COURSES

No prior knowledge

Topics:

• Introduction to Mandarin
• Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Numbers
• Formal, informal greetings and leave-takings
• Name, country and nationality
• Introducing yourself and others
• Asking the time
• Daily activities
• Day and date
• Shopping
• Monetary units
• Colours, clothes and measure words
• Family, age and jobs

Grammar:

• Yes/no questions
• ‘ji’ and ‘duoshao’ questions
• Have/not have
• This is/that is
• Question words: ‘shenme’, ‘shei’, ‘nar’
• Topic + comment structure
• ‘… xing ma?’
• ‘duo+adj’ questions
• Characters of number 0-10

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
• Ask the time and date
• Describe daily activities
• Do shopping for food and clothes
• Talk about clothes, sizes, colour and prices
• Bargain
• Read first 10 characters

No prior knowledge

Topics:

• Revision of Mandarin pronunciation and the Pinyin phonetic alphabet
• Revision of numbers
• Revision of other key topics from Mandarin 1
• Eating in a Chinese restaurant
• Giving directions
• Describing distances
• Catching a taxi
• Sports
• Socialising
• Weather
• Making suggestions
• Making phone calls

Grammar:

• Asking and making comments
• More measure words
• More question words ‘how’, ‘which’, ‘when’
• More ‘duo+adj’ questions
• Present, past and future tenses
• ‘shenme shihou’ question
• Modal verbs ‘xiang’, ‘yao’, ‘keyi’
• Reduplicate of adjectives
• 10 new characters

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Order food in a Chinese restaurant
• Ask and give directions
• Describe distances
• Arrange to go out for various activities
• Describe weather
• Travel by means of transportation
• Make phone calls
• Read 20 characters

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, sizes and colours
• Locations and facilities
• Body parts and ailments
• Seeing a doctor
• Borrowing books at the library
• Registering for a library card
• Money exchange
• Applying for a bank card

Grammar:

• Modal particle ‘le’
• ‘ne’ and ‘nar’ question
• There is, there are…
• Compass directions
• Affirmative-negative question ‘shi bu shi’
• Frequency ‘ci’
• Adverb ‘jiu’
• ‘xiang’ and ‘yao’
• ‘keyi’, ‘hui’ and ‘neng’
• ‘ji’ as several
• Verb+result complement ‘hao’
• Verb+measure words ‘ci’,’bian’ and ‘tang’
• Duration of time
• 20 characters

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Ask and describe locations
• Describe your body parts and ailments
• Understand simple medicine instructions
• Borrow books at the library
• Express different concepts of ‘can’
• Apply for a bank card at the bank
• Read 40-50 characters

Mandarin 3 or 50-60 hours of prior study

Topics:

• Character revision
• Review present, past and future tenses
• Revision of all question words
• Housework
• Arranging a birthday party
• Holidays and travelling
• Means of transportation
• Making tour plans
• Talking about past experiences
• Booking air tickets
• Checking in at the airport
• More character study

Grammar:

• ‘Ba’ sentences
• Don’t… ‘bu yao’ and ‘bie’
• Exclamation sentences
• Verb+ guo
• More on affirmative-negative questions
• Make a strong suggestion using ‘haishi’
• Choice questions with ‘haishi’
• ‘gai…le’
• ‘jiuyao…le’
• Past and perfect tenses
• More character study

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Express likes and dislikes
• Instruct people to do house chores
• Arrange a birthday party
• Talk about past experiences
• Talk about travel experiences
• Arrange tour plans
• Buy air tickets
• Check in at the airport
• Read 60-80 characters

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

Topics:

• Character revision
• Revision of expressing past experiences
• Revision of ‘ba’ sentences
• Sports and leisure
• Entertainment
• Describing daily life
• Weather and climate
• Discussing takeaway food
• Talking about lost properties
• Describing a car accident

Grammar:

• More and most+adj
• Complex sentences with ‘danshi’ and ‘buguo’
• Complex sentences with ‘chule…hai’
• More adverbs
• Verb+duration complement
• Verb+degree complement
• More on present tense
• Verb+zhe
• Comparison sentences with ‘bi’
• Negative comparison sentences
• Passive voice
• ‘Shi…de’ sentences
• When sentences
• Verb+result complement
• More character study

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Talk about sports and leisure
• Discuss someone’s hobbies
• Describe daily life
• Make comparisons
• Talk more on weather and climate
• Describe accidents
• Use complex sentences
• Read 90-120 characters

Mandarin 5 or 100 hours of prior study.

