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The course aims at initiating the learner to a basic linguistic competence and to develop communications skills in the context of simple routine situations that require an exchange of information on familiar topics. Expected results: attendance to classes and individual study will allow students to reach a level of linguistic proficiency comparable to A1 level of CEFR and familiarity with about 200 characters

Some notions relating to the linguistics areas of China and what is meant by “Mandarin Chinese” in terms of general characteristics of modern Chinese language will be presented as a general introduction to the course.

The course provides students with a comprehensive beginner-level knowledge of written and spoken Chinese. Specifically, the following topics will be addressed:

-       The phonological system of standard Chinese and the constitution of sounds in syllables

-       Hanyu pinyin

-       The principles governing the stroke order in writing Chinese characters and the main components of morphograms

-       The basic aspects of modern Chinese grammar relating to noun groups, the basic structure of the sentence, prepositional groups, different types of sentence and verb groups;

-       Everyday communicative contexts key expressions  

-       Knowledge and understanding of about 200 words

• (A) Yang Jizhou, Hanyu Jiaocheng, Vol. 1A, Beijing Yuyan Wenhua Daxue, Beijing 2013.Whole book
• (C) Li Dejin, A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners, Sinolingua, Beijing, 2008.Chapters. 2,4,5
• (C) Edoardo Fazzioli, Chinese Calligraphy, Abbeville Press Publishers, New York, 2005. Pp. 247

• (A) Yang Jizhou, Hanyu Jiaocheng, Vol. 1A, Beijing Yuyan Wenhua Daxue, Beijing 2013.Whole book
• (C) Li Dejin, A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners, Sinolingua, Beijing, 2008.Chapters. 2,4,5
• (C) Edoardo Fazzioli, Chinese Calligraphy, Abbeville Press Publishers, New York, 2005. Pp. 247

More teaching materials will be directly provided by the teacher in class. Due to the specificities of the language, attendance is strongly recommended.

More teaching materials will be directly provided by the teacher in class. Due to the specificities of the language, attendance is strongly recommended.

• Teaching will be essentially based on a communicative approach to language learning, with conversation tutoring for small groups specifically dedicated to linguistic interaction. But it will also include:

  1.     Taught-class

  2.     Practical exercises aiming at building and consolidating knowledge, skills and competences the acquisition of which the course aims at

  3.     Writing tutoring for small groups

  4.     Listening to audio materials

  5.     Use of multimedia supports

  6.     Tutoring aiming at discussing specific linguistic problems that students may encounter 

• The assessment test of acquired skills will include an oral exam and a written test.

  The written test will consist of exercises for inserting, completing, restructuring and transforming senteces, recognizing errors, expressing numbers, exercises meant to verify the acquisition of the stroke order writing rules and a short translation to and from Chinese. The oral discussion will aim at verifying the acquisition of the grammatical structures studied and comprehension and production skills in conversation. The 8 CFU exam will also include a short dictation.

  The two tests (written and oral) will each count for 50% of the final mark. The languages used for the tests will be English and Chinese. During the exam it will not be possible to consult teaching or other materials. 

English