Third Year Chinese I
CHNS 3320
Syllabus
Instructor: Melissa Pittman
Time: Tuesday, 5:30 pm - 8:10 pm
Elizabeth Hall 217
Phone: (801) 626-6721, (801) 205-0107 Email: melissapittman@weber.edu
Web Site: http://faculty.weber.edu/melissapittman
Office Hours: By appointment
Course Object:
Chinese 3320 is an intermediate level course in Mandarin Chinese (普通話, Putonghua).
It is designed for students with two years of knowledge of spoken or written Chinese. The
objectives and scope in this course is to increase and improve listening and
conversational ability to be able to understand reasonably rapid standard speech. Reading
skills, composition skills, extensive character recognition, and translation ability will also
be emphasized in this course. A variety of styles of written Chinese will be introduced
and students will learn to discuss various topics or express opinions by using more
sophisticated sentence patterns, terms and phrases. All units are outlined with sections on
Chinese culture, customs, and values to be coordinated with the classroom instruction.
Required Materials:
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Beyond the basics, Communicative Chinese for intermediate and Advanced
learners, Second Edition, Textbook (Traditional and Simplified)
Taiwan Today, Third Edition, by Shou-hsin Teng, Lo-sun Perry, (Traditional and
Simplified)
Suggested Materials:
Oxford Concise English-Chinese/Chinese-English Dictionary; published by Oxford
University Press.
Pinyin Chinese-English Dictionary, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Expanded list of On-line Resources:
Go to my faulty page: http://faculty.weber.edu/melissapittman
Course Work:
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Attendance: Although the attendance is not one of the grading elements, absence
will result missing quizzes, in-class discussion, performance and assignments.
Therefore, missing class or coming to class late or leaving early can greatly affect
your grade.
Class performance and participation: Coming to class well prepared and eager
to participate in class activities and small group discussion will earn you an ‘A’
range evaluation.
Homework and Assignments: You must complete and turn in, on time, all
assigned homework at the beginning of each class on the due date. Late
homework and/or sloppy homework will be penalized, but do turn them in for
feedback.
Quizzes, midterm, and final examination: Quizzes are given once a week at the
beginning of each class to ensure that you have internalized the material. The
lowest quiz grade is dropped. Midterm will be given in week seven. The final
examination will be given in the end of the term. A study guide will be given
prior to each examination. There are no make-up tests or quizzes.
Presentation: Since part of this course builds on the exchange of insights and
viewpoints among class members, the development of your speaking skills is vital
to your success. I will ask you to team up with another class member to give an
introductory presentation of about 15-20 minutes on an assigned/selected cultural
topic. Your presentation should serve as a point of departure for further
discussion, which you then facilitate.
H1N1: You will hear from me or Karlene, the secretary of the Foreign Language
Department, in the event of a cancellation of class. Contact me immediately if
you contract the swine flu so you can be excused for the duration of the illness
without failing the course.
In the event of an extended campus closure I will continue to provide instruction
and interaction via email. My email address is melissapittman@weber.edu; you
can expect an email message from me on Tuesday and Thursday of each week
during the closure. The message will contain a (Word, PowerPoint, audio) file
attachment that will provide a lecture substitute, directions for any written
assignments and readings, and any other relevant information. You are to
complete the assignment during that same week and submit it as an attachment to
an email message back to me by the following Sunday evening. Tests and exams
will be postponed until students are able to return to campus unless the closure
extends beyond three weeks. In that case I will send an email message containing
a link to a Chi Tester assessment with specific instructions for completing the
assessment.
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It is imperative that you provide an email address linked to an email account that
you plan to access on a regular basis and which has adequate storage capacity for
transmitting documents. I will collect your email address and verify its
availability during the first week of class. Please let me know by the end of the
first week of the semester if you do not have access to a computer and/or the
Internet from your home.
Evaluation:
1. (40%) 作業 Homework and assignments
2. (10%) 課堂討論 In-class discussion and performance
3. (10%) 小組簡報 Team Presentation
3. (10%) 課堂小考 Quizzes
4. (10%) 期中考 Midterm Exam
5. (10%) 期末考 Final Exam
Grading:
A :93%
A- : 90%
B+: 87%
B: 83%
B-: 79%
C+: 77%
C: 73%
C-: 70%
Course Schedule:
Week 1 (Jan. 5):
Introduction to the course.
WK2 (Jan. 12):
第一課: 童年往事 (Childhood)
WK3 (Jan. 19):
第三課: 推銷高手 (Master Salesperson)
WK 4 (Jan. 26):
TT: 第二課: 逛夜市 (Visiting a Night Market)
WK5 (Feb. 2):
第四課: 各行各業 (Various Professions)
WK6 (Feb. 9): 中國年和情人節
TT-第八課: 大拜拜 (Religions and Folk Beliefs)
十二生肖
D+: 69%
D: 67%
D-: 59%
第九課: 愛情 (Love and Romance)- -optional
WK7 (Feb. 16): 中國新春期間
期中考 Midterm Exam
WK8 (Feb. 23): 元宵節 Lantern Festival
TT-第九課: 鹽水的烽炮 (The Excitement of Festivals)
元宵節 Lantern walk
- - 提燈(灯)籠 吃元宵 說謎語
WK9 (Mar. 2)
TT-第三課: 還是小吃好 (Eating at a Food Stand)
WK 10 (Mar. 9):
第五課: 難題幾則 (Problem Solving)
WK 11 (Mar. 16): Spring Break
No class
WK 12 (Mar. 23):
第十四課: 漫談電影 (Movies)
WK 13 (Mar. 30):
第十三課: 選舉 (Political Election)
WK 14 (Apr. 6):
第十五課: 即席演講 (Presenting Your Own Speech)
WK 15 (Apr. 13):
學期總複習 (Course Review)
WK 16 (Apr. 20):
期末考 Final Exam