Language V: Modern Chinese
Code: 101567 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500244 East Asian Studies | OB | 3 | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Xianghong Qu Lu
- Email:
- Xianghong.Qu@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- spanish (spa)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Teachers
- Minkang Zhou Gu
Prerequisites
This is an intermediate level course aimed at consolidation, development and improvement. It requires knowledge of all the basics of phonetics, grammar and structure of Chinese characters. It is necessary to have passed levels III and IV of Modern Chinese (except in special cases established by Gestió Acadèmica, FTI).
Objectives and Contextualisation
The course Language V: Modern Chinese aims to increase the knowledge of the structures of the Chinese language; to complement the basic knowledge acquired in the first and second years of the degree; the consolidation of basic knowledge of Chinese grammar acquired in the first and second years of the degree; to expand vocabulary, improve pronunciation and writing; to develop reading and reading comprehension skills; and to improve the student’s skills in both oral and written expression. Although this is a language subject, we shall also try to sensitize the student towards a respect for Chinese culture and the Chinese social context. This approach will continue in the second semester subject Language VI: Modern Chinese.
Competences
- Developing self-learning strategies.
- Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
- Produce oral texts in one of the languages of East Asia.
- Solving problems of intercultural communication.
- Understand oral texts in one of the languages of East Asia.
- Understand texts written in one of the languages of East Asia.
- Write texts in one of the languages of East Asia.
Learning Outcomes
- Apply knowledge of lexis, morphosyntax, texts, rhetoric and linguistic variation.
- Apply strategies to produce oral texts for different contexts and for specific communicative purposes.
- Apply strategies to produce written texts for different contexts and for specific communicative purposes.
- Apply strategies to understand oral texts from various different contexts.
- Apply strategies to understand written texts from various different contexts.
- Deal with interferences between the working languages.
- Developing self-learning strategies.
- Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
- Produce oral texts for different contexts and for specific communicative purposes.
- Produce oral texts that are appropriate to the context and linguistically correct.
- Produce written texts for different contexts and for specific communicative purposes.
- Produce written texts that are appropriate to the context and linguistically correct.
- Solving problems of intercultural communication.
- Understand the communicative intent and the meaning of oral texts from various different contexts.
- Understand the communicative intent and the meaning of written texts from various different contexts.
Content
Following the pace of work of the previous year (Language IV: Modern Chinese), in the subject Language V, modern Chinese we study in depth the contents of five lessons from the textbook entitled New Practical Chinese Reader, Volumes III and IV, aimed at developing the skills of reading comprehension and oral and written expression. Other supplementary materials will also be used. According to their type, the contents can be grouped into:
Phonological and graphic:
- Correctly read new words and their tone. Correct frequent pronunciation mistakes; consolidate the knowledge gained in previous subjects
- Read texts with accuracy and fluency
- Applying the pinyin transcription system in the learning of new vocabulary
- Identifying the various components of characters (keys, semantic phonetic parts) and improving writing
Lexicomorphological:
- Revision and extension of frequently used keys
- Recognition and writing of 200 new Chinese characters
- Understanding and using approximately 500 new words
- Recognition of an additional 100 words
- Introduction to the rules for forming words in Chinese
- Exercises to build the capacity to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words when reading
Grammar:
- Introducing new elements to form different types of compound sentences: 不是...... ...... 而是/ 要是...... 就....... / ....... 只有, 才...... . / 不....... ...... 不/ 没有不....... ...... / 即使...... ...... 也/不管...... 都(也) ...... / 不但+ 不(没) ...... ...... 反而/ 不是就是...... .. .... / ...... ...... 那么/ 不(没有) ...... ...... 就/ ...... 要是就好了
- Learning the use of new adverbs：总是，终于，究竟，必须，几乎，怪不得，尤其，连忙，难道，仍然/仍，还是
- Structure "phrase + add comparative degree": 离...... 差得远, 一天比一天......
- Learning new frequently used expressions: 別谢了, 总的来说, 一般地说
Understanding and expression:
- Being able to read and understand the main ideas of the text and to translate it correctly into Spanish
- Being able to read and understand supplementary reading materials and answer related questions
- Being able to understand authentic intermediate level listening materials
- Knowing the social and cultural customs related to the topic of the text
- Being able to write a composition of 500 characters to express one's own opinions on the subject related to the text
Methodology
The formative activities are divided into directed activities, supervised activities, and autonomous activities.
Directed activities: the teacher will explain the most important contents of each teaching unit, clear up queries of common interest, review the material studied so far, and set the students grammar exercises on each unit and the new vocabulary learnt, as well as tasks involving reading out loud, practising oral and written comprehension, oral expression, etc. At the end of the subject, a session will be devoted to general revision and troubleshooting.
