Mandarin Courses for Non-Heritage Learners

Course Number Units Title Course Description Textbook and/or other class material
Chinese 1A 5 Elementary Chinese Chinese 1A is for students who were not raised in a Chinese-speaking environment and who have had no exposure or merely minimum exposure to Chinese culture. The course helps students acquire fundamental communicative competence in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. It sensitizes students to the meaningful use of language and to the links between language and culture in intercultural communication. Integrated Chinese Vol. 1 (4th ed.) Textbook Integrated Chinese Vol. 1 (4th ed.) Workbook
Chinese 1B 5 Elementary Chinese Chinese 1B is for students who were not raised in a Chinese-speaking environment and who have had minimum exposure to Chinese culture. The course continues to focus on training students in the four language skills--speaking, listening, reading, and writing with a gradually increasing emphasis on basic cultural readings and developing intercultural competence. Prerequisites: Chinese 1A or consent of instructor. Integrated Chinese Vol. 2 (4th ed.) Textbook Integrated Chinese Vol. 2 (4th ed.) Workbook
Chinese 10A 5 Intermediate Chinese The course is designed for students who are of non-Chinese origin and were not raised in a Chinese-speaking environment, or who are of Chinese origin but do not speak Chinese and whose parents do not speak Chinese. The course deals with lengthy conversations as well as narrative and descriptive texts in both simplified and traditional characters. It helps students to express themselves in speaking and writing on a range of topics and raises their awareness of the connection between language and culture to foster the development of communicative competence. Prerequisites: Chinese 1 or Chinese 1B; or consent of instructor Integrated Chinese Vol. 3 (4th ed.) Textbook Integrated Chinese Vol. 3 (4th ed.) Workbook
Chinese 10B 5 Intermediate Chinese This course further develops students’ linguistic and cultural competence. In dealing with texts, students are guided to interpret, narrate, describe, and discuss topics ranging from real-life experience to social issues. Intercultural competence is promoted through linguistic and cultural awareness and language use in culturally appropriate contexts. Prerequisites: Chinese 10A; or consent of instructor. Integrated Chinese Vol. 4 (4th ed.) Textbook Integrated Chinese Vol. 4 (4th ed.) Workbook
Chinese 100A 5 Advanced Chinese Chinese 100A course elevates learners to advanced levels of Chinese linguistic and cultural competence. It enhances students' advanced listening and speaking abilities through engagement with authentic Chinese conversations. Course readings, presented in a more formal style, cover a wide range of topics, from daily life to complex socio-cultural debates and conflicts. Employing a multiliteracy framework, the course develops students’ ability to interpret aspects of Chinese society, its people, and their culture. Students learn to decipher and analyze contextual cues and strategies, to draw inferences, and to understand nuanced meanings within China's socio-cultural and historical context. This immersive experience deepens their understanding of the interplay between language forms, meanings, and functions, thereby enhancing their competence as multilingual communicators capable of navigating between Chinese and their own cultures. Prerequisite: Chinese 10 or Chinese 10B; or consent of instructor. Reading Into a New China. Deciphering a Changing Society. Volume 1. 2nd ed.
Chinese 100B 5 Advanced Chinese Chinese 100B is a multimedia course for advanced students of Chinese. The curriculum encompasses a wide range of texts that showcase Chinese society from the perspectives of both insiders and outsiders. As students engage with materials they have heard, read, and viewed, they explore, discover, analyze, interpret, and critically reflect on textual meanings. This engagement enables students to deepen their understanding of the power of language in use, develop symbolic competence, and transformatively enhance their self-perception. Prerequisite: Chinese 100A; or consent of instructor. The Routledge Advanced Chinese Multimedia Course: Crossing Cultural Boundaries. 2nd ed.
Chinese 102 4 Fourth-Year Chinese Readings: Chinese Readings: Social Sciences and History This fourth year Chinese course is designed to help students develop their Chinese linguistic and cultural competence and critical thinking skills in Chinese by exploring and studying different topics including economy, politics, education, culture, technology in the forms of both traditional and new media, for example, published newspaper, blogs, BBS, Weibo (Chinese version Twitter), videos, etc., through which students will also be trained to analyze, compare and differentiate Chinese language styles and genres.Prerequisites: Chinese 100B, Chinese 100XB, Chinese101; or consent of instructor. Selected readings from online resources, such as Weibo, Wechat official accounts, BBC Chinese,etc.
Chinese 101 4 Fourth-Year Chinese Readings: Literature This course is designed to assist students to reach the advanced-mid level on language skills and to enhance their intercultural competence. Students read the works of famous Chinese writers. Movie adaptations of these writings are also used. In addition to reading and seeking out information, students experience readings by interpreting and constructing meanings and evaluate the effect of the language form choice. Prerequisites: Chinese 100B, Chinese 100XB, Chinese101; or consent of instructor. Selected Chinese literary works
Chinese 111 4 Fifth-Year Readings: Reading and Analysis of Advanced Chinese Texts Chinese 111 is a fast-paced reading course. It improves students’ abilities with advanced Chinese forms to read, discuss, and write in a wide range of subjects. Students learn to identify and explain the classical Chinese expressions used in the texts and compare them to their modern counterparts. The texts cover multiple areas of Chinese culture, including history, society, economics, politics, law and traditional orders, literature and language, and so on. Students are given plenty of room to relate issues learned from the texts to current real situations in China. Prerequisites: Chinese 101 or Chinese 102; or consent of the instructor. "Literature and Society”， Princeton University Press and Selected Chinese Articles.

