Beginning Chinese 1

Catalog description

This course is designed to develop the fundamental communication skills in Mandarin Chinese, including listening, comprehension, reading and basic conversation. The emphasis is on the comprehension of native spoken and written Chinese. The course introduces Chinese characters and the pronunciation system. It also presents general aspects of Chinese daily life and culture. Throughout the course, the role of grammar is secondary to that of acquiring basic competency in reading, writing, and speaking Chinese and inferring its meaning. CHI 1 is equivalent to two years of high school Chinese.