Supervised activities: these will include exercises set by the teacher. Students will need to devote approximately 3 hours to completing the grammar and vocabulary exercises for each unit.
Autonomous activities: for each teaching unit, will need to devote approximately 15 hours to activities such as reading and preparing the texts, vocabulary and grammar for each lesson, etc.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Realization of reading comprehension activities, written skill training activity, oral comprehension/expression and lectures | 52.5 | 2.1 | 1, 2, 12, 6, 8 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Translation and composition exercises; oral and written comprehension exercises; composition of text; correction of the exercises done and troubleshooting (resolution of doubts). | 33.5 | 1.34 | 5, 3, 14, 7, 10, 8 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study and practice of the new words and new text in each lesson, preparation of oral and written expression activities, preparation for reading comprehension. | 34 | 1.36 | 1, 5, 3, 7, 13 |
Assessment
Assessment is continuous. Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing tasks and tests. Task deadlines will be indicated in the course schedule on the first day of class. All activity deadlines are indicated in the subject's schedule and must be strictly adhered to.
Related matters
The above information on assessment, assessment activities and their weighting is merely a guide. The subject's lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins.
Review
When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews by agreement with the lecturer.
Missed/failed assessment activities
Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for.
The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities.
Classification as "not assessable"
In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.
Misconduct in assessment activities
Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the students involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject.
Students may not retake assessment activities in which they are found to have engaged in misconduct. Plagiarism is considered to mean presenting all or part of an author's work, whether published in print or in digital format, as one's own, i.e. without citing it. Copying is considered to mean reproducing all or a substantial part of another student's work. In cases of copying in which it is impossible to determine which of two students has copied the work of the other, both will be penalised.
More information: http://www.uab.cat/web/study-abroad/undergraduate/academic-information/evaluation/what-is-it-about-1345670077352.html
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercises | 30% | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 5, 4, 3, 2, 15, 14, 7, 12, 11, 10, 9, 6, 13, 8 |
| Written test | 70% (35%+35%) | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 5, 3, 2, 15, 7, 12, 11, 10, 9, 6, 13, 8 |
Bibliography
Textbook
New Practical Chinese Reader (Vol. IV), Liu Xun, Beijing Language and Culture University Press, Beijing (http://www.dismarlibros.com www.alibri@alibri.es)
The remaining exercises, activities or information relevant to the subject will be found in the exercise books by the same author (work book).
The teacher will provide supplementary oral and written comprehension materials for each unit.
Dictionaries
Bilingual
- Zhou, Minkang, Diccionari Català-Xinès, Xinès-Català. Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana. (Diccionaris de l’Enciclopèdia),1999.
- Zhou, Minkang, Diccionari Castellà-Xinès, Xinès-Castellà. Barcelona: Editorial Herder,2006
Intended for Catalan/Spanish students. The first has several appendices, with the proper names of persons, abbreviations, geographic names, chemical elements, weights and measures, coins, etc.
Monolingual:
- Xinhua Zidian, Shangwu yinshuguan, Beijing, 2002.
- Xiandai Hanyu Cidian, Shangwu yinshuguan, Beijing, 2008.
The first is small, very handy and practical. It is the popular dictionary par excellence. The definitions are very simple and easy to understand. In spite of its small size, it contains many characters (1000), including some less usual ones. The second, more bulky dictionary, is also the most common. There are numerous up-to-date editions of both dictionaries.
Grammars and other materials
- Xu Zenghui, Zhou, Minkang, Gramática china, Servei de publicacions de la UAB, Bellaterra, Materials 30, 1997, 2008.
- Ramírez, Laureano, Del carácter al contexto: Teoría y práctica de la traducción del chino moderno, Servei de publicacions de l'UAB, Bellaterra, 1999.
Two manuals which will prove very useful throughout the degree course, because they cover all kinds of questions relating to Chinese language and grammar, to the Chinese socio-cultural context and translation.
Internet resources
http://www.zhongwen.com/
Web with information on the Chinese language
http://www.language.berkeley.edu/fanjian/toc.html
Web to practise Chinese writing
http://pinyin.info/readings/index.html
Web with information on phonetics and pinyin
Interactive games
http://edu.ocac.gov.tw/lang/chineselearn/
An attractive tool for revising and studying Chinese vocabulary.
http://eastasia.hawaii.edu/yao/icfc/index.html
Vocabulary trainer
http://enterzon.com/
Online game enabling the student to consolidate in an enjoyable way the knowledge already obtained.
Audiovisual support
Audiovisual means related to the topics of the teaching units will be used to enable students to gain a sensory knowledge of what they have learnt.