Heartland Community College
Master Course Syllabus
Division name: Humanities & Fine Arts
COURSE PREFIX & NUMBER: CHIN 101
COURSE TITLE: Beginning Chinese I
DATE PREPARED: August 3, 2005
DATE REVISED:
PCS/CIP/ID NO: 1.1 160301 02
IAI NO.:
EFFECTIVE DATE OF FIRST CLASS: January 17, 2006
CREDIT HOURS: 4
CONTACT HOURS:
LECTURE HOURS: 4
LABORATORY HOURS:
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
A beginning course in Chinese focusing on the development of basic communicative skills in
listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The dialect taught is Mandarin, and the course is
designed for students who have had no prior exposure to Chinese language. The course
includes basic vocabulary, essentials of Chinese grammar and syntax, correct pronunciation
and intonation, and the use of speech patterns.
TEXTBOOKS:
G. Chen. (2004). Basic Chinese. Beijing Languages University Press.
RELATIONSHIP TO ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND
TRANSFERABILITY:
CHIN 101 fulfills 4 hours of elective credit for the A.A. and A.S. degrees. It should transfer
to most colleges and universities as an elective course. However, since CHIN 101 is not part
of either the General Education Core Curriculum or a baccalaureate major program described
in the Illinois Articulation Initiative, students should check with an academic advisor for
information about its transferability to other institutions.
COURSE OBJECTIVES (Learning Outcomes):
The emphasis in this class is on building up vocabulary and the use of sentence patterns in a
communicative context and on developing a solid foundation in pronunciation. Students are
expected to carry out basic conversations in Chinese on a limited range of topics. Reading
and writing skills using simplified characters will be developed in conjunction with speaking
and listening skills. After completing this course the student should be able to:
Outcome
1.
Form sentences
General Education
Outcome
CO 1
with
verbs, particles, prono
uns
2.
Master numerals
3.
Express dates and
times through correct
forms
4.
Form dialogues
utilizing useful
expressions
5.
Master the
Hanyupinyin
system, including
vowels, consonants,
tones, spelling rules,
and intonations
6.
Master the rules of
forming characters
7.
At an elementary
level, understand the
CT 1
Range of Assessment Methods

Oral and written
exercises

Oral and written tests
and quizzes

Conversational
exercises

Oral & written
exercises

Oral and written tests
and quizzes

Conversational
exercises

Oral & written
exercises

Oral and written tests
and quizzes

Conversation exercises

Oral components of
exam

Conversational
exercises

Oral tests and quizzes

Presentations

Oral & written
exercises

Oral and written tests
and quizzes


Written assignments
Written texts and
quizzes

Oral & written
exercises
cultural context of the
Chinese language

Conversational
exercises

Oral and written tests
and quizzes
Specifications on Course Objectives/Learning Outcomes:
1. Form sentences with verbs, particles, and pronouns
 Use appropriate particles to form sentences/questions
 Use auxiliary verbs to form sentences/questions
 Use regular verbs to form sentences/questions
 Use verb plus complement to form sentences/questions
 Use verb plus objects to form sentences/questions
 Illustrate the use of singular and plural pronouns
2. Master numerals: 0-100, and more
3. Illustrate dates and times through various forms
 Express time: seconds, minutes, hours
 Express year, month, week, day, dates
4. Form dialogues utilizing useful expressions
 Master classroom expressions
 Master survival expressions
 Make/Design dialogues for engaging in social functions
5.
Master the Hanyupinyin system including vowels, consonants, tones, spelling rules,
and intonations:
 Pronunciations:
a. Distinguish the six single finals/vowels: a o i e u and ü
b. Distinguish two semi-vowels, y and w
c. Distinguish the thirty compound finals/vowels:
ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong uo ua
i ui uan un uang ueng üe üan ün er
d. Identify retroflexed finals
e. Distinguish the twenty-one initial consonants:
b p m f d t n l g k h j q x z c s zh ch sh and r
f. Master spelling rules
 Intonations:
a. Distinguish the four tones: high level tones, rising tone, falling-rising tone,
and falling tone
b. Distinguish the neutral tone
6.
Master the rules of forming characters
 Identify the six basic formations of Chinese characters, pictographs, self-explanatory
characters, associative compounds, picot-phonetic characters, phonetic loan
characters
 Master the six rules of stroke order
 Identify basic radicals/common components to form characters
 Distinguish the eleven basic strokes
COURSE/LAB OUTLINE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Brief Introduction to Chinese Phonetics:
i.
Initials
ii.
Finals
iii.
Tones
iv.
Spelling Rules
v.
Retroflexed Finals
vi.
Modification of Tones
vii.
Neutralized Tone
Getting Acquainted
Identity
Family
Time
Dates and Days
At a Dinning Hall (What to eat)
Shopping
Making Telephone Calls
Asking about Residences (Where to go to…)
Invitation
Being a Guest
At a Barbershop
Asking the Way
Traffic Mediums (Transportation)
Renting and Borrowing
METHOD OF EVALUATION (Requirements, Tests/Exams, Grading System):
To ensure the quality of the learning experience and environment, quizzes/exams, and
homework/presentations are required. Course grades will be a compilation of scores on class
attendance and participation, homework, tests, oral presentations, and exams:
Class attendance and participation, including short quizzes
and exercises
Homework exercises
Tests
Four Mini-Oral Presentations
Final Group Oral Presentation
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
10%
20%
20%
10%
10%
10%
20%
Final grades will be determined according to the following scale:
92% to 100%
83% to 91%
74% to 82%
65% to 72%
Below 65%
A
B
C
D
F
REQUIRED WRITING AND READING:
Writing:
Students are required to compose short passages, dialogues, and journals/diary in
Chinese, using simple and elementary sentences.
Reading:
Students are required to read elementary level materials in Chinese.