Cantonese Courses for Non-Heritage Learners

Course Number Units Title Course Description Textbook and/or other class material
Chinese 3A 4 Elementary Cantonese Elementary Cantonese 3A is designed for non-Chinese heritage learners with no prior knowledge of Cantonese, a regional variety of Chinese, introducing students to its use through oral, written and visual texts related to daily life. Topics include meeting people, shopping, leisure activities, telling the time, discussing daily routines, describing people and family members, and transportation, and students will compose texts in Cantonese that show the relationship between language and culture. Finally, the course develops students’ awareness of socio-culturally situated language use and their ability to compare and negotiate similarities and differences between the target culture and their own culture. Yip, Virginia and Stephen Matthews. 2017. Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (2nd edition). London: Routledge.
Chinese 3B 4 Elementary Cantonese Elementary Cantonese 3B is designed for non-Chinese heritage learners with no prior knowledge of Cantonese, a regional variety of Chinese, introducing students to its use through oral, written and visual texts related to daily life. Topics include meeting people, shopping, leisure activities, telling the time, discussing daily routines, describing people and family members, and transportation, and students will compose texts in Cantonese that show the relationship between language and culture. Finally, the course develops students’ awareness of socio-culturally situated language use and their ability to compare and negotiate similarities and differences between the target culture and their own culture. Yip, Virginia and Stephen Matthews. 2017. Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (2nd edition). London: Routledge.

Cantonese Courses for Heritage Learners

Elementary Cantonese for Heritage Speakers Intermediate Cantonese for Heritage Speakers

Course Number Units Title Course Description Textbook and/or other class material
Chinese 3X 4 Elementary Cantonese for Heritage Speakers This course is designed for native and heritage Mandarin speakers. These students share the knowledge of the standard Chinese writing system with Cantonese speakers. They have an interest in speaking Cantonese and learning a Chinese subculture shared among Cantonese speakers. This course will introduce students to its use through oral, written and visual texts related to daily life. Topics include meeting people, shopping, leisure activities, telling the time, discussing daily routines, describing people and family members, transportation, and students will compose texts in Cantonese. Students will focus on vocabulary, linguistic knowledge, culture through expression analysis, and practical use of language. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Yue Yu Su Cheng: Chu Ji Jiao Cai [Cantonese Express Elementary Textbook]. Hong Kong: Commercial Press. (Ebook version available on Google Books)
Chinese 30X 4 Intermediate Cantonese for Heritage Speakers Going beyond satisfying basic communicative needs, students would learn to use Cantonese to complete more complicated tasks such as elaborating, comparing, analyzing, defending, debating, etc. Students would be frequently exposed to discussions regarding broader societal issues such as housing, food culture, fashion, safety, recreation, education, etc. Assuming basic competence of Cantonese, the course attempts to relate the learners to Chinese subculture through analyzing the link between Cantonese expressions and societal phenomenon in the Cantonese speaking society. Difference between Cantonese and Mandarin expressions and its cultural implications, as well as the social position of Cantonese globally and regionally. Prerequisites: Chinese 3X; or consent of instructor. Yue Yu Su Cheng: Zhong Ji Jiao Cai [Cantonese Express Intermediate Textbook]. Hong Kong: Commercial Press.(Ebook version available on Google Books)