As China, a nation of long-standing and rich culture tradition rises to be the economic magnate of the world, Chinese has become the second most learned foreign languagein American middle schools, high schools and universities. Chinese is thelanguage of business and management, government and education, politics anddiplomacy, as much as the language of literature and philosophy. Beingproficient in spoken and written Chinese would win you a prominent advantage incareer opportunities in today’s world.
Read more
As China, a nation of long-standing and rich culture tradition rises to be the economic magnate of the world, Chinese has become the second most learned foreign languagein American middle schools, high schools and universities. Chinese is thelanguage of business and management, government and education, politics anddiplomacy, as much as the language of literature and philosophy. Beingproficient in spoken and written Chinese would win you a prominent advantage incareer opportunities in today’s world.
As China, a nation of long-standing and rich culture tradition rises to be the economic magnate of the world, Chinese has become the second most learned foreign languagein American middle schools, high schools and universities. Chinese is thelanguage of business and management, government and education, politics anddiplomacy, as much as the language of literature and philosophy. Beingproficient in spoken and written Chinese would win you a prominent advantage incareer opportunities in today’s world.
Are you a college student or adult open learner who cherished the hope to study college Chinese but hampered by the lack of time and exorbitant tuition to learn in a classroom setting? Have you been a middle school or high school student who found that 6 years of secondary school Chinese can only be tested into one year’s college Chinese in college placement test? This course is a perfect answer to your dilemmas: In as short as two months, you can learn the same range of vocabulary, grammar and situational dialogues, and achieve the same degree of proficiency as a classroom student enrolled for a whole year’s College Chinese Curriculum at beginners' level. You would save more than ten thousand dollars of tuition for such full credit course in one year, while greatly speed up your learning process, at the convenience of your home and time.
The instructor is Professor Hong Zeng, an award-winning professor of Chinese. She has taught Chinese at all levels at highly prestigious liberal arts colleges and national universities in America for 16 years. She has two PhDs in Chinese and comparative language and literature, and has published 5 books in these realms in America, well-endorsed by world-renowned experts and book review journals in her field. She had twice more than doubled the classroom Beginning Chinese Course enrollment in just one year. This course adopts the same methodology and simulates the same degree of student-teacher interaction as she has taught at College classroom setting for years.
What's inside
Learning objectives
- Learn chinese sound system (pinyin) and writing system; learn conversational dialogues based on the same range of vocabulary, grammar and topics as in the beginning chinese course of most north american and european universities, such as greetings, family, dates and time, hobbies, visiting friends, making appointments, learning chinese, school life, shopping, transportation, weather, dining, asking direction, and party.
- The students will learn 1 year's worth of college chinese curriculum (with the same range of vocabulary, grammar and dialogue topics) in just two months (half an hour per day) totally on their own, and with the same degree of proficiency achieved. they can conduct speech in most daily situations and write more than 1000 chinese characters.
- Learn chinese sound system (pinyin) and writing system; learn conversational dialogues based on the same range of vocabulary, grammar and topics as in the beginning chinese course of most north american and european universities, such as greetings, family, dates and time, hobbies, visiting friends, making appointments, learning chinese, school life, shopping, transportation, weather, dining, asking direction, and party.
- The students will learn 1 year's worth of college chinese curriculum (with the same range of vocabulary, grammar and dialogue topics) in just two months (half an hour per day) totally on their own, and with the same degree of proficiency achieved. they can conduct speech in most daily situations and write more than 1000 chinese characters.
Syllabus
Introduction of the Course
promo video
The introduction of the course introduces the benefits of learning Chinese and the value of this course: learn one year's college curriculum in just two months and save 10 thousand dollars of college tuition, at the convenience of your time and home. It introduces the methodology, design and schedule of this course as well.
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Syllabus
The introduction of the course introduces the benefits of learning Chinese and the value of this course: learn one year's college curriculum in just two months and save 10 thousand dollars of college tuition, at the convenience of your time and home. It introduces the methodology, design and schedule of this course as well.
It's extremely important that you read very carefully the study guide and follow the instruction on how to study the vocabulary, grammar, text videos and character stroke order PDF to maximize your learning effect.
Chinese Pinyin Simple Finals and Tones
Pinyin initials part 2
Introduce some special spelling rules in pinyin system.
This lecture is a pinyin practice, at the same time provides a cultural taste of the homology of Chinese written characters, syntactic idiosyncrasy of classical Chinese poetry, the composition principle (blank space) of classical Chinese painting and calligraphy, as well as Taoist philosophy.
This lecture introduces Chinese written system: the six types of Chinese written characters and how they are formed.
This lecture introduces and practices the 16 basic strokes that construct Chinese written characters.
