Subject Area: Chinese Studies

This introductory Chinese course is for background Chinese speakers who recognise fewer than 50 Chinese characters. We identify a background Chinese speaker as one who has grown up in a family or environment where Chinese (Mandarin or any dialect, e.g. Cantonese) is used in daily life AND who can more or less understand spoken Chinese (Mandarin or any dialect, e.g. Cantonese) even if s/he cannot manage to engage in very basic conversations in Chinese.

The course will teach
 you how
 the
 Chinese language works both grammatically and in sociocultural contexts.
 A
 cultural
 awareness 
is built into the 
course. 


The course consists of one 2-hour lecture and 3 hours of tutorial per week. All
 the 
four
 language
 skills—listening, speaking, reading, and
 writing—will be integrated throughout this 
course through 
various activities. Two of the three 
tutorials 
are
 mainly 
focused
 on
 grammar,
 translation and composition,
 while
 the 
other one is
 devoted to oral
 communication.