• describe causative, progressive, passive and continuous states and give instructions using the appropriate forms;
• master all the basic sentence structures of Mandarin Chinese;
• engage with and respond to a selection of aural and written material grounded in aspects of daily life in China;
• extend your knowledge and use of four-character phrases. Your knowledge of characters will have increased by approx. 230.

Basic linguistic structures to include:

• the 'ba' construction;
• causative forms;
• reduplication of stative verbs;
• adverbials;
• extended use of directional complements;
• the progressive aspect;
• written style.

Topics may include:

• chinese cuisine;
• travelling and studying in China.

In line with MFL communicative and active learning methodology, in-class activities cover all four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) and include: Pair work and group work; individual tasks; discovery and formulation of rules; work with texts, audio and video material to develop learning and communicative skills. Homework tasks give you the opportunity to revise and consolidate knowledge and skills and to develop an awareness of how to use language learning tools independently.

Feedback on formative assessment is given within two weeks of submission to the VLE. Feedback on examinations 1 & 2 is also given within 2 weeks. Feedback on the third examination (listening) will only be given if time allows.

• Examination (20%): Writing, minimum one hour, term 2.
  Task 1: 300 characters
  Task 2: 200 Characters
• Examination (20%): In-class Grammar Gap-fill test 30-40 minutes. Students select vocabulary items/function words from a list and place them in the correct position in the sentences (between 10 and 20 in number) given. Term 2
• Examination (20%): Listening test (approx. 8-10 minute audio - repeated once or twice as appropriate plus comprehension questions) Term 2.
• Practical (40%): Oral 20 minutes (unseen practical language task followed by general conversation). End of Term 2 or in the summer term.

• 7.5 ECTS points awarded on successful completion of the module.
• Available to take for credit towards your degree where your department allows. Also available for extra-credit.
• You must be prepared to attend all classes and and undertake approximately 3 hours of private study each week in addition to the assessment.

Coursebooks: 

Colloquial Chinese* by P.C. T’ung and D.E. Pollard, Routledge, 1982; and the accompanying Character Text for Colloquial Chinese (Simplified Character Version), prepared by P.C. T’ung.  ISBN 0-415-01860-9
AND

Diannao gongsi de mimi  (Secrets of a Computer Company) by Yuehua Liu and Chengzhi Chu, with Jinhai Wen. Peking University Press, 2017. ISBN: 9787301282533

*Available on Leganto as an e-book