This lecture demonstrates how to write a Chinese character: the six guiding principles of Chinese character stroke order, in other words, the order by which each stroke is added to form a written character.during your writing.
This lecture introduces 20 most commonly-used radicals---the meaningful component of a Chinese character. Being able to recognize their meanings and to write them will allow you to recognize the categories of meaning of thousands of Chinese written characters and to write the half part of these characters.
This PDF version is provided to you for reviewing the basic Chinese radicals more conveniently. Being familiar with these radicals allow you to know the category of meaning thousands of Chinese characters fall into and to write half part of these characters.
This document teaches you how to write these radicals in the correct stroke order. Practice as much as possible. You need to remember their written form and their meanings. You need to be able to write them yourself. It will greatly convenience your future learning of writing thousands of characters.
Radical is the meaningful part of a character. This is the second part of the 40 most commonly used radicals I introduced to you. Remember these 40 radicals will allow you to recognize the category of meaning of most Chinese characters. Being able to write these radicals allows you to write the half part of thousands of Chinese characters.
This PDF version of Basic Chinese Radicals part 2 teaches you how to write these radicals in the correct stroke order. Practice until you remember them.
This lecture introduces and practices the vocabulary and grammar of lesson l dialogue 1. The design is such: as soon as you learned 5-7 vocabularies (or 1 grammar) on a single slide (you need to read after me and closely imitate my pronunciation and tones when you do it), you will pause the slide and flash memorize the pronunciation and meaning of these vocabularies, as well as their usage in sentence context (but you do not need to remember the written form of characters yet in this lecture, you will practice writing them later in this lesson), so you can do the oral exercise (describe pictures, answer questions with the hint of these pictures, translation, etc) in the very next slide (with pictures but no written Chinese). You need to do each of these exercise on your own, orally, drawing on your memory of your just learned vocabularies from last slide in the pause I give you after each of my questions, BEFORE I provide orally the correct answer for your to check and speak after. It is essential you practice BEFORE I provide answers, as the mental effort to do it on your own makes your practice more effective and memorable. Such format brings teaching, reviewing, testing and application of language into a quick circulation: you learn quickly and immediately apply language information you just learned.
This PDF version of vocabulary and grammar is added for your reviewing of the lecture I taught above.
You need to preview the PDF version of lesson 1 dialogue 1 text, make sure you comprehend the Chinese text, before you go to the next lecture practicing reading the text and answering questions about the text. This version is also convenient for you to review the text whenever you need to.
In this lecture you will read after me sentence by sentence to ensure the accuracy of your pronunciation and tones, and practice listening comprehension of the text and answering questions about the text. During the first time of my reading of the text, you can look at the pinyin text, I will give you a pause after I read each sentence, a pause for you to read after me, so to ensure the accuracy of your pronunciation and tones, before I read the next sentence. Make sure you know the meaning as you read along and memorize the text content as well as the sentence structure. In the second time, you can look at the Chinese character text when you read after me so you can learn to recognize Chinese character text. In the third time, you just listen to my reading, try not to look at the text, comprehend the text solely through listening, and then answer the questions (best without looking at the text) from your memory of the text, BEFORE I provide correct answers. Repeat after my correct answers to strengthen your practice of language.
This PDF document specify the stroke order of characters learned in lesson 1 dialogue 1, please practice them at least 5 times, remember the stroke order. In the first 3 times, you can copy the characters according to my specification of stroke order, in the last two times, write these characters in the correct stroke order out of your memory.
The descriptions and guiding lines of this lecture and all the following lectures follow the same pattern as I specified in lesson 1 dialogue 1 that you studied before this, as the corresponding sections of each lesson and dialogue follows the same kind of design and practicing principles.
You need to preview the text, comprehend the Chinese text with the help of English translation, before you go to practicing the text in the next lecture.
This is a video of lesson 1 dialogue 1. You can use it to practice listening comprehension and speaking.
This is the unit test and answer sheet for lesson 1 and 2. Do the test yourself and then check my answer sheet placed immediately after the test on a new page.
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Activities
Review Chinese pronunciation and pinyin system
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This refresher will ensure your mastery of foundational Chinese pronunciation and pinyin system for course success.
Browse courses on
Chinese Pronunciation
Show steps
-
Review the fundamentals of pinyin.
-
Practice pronouncing Chinese syllables and words.
-
Listen to native Chinese speakers to improve your listening comprehension.
Practice writing Chinese characters stroke by stroke
Show steps
Writing is a crucial skill in mastering Chinese. This tutorial will guide you through stroke order and structure of characters for enhanced fluency.
Browse courses on
Chinese Characters
Show steps
-
Find online tutorials on Chinese character writing.
-
Practice writing each stroke of a character correctly.
-
Write and practice as many characters as possible.
