LEVEL 1

As we all know, mastering pinyin (the system of spelling Chinese characters phonetically using the Roman alphabet) is a precondition of learning Chinese well. So the focus of this course on pronunciation, combined closely with the phonetic learning and conversation. A large number of daily spoken language can help students master phonetics and tones. It is designed to enable students to master basic conversations and improve their communicative ability within a short period of time. It will be very interesting.

This course still uses a practical approach to enable students to develop the ability in Chinese by learning language structures, functions, and related cultural knowledge as well as training their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

LEVEL 2

This course builds on the Linguistic competence and acquired in CHIN1001 and CHIN1002. The vocabulary, grammatical structures and expressions are designed to help students to engage in social interaction and communication in a range of everyday situations. Students will also develop greater capabilities in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

The course uses a strong communicative approach to prepare students to acquire a wider range of vocabulary, grammatical structures, and phrases to expand their knowledge of Chinese (Mandarin). Students will also be exposed to some cultural topics that will help to broaden their knowledge of Chinese Language as well as their skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

The study of Chinese language and culture has become important to contemporary Caribbean societies. This course will be useful to all students and especially to those engaged in the study of Mandarin in the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures. A deeper understanding of this culture will assist students to broaden their own knowledge base, develop an appreciation for humanity in general; as well as contribute to the goal of providing a global education.

LEVEL 3

This course builds on the competences acquired in CHIN2001 and CHIN2002. Based on a comparison of Chinese, English and other languages, a combination of methodologies is to be used to enable students to further master Chinese (Mandarin) grammar, acquire a large number of Chinese characters for the acquisition of communicative skills. In this way, students will acquire an all-round capability in listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating at an advanced level. Most importantly, students will be able to perform a wide range of communicative and linguistic functions in various real life situations.

Both the cultural and linguistic knowledge gained in CHIN3001 will be expanded in this course. Different Foreign Language Teaching strategies will be used to enable students to further master Chinese (Mandarin) for a wide range of purposes; including those which require more advanced language structures. Additionally, students will be able to communicate with users of Chinese in situations which require greater mastery of the main language learning skills: listening, speaking, 7reading and writing. Students will be equipped to able to perform a wide range of functions that require a high level of mastery, in various real life situations.