Chinese: 4th Year College Chinese I

A continuation of CHIN 3200 designed to improve oral and written proficiency through reading, discussing, and writing about modern Chinese prose writings. Prerequisites: CHIN 3200 or equivalent.

Prereq enforced by the system: CHIN 3200 PACE students by permission and override

Utilizing short stories and story-inspired conversations, this course aims at helping students 1) integrate the Chinese linguistic knowledge and skills they have acquired so far, 2) advance their reading and speaking proficiency, 3) reflect on one’s Chinese learning strategies, and 4) lay a good foundation for CHIN4200. At the end of the semester, students will: 1) Understand linguistic patterns and language styles used in Chinese narrative texts. 2) Improve reading proficiency especially concerning Chinese narrative texts, and be able to comprehend short stories independently. 3) Improve Chinese speaking proficiency, and be able to use Chinese to describe, narrate, and discuss in paragraphs. 4) Improve Chinese-English interpretation or translation proficiency, and develop a good understanding of how to use bilingual translation practice to study Chinese on one’s own. 5) Improve Chinese writing proficiency, and be able to write short narrative essays on cross-cultural topics. Textbook: Essential College Chinese Book 4 by John Jinghua Yin and Ying Hu. Textbook course-packet will be available to you from Hu Laoshi with students covering the printing fee.

The class meets three times every week for 50 minutes each time. Learning a new chapter every two weeks, students will expect a bi-weekly routine that features a carefully designed mixture of lecture, conversation practice, and discussions. In addition to interacting with the instructor and classmates in class, students should expect to spend around 6 hours a week on coursework outside of class, including but not limited to previewing texts, doing homework after class, and completing a chapter quiz every two weeks.

Grades are based on attendance and participation, homework, quizzes, one midterm speaking test, one final speaking test, and one final written exam.