-
Compare your writing to native speakers to improve accuracy.
Complete daily Chinese vocabulary exercises
Show steps
Building a strong vocabulary is essential in any language. These exercises will help you expand and strengthen your Chinese vocabulary.
Browse courses on
Chinese Vocabulary
Show steps
-
Set aside 15-20 minutes each day for vocabulary practice.
-
Use flashcards or apps to review and practice new words.
-
Practice using the words in sentences or conversations.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Participate in online discussion forums
Show steps
Engage with fellow learners to exchange ideas and enhance your understanding of course topics through discussions.
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Discussion
Show steps
-
Find and join online discussion forums related to the course topics.
-
Participate in discussions by asking questions, sharing your thoughts, and responding to others.
-
Learn from the perspectives and experiences of other learners.
Write a short story or dialogue in Chinese
Show steps
Demonstrate your understanding of Chinese grammar and vocabulary by creating an original piece of writing.
Browse courses on
Writing
Show steps
-
Choose a topic or theme for your writing.
-
Brainstorm ideas and gather relevant vocabulary.
-
Write a draft of your story or dialogue.
-
Revise and edit your writing for grammar, vocabulary, and flow.
-
Share your writing with others for feedback and improvement.
Read and review a Chinese literature classic
Show steps
Immerse yourself in a classic work of Chinese literature to gain insights into the language, culture, and history of China.
Show steps
-
Find and purchase or borrow a copy of the book.
-
Read the book at your own pace, taking notes and highlighting important passages.
-
Write a book review or summary that analyzes the book's themes, characters, and writing style.
Volunteer as a tutor for beginner Chinese learners
Show steps
Reinforce your own understanding of Chinese while helping others develop their language skills through tutoring.
Browse courses on
Chinese
Show steps
-
Contact local schools, community centers, or online tutoring platforms to offer your services.
-
Create lesson plans and materials tailored to the needs of your students.
-
Meet with your students regularly to teach Chinese lessons and provide guidance.
-
Provide feedback and support to your students to help them progress in their learning.
Review Chinese pronunciation and pinyin system
Show steps
This refresher will ensure your mastery of foundational Chinese pronunciation and pinyin system for course success.
Browse courses on
Chinese Pronunciation
Show steps
- Review the fundamentals of pinyin.
- Practice pronouncing Chinese syllables and words.
- Listen to native Chinese speakers to improve your listening comprehension.
Practice writing Chinese characters stroke by stroke
Show steps
Writing is a crucial skill in mastering Chinese. This tutorial will guide you through stroke order and structure of characters for enhanced fluency.
Browse courses on
Chinese Characters
Show steps
- Find online tutorials on Chinese character writing.
- Practice writing each stroke of a character correctly.
- Write and practice as many characters as possible.
- Compare your writing to native speakers to improve accuracy.
Complete daily Chinese vocabulary exercises
Show steps
Building a strong vocabulary is essential in any language. These exercises will help you expand and strengthen your Chinese vocabulary.
Browse courses on
Chinese Vocabulary
Show steps
- Set aside 15-20 minutes each day for vocabulary practice.
- Use flashcards or apps to review and practice new words.
- Practice using the words in sentences or conversations.
Participate in online discussion forums
Show steps
Engage with fellow learners to exchange ideas and enhance your understanding of course topics through discussions.
Browse courses on
Discussion
Show steps
- Find and join online discussion forums related to the course topics.
- Participate in discussions by asking questions, sharing your thoughts, and responding to others.
- Learn from the perspectives and experiences of other learners.
Write a short story or dialogue in Chinese
Show steps
Demonstrate your understanding of Chinese grammar and vocabulary by creating an original piece of writing.
Browse courses on
Writing
Show steps
- Choose a topic or theme for your writing.
- Brainstorm ideas and gather relevant vocabulary.
- Write a draft of your story or dialogue.
- Revise and edit your writing for grammar, vocabulary, and flow.
- Share your writing with others for feedback and improvement.
Read and review a Chinese literature classic
Show steps
Immerse yourself in a classic work of Chinese literature to gain insights into the language, culture, and history of China.
Show steps
- Find and purchase or borrow a copy of the book.
- Read the book at your own pace, taking notes and highlighting important passages.
- Write a book review or summary that analyzes the book's themes, characters, and writing style.
Volunteer as a tutor for beginner Chinese learners
Show steps
Reinforce your own understanding of Chinese while helping others develop their language skills through tutoring.
Browse courses on
Chinese
Show steps
- Contact local schools, community centers, or online tutoring platforms to offer your services.
- Create lesson plans and materials tailored to the needs of your students.
- Meet with your students regularly to teach Chinese lessons and provide guidance.
- Provide feedback and support to your students to help them progress in their learning.
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