discuss environmental issues
• Discuss the influence of computers and the internet on people’s lives
• Discuss new technology and its impact on everyday life
• Discuss marriage and children
• Discuss lifestyle changes
• Discuss economic growth
• Read 400 characters

Mandarin 8 or 150 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 400 characters

Topics:

• Reading about and discussing recent events and other topical issues
• Giving an oral presentation
• Social issues
• Business issues
• Chinese culture
• Slang, proverbs, idioms
• Character study

Grammar:

• Grammar points from the reading material provided
• Complex sentences
• Useful expressions
• Written and colloquial expression
• Formal and informal styles

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss social life in China
• Discuss social issues in China
• Use more slang, proverbs and idioms
• Give a speech at a social occasion or present a report at a business event
• Communicate at a higher level in a variety of contexts
• Understand spoken and written Mandarin in a variety of contexts
• Read approximately 800 characters

Mandarin Advanced 1 or 180 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 800 characters

Topics:

• Cultural/social topics
• The changing world
• Global issues
• Youth culture
• Individuals and the community
• China’s economic growth (2)
• Cross-cultural issues
• Further news studies

Grammar:

• Grammar points from the reading material provided
• Complex sentences
• Useful expressions
• More slang terms
• Written and colloquial expression
• Formal and informal styles

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Express your ideas, opinions and thoughts on various topics
• Discuss attitudes, opinions and ideas
• Better understand written and spoken language
• Argue and debate various topics
• Use a wider range of vocabulary
• Understand different Mandarin genres