Syllabus

Elementary Conversational Chinese for Professionals I
East Asian Languages and Literature 111
3 credits

Instructor: Yang Liu           
Phone: (608) 262-1473
E-mail: liu32@wisc.edu
Skype: liuyang17
Office: 1322 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Avenue                       
                          

Course Description

This online course introduces students to basic conversational Chinese, with a focus on understanding and appreciating cultural beliefs, attitudes and practices, especially in a business or professional context. The course is designed to meet the goals of the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning to promote cultural understanding and communicative proficiency in the three modes:

• Interpretive (understanding spoken language and written texts)

• Interpersonal (communicating with others in a spontaneous manner)

• Presentational (preparing and delivering more formal spoken or written presentations)

After completing the course, students will be able to:

• Conversation: converse in Mandarin in the three communicative modes on subject matters covered in the course;

• Pronunciation: accurately pronounce and distinguish all Mandarin vowels, consonants and tones in all syllables;

• Grammar: produce and use grammatical patterns introduced in the course;

• Reading: read short passage written in Pinyin or in Chinese characters;

• Orthography: recognize about 200 Chinese characters; reproduce a minimum of 60 characters from memory.

Course Requirements

The course is organized around an introductory lesson on Chinese language, followed by five online lessons based on thematic topics. Students work through the lessons according to the schedule for the semester, completing all assignments and taking quizzes and tests by the deadlines. (See the Schedule, below.)

In addition to working through the online lessons independently, students regularly meet with the instructor for conversation and office hours, work with classmates on exercises assigned by the instructor, submit oral and written assignments to the instructor for feedback and assessment, and take regular quizzes and tests. The final grade is based on participation, completion of assignments, and grades on quizzes and tests, as follows.

Participation (20%)

Participation in the course consists of the following:

• Participation in Practice with a Partner assignments (5%).The instructor will assign students to work in pairs or small groups to complete assignments and practice speaking Chinese. These Practice with a Partner assignments may require students to meet online at a mutually-convenient time for a synchronous voice chat, or they may involve students working together online at different times, using an asynchronous voice discussion board.

• Preparation and completion of at least two 15-minute Conversations with the Instructor (10%) for each lesson conducted online through Skype or by phone. Students should prepare for the conversation according to the directions in each lesson.

• Participation in Online Discussions (5%). For each lesson, students will participate in an online discussion forum, moderated by the instructor, in Chinese or in English if needed.

Assignments (25%)

Students must complete all assignments by the deadlines. Late assignments will be corrected but will not receive credit. Students must:

• Complete each online lesson and all associated exercises (15%).

• Submit all recorded and translation assignments to the instructor (5%).

• Submit Writing Chinese Characters assignments (turned in by fax or mailed directly to your instructor (5%).

Quizzes and Tests (55%)

All quizzes and tests for the course will be similar in format to the exercises and assignments in the lessons themselves.  Each quiz and test consists of an oral and written component.

A short, 30-minute quiz (10%, 2% each) follows each lesson.  The lowest one grade may be dropped.  Students will be given 30 minutes to complete each quiz.  Quizzes must be completed by the dates and times in the Schedule.

Two tests (25%, 12.5% each) are administered approximately every two lessons, in addition to a cumulative final exam (20%).   Students will have 3 hours to complete each test and 4 hours to complete the final.  The tests must be completed by the dates and times in the Schedule.

There will be no make-ups for quizzes or tests except in extraordinary circumstances beyond the student's control.

Summary of Grades

The final grade for the course will be based on the following:

Grading Scale

Expectations of Students

Students are expected to spend approximately 9 hours per week on the course, the same amount of time required of students taking a similar Chinese course.

In an online course, students take responsibility for staying on schedule and for completing and submitting all assignments on time. Students who are having difficulty, have questions, or find themselves getting behind must make an appointment for additional conversation time with the instructor.

Students are expected to complete all of the work on their own and to come prepared to the conversation sessions with the instructor.

During the conversations or online voice discussions and chats, participants should not chew gum or eat food.  All participants should turn off all noise-making communication devices such as cell phones during these meetings.

Students in the course agree to adhere to the course's honor code:

All homework assignments must be completed by the student.  All quizzes and tests must be completed by student alone, without the help of others and without consulting resources such as dictionaries or grammars. After the completion of each quiz and test, students will submit a signed statement:"I pledge with my honor that I have not violated the honor code during this examination."

Cheating on assignments, quizzes or tests is considered a serious violation of principles of academic integrity.  Such a violation may result in a failing grade in this course and in further disciplinary action.

Schedule

The schedule for the semester will be posted on the course website.