Knowledge of 100-150 characters

Topics:

• Revision of comparison
• Revision of complex sentences
• Revision of passive voice
• Job interview
• Teaching English in China
• Talking about work experiences
• Online shopping
• Renting an apartment
• Talking about hair dressing
• Going to the gym

Grammar:

• Verb + object + verb + ‘de’ (得) + complement
• Verb+result complement
• More complex sentences with ‘erqie’
• ‘Hui’+verb
• If sentences with ‘ruguo’ and ‘yaoshi’
• Ordinal numbers
• Complex sentences ‘bushi…ershi…’
• ‘Shenme’ as ‘whatever’
• Verbs+de change into nouns
• Both with ‘you…you…’
• Complex sentences with ‘yinwei…suoyi…’
• Sentences with ‘zhenghao’
• Verb +zhe
• Verb+potential complement
• Frequency with ‘ci’
• Verb+duration complement+object
• Read 120-150 characters

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Discuss your language learning experience
• Describe job interview experience
• Discuss online shopping
• Describe house facilities
• Rent an apartment or house
• Talk about hair dressing
• Talk about your gym experiences and fitness plans
• Read 150-200 characters

Mandarin 6 or 120 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 150-200 characters

Topics:

• Revision of complex sentences
• Revision of Verb+potential complement
• Discussing job interview
• Job recruitment
• Giving presents
• Describing a birthday party
• Sending and receiving express delivery
• Requesting for a refund
• Dragon Boat Festival
• Chinese culture and traditions

Grammar:

• Passive voice with ‘bei’ II
• More of complex sentences with ‘suiran…danshi…’
• Hao+verb
• Future tense with ‘jiang’
• Complex sentences with ‘budan…erqie…’
• A shi A, keshi…
• Adverb ‘jiu’ and ‘cai’
• ‘Rang’ sentences
• Verb+directional complement
• Complex sentences with ‘jiran…jiu…’
• Complex sentences with ‘zhihao…’
• Complex sentences with ‘bushi…jiushi…’
• A he B yiyang/bu yiyang
• Read 200-250 characters

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Understand job recruitment requirements
• Attend job interview
• Arrange a party and presents
• Send and receive express delivery
• Request for a refund
• Describe Dragon Boat Festival activities
• Understand Chinese traditional festivals
• Read 200-250 characters

Mandarin 7 or 120-150 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 250 characters

Topics:

• Revision of complex sentences
• Revision of verb+directional complement
• Talk about dating experiences
• Describe personal appearances
• Marriage and wedding
• Taking a job overseas
• Talking about business plans
• Character study

Grammar:

• Verb+directional complement with ‘qilai’, ‘chulai’,’xialai’ and ‘xiaqu’
• Adjectives+’si le’, ‘ji le’ and ‘huai le’
• Complex sentences with ‘budan… erqie/hai…’
• Complex sentences with ‘zhiyao…jiu/dou…’
• Complex sentences with ‘wulun…dou…’
• Complex sentences with ‘zhiyou… cai…’
• Even, ‘lian…ye…’ sentences
• However ‘er’
• Complex sentences with ‘ningke…ye bu…’
• Complex sentences with ‘zhiyou…cai…’
• Complex sentences with ‘yi Vi…jiu V2…’
• Even if, ‘jishi… ye…’ sentences
• Adverb ‘shenzhi’
• Read 300 characters

Outcomes:

You will be able to:

• Talk about dating experiences and romance
• Describe personal appearances
• Talk about Chinese and Western style weddings
• Discuss plans of studying and working overseas
• Discuss business plans
• Read 300 characters

Mandarin 8 or 150 hours of prior study

Knowledge of 300 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