Chinese Courses

CHIN 100 - Mandarin Chinese I (3)

Introduction to Mandarin Chinese for students with no prior background or instruction in that language. CHIN 100 is a beginners’ course in basic oral and written skills. Students will be assessed through a placement process at the beginning of the term. Students enrolled/placed into other Chinese courses may not take this course for credit. Breadth-Humanities.

CHIN 110 - Mandarin Chinese II (3)

Continues introduction to Mandarin Chinese for students who have developed the necessary foundations from CHIN 100. Students will acquire elementary conversational skills and basic reading ability. Prerequisite: CHIN 100 or equivalent. Students enrolled/placed into other Chinese courses may not take this course for credit. Students with credit for CHIN 101 may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Humanities.

CHIN 151 - Spoken Mandarin for Speakers of Other Chinese Dialects I (3)

Designed for speakers of a Chinese dialect other than Mandarin, e.g., Cantonese. Learners will come to the course with no ability in spoken Mandarin, but some command of Chinese reading and writing. By the end of CHIN 151, students will be able to use spoken Mandarin at a basic level. Prerequisite: No knowledge of spoken Mandarin; placement interview. Students with credit for CHIN 151 may not take this course for further credit.

CHIN 152 - Spoken Mandarin for Speakers of Other Chinese Dialects II (3)

Designed for speakers of a Chinese dialect other than Mandarin, e.g., Cantonese. Learners will come to the course with novice level proficiency in spoken Mandarin and a good command of Chinese reading and writing. By the end of CHIN 152, students will have improved their pronunciation and aural comprehension of spoken Mandarin and have enhanced their conversational skills. Prerequisite: CHIN 151 or equivalent.

CHIN 153 - Spoken Mandarin for Speakers of Other Chinese Dialects III (3)

A continuation of CHIN152. Designed for speakers of a Chinese dialect other than Mandarin, e.g., Cantonese. Further develops learners' oral skills in paragraph length discourses on a variety of social, academic and business-related topics and terminology through class discussions and presentations. Prerequisite: CHIN 152 or equivalent.

CHIN 180 - Intensive Mandarin Chinese for Beginners I (3)

An intensive introductory course for non-heritage students. Students are expected to master Mandarin Chinese pronunciation and acquaintance with simplified Chinese characters. Basic grammar, everyday conversation topics and Chinese communication style are introduced. Students with credit for CHIN 100 may not take this course for further credit.

CHIN 181 - Intensive Mandarin Chinese for Beginners II (3)

Acontinuation of CHIN 180. Students continue to develop skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Chinese at a good pace. Lessons also include on-line listening and writing exercises. Prerequisite: CHIN 180, CHIN 100 or equivalent. Corequisite: This course may be taken concurrently with CHIN 180. Students with credit for CHIN 101 may not take this course for further credit.

CHIN 190 - Heritage Mandarin Chinese I (3)

An introductory course for heritage language learners who have native or near native speaking ability in Chinese (Mandarin or other dialects), but limited knowledge of written Chinese. Mandarin Chinese phonetic system, basic grammar and 300 Chinese characters are introduced to improve students competences in spoken Mandarin and modern written Chinese. Prerequisite: This course is for students of Chinese origin who have native or near native speaking ability in Chinese (Mandarin or other dialects), but limited knowledge of written Chinese. Breadth-Humanities.

CHIN 191 - Heritage Mandarin Chinese II (3)

A continuation of CHIN 190. Heritage Chinese students continue to develop competence in Mandarin Chinese, with an emphasis on reading and writing skills. Prerequisite: CHIN 190 or equivalent. This course is for students of Chinese origin who have near native speaking ability in Chinese (Mandarin or other dialects), but limited knowledge of written Chinese. Breadth-Humanities.

CHIN 200 - Mandarin Chinese III (3)

Continues the approaches taken in CHIN 100 and CHIN 110 in order to improve listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Students will be able to exchange ideas and opinions in daily conversation, and to read short stories and articles. Understandings of Chinese values and customs will be developed in a cross-cultural perspective. Prerequisite: CHIN 110 (or CHIN 101) or equivalent. Students enrolled/placed into other Chinese courses may not take this course for credit.

CHIN 210 - Mandarin Chinese IV (3)

Continues the work of CHIN 200. Building upon the approaches taken in CHIN 100, 110, and 200, students further develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills towards the intermediate level. By the end of the course, students will be able to express their ideas consistently in sentences with some details, identify the main ideas of simple texts, and supply information on forms and messages. Utilizing course materials with a Canadian focus, students are encouraged to work independently in acquiring vocabulary, expressions, and sentences. Prerequisite: CHIN 200 or equivalent. Students enrolled/placed at other Chinese courses may not take this course for credit. Students with credit for CHIN 201 may not take this course for further credit.

CHIN 280 - Intensive Mandarin Chinese for Beginners III (3)

Intensive training in vocabulary, character acquisition and essentials of grammar. Further development of conversational skills through a communicative approach. Lessons include on-line listening and writing exercises. Prerequisite: CHIN 181, CHIN 101 or equivalent. Students with credit for CHIN 200 may not take this course for further credit.

CHIN 281 - Intensive Mandarin Chinese for Beginners IV (3)

A continuation of CHIN 280. Students further develop conversational, reading and writing skills in Chinese. Lessons also include on-line listening and writing exercises. Prerequisite: CHIN 280, CHIN 200 or equivalent. Corequisite: This course may be taken concurrently with CHIN 280. Students with credit for CHIN 201 may not take this course for further credit.

CHIN 290 - Heritage Mandarin Chinese III (3)

A continuation of CHIN 191. Develops students' communicative competence in spoken Mandarin and modern written Chinese. Classes are conducted entirely in Chinese. Intermediate level materials introduce the basic core of China's culture. By the end of the course, students are expected to have an active vocabulary of approximately 1100 Chinese characters. Prerequisite: CHIN 191 or equivalent. This course is for students of Chinese origin who have near native speaking ability in Chinese (Mandarin or other dialects), but basic knowledge of written Chinese.

CHIN 291 - Heritage Mandarin Chinese IV (3)

A continuation of CHIN 290. Students further develop communicative competence in Chinese language, as well as a deeper understanding of Chinese culture through course materials on Chinese history, mythology and folktales. Prerequisite: CHIN 290 or equivalent. This course is for students of Chinese origin who have near native speaking ability in Chinese (Mandarin or other dialects), but basic knowledge of written Chinese.

CHIN 330 - Intermediate Chinese for Business I (3)

Designed for learners of intermediate to advanced levels, this course introduces Chinese business terminology, concepts and practices through studying real business cases in contemporary China. Prerequisite: CHIN 291 or permission of the instructor.

CHIN 390 - Advanced Chinese Reading (3)

Introduces specialized vocabulary, sentence patterns, word formation and semantic nuances through popular science readings covering a broad array of subjects such as math, physics, computer science etc. Intended for students of intermediate to advanced Chinese reading, to improve their reading skills for documents with an academic focus. Prerequisite: CHIN 291 or permission of the instructor.

CHIN 460 - Text and Screen: Chinese Fiction and Film (3)

To further advance learners’ language skills through studying fictions by well-known authors like Yu Hua, Liu, Cixin, Ye Gelin, and their adapted media works. By analyzing the idioms, sentence structures, plot, characters themes and literary devices, learners can enhance their linguistic knowledge of the literary texts and deepen their understanding of the historical, social and cultural issues represented in the works. Prerequisite: CHIN 330, CHIN 390 or equivalent.