Mandarin Courses for Heritage Learners

Course Number Units Title Course Description Textbook and/or other class material
Chinese 1X 4 Accelerated Elementary Chinese for Heritage Speakers Accelerated Elementary Chinese 1X is designed for students who have grown up speaking or at least understanding Mandarin Chinese in informal contexts but possess limited or no literacy in the language. This course leverages students’ existing language skills and cultural knowledge into the learning process, adopting a multiliteracy framework to develop their literacy and deepen their understanding of Chinese cultural heritage. It facilitates the exploration and analysis of the conceptual, cultural, linguistic, and discursive differences between Chinese and English. The course aims not only to develop students’ intercultural competence but also to equip them with the ability to navigate, interpret, and create meanings crucial for effective communication. The Chinese Romanization system, Pinyin, and simplified/traditional characters are introduced. Completing Chinese 1X fulfills the requirement for two semesters of foreign language study. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Oh, China! An Elementary Reader of Modern Chinese for Advanced Beginners (Lesson 1-8)
Chinese 1Y 5 Elementary Chinese for Heritage Speakers This course is designed for students who have had exposure to a Chinese dialect (e.g. Cantonese, Teochew, etc.) or Mandarin Chinese, but have little or minimal spoken Mandarin Chinese ability and possess little or no reading and writing skills in Chinese. This course helps students gain a fundamental knowledge about Mandarin Chinese (including Hanyu Pinyin) and explore their Chinese heritage and culture through language. Students learn discourse strategies to express themselves and develop their linguistic and cultural awareness so to function appropriately in Mandarin-speaking environments. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Integrated Chinese Level 1 Part 1 Textbook, Workbook, and supplementary materials Oh, China
Chinese 10X 4 Accelerated Intermediate Chinese for Heritage Speakers The course continues to develop students’ literacy and communicative competence through vocabulary and structure expansion dealing with topics related to heritage students’ personal experiences. Students are guided to express themselves on complex issues and to connect their language knowledge with real world experiences. Prerequisites: Chinese 1X; or consent of instructor. Oh, China! An Elementary Reader of Modern Chinese for Advanced Beginners (Lesson 9-16)
Chinese 100XA 4 Advanced Chinese for Heritage Learners This course advances students’ linguistic and cultural competence through the development of critical literacy skills. It guides students to become more sophisticated language users equipped with linguistic, pragmatic, and textual knowledge in discussions, reading, writing, and translation. Students reflect on the world and themselves through the lens of the target language and culture and become more competent in operating between English and Chinese and between American culture and Chinese culture. Prerequisites: Chinese 10X/10Y; or consent of instructor Oh, China! An Elementary Reader of Modern Chinese for Advanced Beginners (Lesson 17-25)
Chinese 100XB 4 Advanced Chinese for Heritage Learners This course is designed for Chinese heritage language learners who have taken Chinese 100XA or an equivalent course. It guides learners to use their Chinese language knowledge and skills to survey portions of Chinese history and society and to comprehend Chinese cultural heritage in economic and socio-political contexts. Students read and analyze texts discussing cross-strait relations, Chinese people’s basic living necessities, and their changing lifestyles and mindsets since the economic reforms in mainland China. They are also introduced to several important historical figures in modern Chinese history and to modern literary works. In addition to the continuous development of reading techniques for communicative purposes, critical reading skills in the heritage language are also developed in order to interpret subtle meanings in texts. Different styles and genres of Chinese discourses in speaking and writing are further explored along with an increasingly sophisticated vocabulary, phrases, and structures. The development of critical reading and writing skills enables students to understand more about people in the target culture and themselves, about what determines values and actions, and about the power of language. Prerequisite: Chinese 100XA; or consent of instructor.  Oh, China! An Elementary Reader of Modern Chinese for Advanced Beginners (Lesson 26-35)
Chinese 102 4 Fourth-Year Chinese Readings: Chinese Readings: Social Sciences and History This fourth year Chinese course is designed to help students develop their Chinese linguistic and cultural competence and critical thinking skills in Chinese by exploring and studying different topics including economy, politics, education, culture, technology in the forms of both traditional and new media, for example, published newspaper, blogs, BBS, Weibo (Chinese version Twitter), videos, etc., through which students will also be trained to analyze, compare and differentiate Chinese language styles and genres.Prerequisites: Chinese 100B, Chinese 100XB, Chinese101; or consent of instructor. Selected readings from online resources, such as Weibo, Wechat official accounts, BBC Chinese,etc.
Chinese 101 4 Fourth-Year Chinese Readings: Literature This course is designed to assist students to reach the advanced-mid level on language skills and to enhance their intercultural competence. Students read the works of famous Chinese writers. Movie adaptations of these writings are also used. In addition to reading and seeking out information, students experience readings by interpreting and constructing meanings and evaluate the effect of the language form choice. Prerequisites: Chinese 100B, Chinese 100XB, Chinese101; or consent of instructor. Selected Chinese literary works
Chinese 111 4 Fifth-Year Readings: Reading and Analysis of Advanced Chinese Texts Chinese 111 is a fast-paced reading course. It improves students’ abilities with advanced Chinese forms to read, discuss, and write in a wide range of subjects. Students learn to identify and explain the classical Chinese expressions used in the texts and compare them to their modern counterparts. The texts cover multiple areas of Chinese culture, including history, society, economics, politics, law and traditional orders, literature and language, and so on. Students are given plenty of room to relate issues learned from the texts to current real situations in China. Prerequisites: Chinese 101 or Chinese 102; or consent of the instructor. "Literature and Society”， Princeton University Press and Selected Chinese Articles.