We may earn an affiliate commission when you visit our partners.
Li Hui,
Sizhe Feng,
WANG CHENXIN,
Lydia Lin,
CUI Haotian,
Xinyan H,
Yameng Li,
TIAN Qiu,
Hangyu Zhang,
Fuyu Kong,
and
小 米
Most FutureLearn courses run multiple times. Every run of a course has a set start date but you can join it and work through it after it starts. Find out more This course is for beginners wanting to learn Chinese and become more familiar with Chinese culture.
Topics Covered
- Greetings and Self-introduction
- Family Members and Different Jobs
- Ordering Things and Making Payments
- Dates and Time
- Weather and Health
- Directions and Plans
Register for this course and see more details by visiting:
OpenCourser.com/course/inwddi/introduction
Save this course
Create your own learning path.
Save this course to your list so you can find it easily later.
Save
Save
Reviews summary
Beginner conversational chinese for practical use
According to learners, this course offers a fantastic starting point for absolute beginners interested in Chinese conversation and culture. Many found the instructors engaging and appreciated the practical focus on everyday phrases, making it ideal for travelers or hobbyists. Students praised the clear pronunciation guidance and well-structured lessons. However, some experienced learners felt the pace was slow and noted a lack of in-depth grammar or character instruction, suggesting it might require supplementary resources for deeper linguistic study. It provides a solid foundation for basic communication.
Includes valuable insights into Chinese culture.
"The cultural insights were also a nice touch."
"Useful for beginners, especially the cultural notes."
"I enjoyed becoming more familiar with Chinese culture through this course."
Benefits from clear teaching and well-produced content.
"The instructors are engaging, and the conversation practice is incredibly helpful."
"Excellent course! The instructors made it very accessible."
"The quality of the audio and video is superb. The lessons are digestible and the quizzes reinforce learning effectively."
"The pronunciation guidance was excellent, and the interactive exercises made learning fun."
Equips learners with essential phrases for daily interactions.
"The conversation practice is incredibly helpful. I feel much more confident speaking basic Chinese after this."
"I particularly enjoyed the modules on ordering food and making payments, extremely practical."
"The content on greetings and basic interactions is very useful for travelers."
"I appreciated the focus on practical phrases."
Perfect for those with no prior Chinese knowledge.
"This course is absolutely fantastic for absolute beginners!"
"It demystified Chinese for me... perfect for a hobbyist."
"Useful for beginners, especially the cultural notes. The pace is slow and steady, which is good for absolute newcomers."
"Good for pure beginners, but not for anyone with prior knowledge."
May need additional resources for comprehensive learning.
"I felt I needed to supplement with other resources to fully grasp concepts."
"I need something with more academic rigor."
"It gives you a fantastic foundation to build upon."
Does not delve deeply into grammar rules or character writing.
"I was hoping for a bit more depth, especially regarding grammar."
"I felt it lacked sufficient character learning or deeper grammar explanations, which are crucial for true understanding."
"The content was too superficial for my needs, and I felt like I was just memorizing phrases without understanding the underlying structure."
"It felt more like a phrasebook than a comprehensive language course."
Activities
Coming soon
We're preparing activities for
Introduction to Chinese: Conversation.
These are activities you can do either before, during, or after a course.
Career center
Learners who complete Introduction to Chinese: Conversation will develop knowledge and skills
that may be useful to these careers:
For more career information including salaries, visit:
OpenCourser.com/course/inwddi/introduction
Reading list
We haven't picked any books for this reading list yet.
Focuses on the grammar of modern Mandarin Chinese. The author is one of the most influential western linguists in studying Chinese grammar.
Received Yale University's Lex Hixon Prize. It widely used textbook for studying Chinese syntax.
Offers a deep dive into the Chinese writing system, Chinese characters, covering a wide range of topics such as history, radicals, pronunciation, and meanings.
Save
This dictionary collects over 100,000 Chinese idioms and contains extensive explanations and annotations.
Save
This dictionary is one of the most popular Chinese dictionaries and is widely used in both China and Taiwan.
Save
This dictionary traces the evolution of Chinese characters and includes over 9,000 entries.
Offers a wide-ranging overview of Chinese linguistics.
Save
Comprehensive guide to the latest research in Chinese linguistics written by leading experts in the field.
Save
Provides a comprehensive overview of the major areas of Chinese linguistics.
Offers a comprehensive overview of the history of Chinese linguistics.
Save
Provides a comprehensive introduction to the linguistic structure of Chinese, covering its writing system, pronunciation, grammar, and historical development. It is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students and can serve as a useful starting point for understanding the language beyond basic conversational skills. This book is often used as a textbook in academic settings.
Save
Exploring the cultural history of the Chinese language, this book provides context for how the language has been shaped by and has shaped Chinese culture. It is valuable for gaining a deeper appreciation of the cultural nuances embedded in the language.
This comprehensive handbook offers broad coverage of Chinese linguistics from multiple perspectives, including history, dialects, language contact, morphology, syntax, phonetics, phonology, and socio-cultural aspects. It is an excellent reference tool for graduate students and researchers, providing in-depth articles on various specialized topics.
Providing a vibrant and comprehensive introduction to contemporary Chinese linguistics, this book covers phonology, vocabulary, grammar, discourse structures, and pragmatics with modern examples. It is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students and does not require prior knowledge of Chinese or linguistics. It offers insights into modern Chinese media, culture, and society through linguistic analysis.
Offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the fundamentals of Chinese linguistics, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, the writing system, and socio-cultural aspects. It also addresses common difficulties faced by adult learners, making it valuable for both teachers and serious learners.
Save
This introductory book provides an accessible synthesis of key topics in Chinese linguistics for a Western audience. It covers the history and typology of Sinitic languages, the writing system, phonology, morphology, lexicon, and syntax, including new research on dialect writing, subjecthood, and word formation. It valuable reference for China scholars and linguists.
This handbook showcases the latest research in Chinese discourse analysis, offering insights into how the language is used in real-world contexts. It is particularly relevant for those interested in contemporary topics and provides a theoretical and socio-functional perspective on Chinese. It is aimed at students and scholars in Chinese linguistics and discourse analysis.
A widely used textbook, this book offers a practical guide to Mandarin Chinese grammar. It is an excellent resource for learners at various levels looking to solidify their understanding of grammatical structures. Its clear explanations and examples make it a valuable reference tool.
Save
Is one of the most up-to-date comprehensive grammar books about Chinese language.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
OpenCourser.com/course/inwddi/introduction
Share
Similar courses
Similar courses are unavailable at this time. Please try again later.
Time
12 hours
Via
FutureLearn
Institution
Shanghai International Studies University (SISU)
Instructors
Li Hui
Sizhe Feng
WANG CHENXIN
Lydia Lin
CUI Haotian
Xinyan H
Yameng Li
TIAN Qiu
Hangyu Zhang
Fuyu Kong
小 米
Our mission
OpenCourser helps millions of learners each year. People visit us to learn workspace skills, ace their exams, and nurture their curiosity.
Our extensive catalog contains over 50,000 courses and twice as many books. Browse by search, by topic, or even by career interests. We'll match you to the right resources quickly.
Find this site helpful? Tell a friend about us.
Affiliate disclosure
We're supported by our community of learners. When you purchase or subscribe to courses and programs or purchase books, we may earn a commission from our partners.
Your purchases help us maintain our catalog and keep our servers humming without ads.
Thank you for supporting OpenCourser.
© 2016 - 2025 OpenCourser