Chinese VIII: Comprehension and Production of Oral and Written Texts
Code: 105872 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture | OB | 4 |
Contact
- Name:
- Minkang Zhou Gu
- Email:
- minkang.zhou@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
The subject is the continuation of the previous subject (Chinese VII). It is a subject of consolidation, development and improvement, which requires knowledge of all the basic aspects of phonetics, grammar and the structure of characters and writing, therefore it is recommended to have passed the previous Chinese subjects.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The subject aims to consolidate and expand knowledge of the structures of the Chinese language, as a complement to the basic knowledge acquired in the first, second and third year. The objectives of this term are mainly:
- To consolidate and expand the basic knowledge of Chinese grammar acquired in first, second and third courses
- To expand vocabulary
- To improve pronunciation and writing
- To develop the ability to read and understand texts in intermediate level Chinese
- To improve oral and written expression
- To better understand and grasp the classification and synthesis of complex structures of the Chinese language
- To expand linguistic and cultural knowledge to better understand the linguistic and social use of modern Chinese in the various countries where it is spoken.
Competences
- Analyse the phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic properties of the Spanish language and the Mandarin Chinese language.
- Compare Spanish and Chinese from a literary and linguistic knowledge of both languages.
- Demonstrate the capacity to work autonomously, engaging in self-analysis and self. Criticism.
- Describe the linguistic foundations on which the standards of Spanish and mandarin Chinese are based.
- Evaluate the influence of cultural references in Chinese studies in interlinguistic and intercultural communication.
- Produce written texts in Mandarin Chinese at an intermediate level (B1, B2).
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Understand and produce spoken texts in Mandarin Chinese at an intermediate level (B1, B2).
- Understand texts written in Mandarin Chinese at an intermediate level (B1, B2).
Learning Outcomes
- Apply lexical, morphosyntactic, textual and rhetorical knowledge and knowledge of linguistic variation.
- Apply strategies for understanding spoken text in different fields at an intermediate level (B1, B2).
- Apply strategies for understanding written texts from different fields at an intermediate level (B1, B2).
- Apply strategies to acquire cultural knowledge of China to be able to communicate.
- Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
- Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.
- Describe linguistic aspects of Chinese using a non-specialist informative tone.
- Describe linguistic aspects of Chinese using specialised terminology.
- Ensure quality standards for your own work.
- Identify the need for cultural knowledge of China to be able to communicate.
- Integrate and apply cultural knowledge of China to be able to resolve communication processes.
- Integrate cultural knowledge for solving communication problems.
- Interpret the communicative intention and meaning of written texts in different subject areas.
- Produce spoken texts at an intermediate level (B1, B2) that are appropriate to the context and linguistically correct.
- Produce written texts at an intermediate level (B1, B2) that are appropriate to the context and linguistically correct.
- Recognise basic structures in Chinese and describe them using adequate terminology.
- Resolve interferences between working languages.
- Solve problems of intercultural communication.
Content
In this subject, the contents of the book Discover China (vol. 3) will be studied, aiming at developing reading comprehension, as well as oral and written expression skills. Other complementary materials such as stories, Chinese manga, movies, and newspaper articles will also be used to work with real Chinese texts. According to its type, the contents can be grouped into:
Phonological and graphics:
- Correctly read new words and their tones. Correct frequent pronunciation errors; consolidate the knowledge acquired from previous courses
- Read Chinese texts correctly and fluently
- Application of the transcription and pinyin system in learning new Chinese vocabulary
- Identification of the different components of the characters (semantic keys, phonetic parts), improve writing on the computer.
Morphological lexicon:
- Recognition and writing of about 200 new Chinese characters
- Comprehension and use of an approximate vocabulary of about 400 new words
- Recognition of about 50 complementary words
- Rules for forming words in Chinese
- Exercises to promote the ability to understand different meanings of unknown words in reading
- Understanding and using new words made up of already known characters
Grammar and structural expressions:
- Introduction of new elements to form different types of compound sentences
- Learn the use and different nuances of new adverbs and others already learned previously
- Learn new frequently used expressions
- Review of prepositions and introduction of new ones
- Extension of resultant and potential complements
Functional:
- Reading and understanding of the main ideas of the text
- Reading and understanding of supplementary reading materials and answer related questions
- Reading and understanding of real intermediate level listening materials
- Social and cultural customs related to the topic of the text
- Writing up to 800 characters to express one's own opinions on the subject
- Understanding the comments of classmates related to the topic of the text
- Writing what can be said in Chinese on the topic with a correct speed
- Orally express a complete idea that is coherent with basic logic
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Activities to practice listening skills | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 16, 17, 18 |
| Grammar and vocabulary practice | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 7, 8, 12, 13, 16, 17 |
| Oral activities | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18 |
| Reading activities | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 3, 7, 8, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Reading and oral comprehension activities | 15 | 0.6 | 3, 2, 12, 13, 16 |
| Writing assignments | 15 | 0.6 | 12, 15, 17, 18, 9 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Autonomous practice of oral expression | 20 | 0.8 | 14, 18, 9 |
| Preparation of writing activies | 20 | 0.8 | 15, 18, 9 |
| Study of new vocabulary and grammar | 25 | 1 | 1, 7, 8, 16 |
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. The student will also suggest 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 5 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.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End-of-term exam | 30% | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 3, 2, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15, 14, 16, 17, 18, 9 |
| Mid-term exam | 30% | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 3, 2, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15, 14, 16, 17, 18, 9 |
| Teaching portfolio | 40% | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 4, 3, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 11, 13, 15, 14, 16, 17, 18, 6, 9 |
Continuous assessment
Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing various tasks and tests. Task deadlines will be indicated in class.
Assessment activities consist of:
Portfolio (40%)
- Writting short text, group activities, vocabulary tests and other kinds of exercises.
Exams (30%+30%)
- There will be two exams: one in the middle of the term (30%) and the other one at the end of the term (30%).
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 in 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.
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. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for. In case of retaking, maximum grade will be 5 (Pass).
Classification as "not assessable"
In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting forjust 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 student involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. Assessment activities in whichirregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from recovery.
Single assessment
This subject may be assessed under the single assessment system in accordance with the terms established in the academic regulations of the UAB and the assessment criteria of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.
Students must make an online request within the period established by the faculty and send a copy to the teacher responsible for the subject, for the record.
Single assessment will be carried out in person on one day during week 16 or 17 of the semester. The Academic Management Office will publish the exact date and time on the faculty website.
On the day of the single assessment, teaching staff will ask the student for identification, which should be presented as a valid identification document with a recent photograph (student card, DNI/NIE or passport).
Single assessment activities
The final grade for the subject will be calculated according to the following percentages:
Written exam: 40%
Oral skills exam: 30%
Dossier with activities: 30%
Grade revision and resit procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this study guide.
Bibliography
Class manual:
Qi Shaoyan (2013). Discover China: Student's book Vol.3 (Student's book Vol.3). Oxford: Macmillan Education; Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Both the textbook and the exercise book are essential. The rest of the exercises, activities and information of interest will be published in the space reserved for the subject on the virtual campus.
Exercise textbook:
Discover China Vol.3. exercise book
The rest of the exercises, activities or information of interest for the subject will be found in the workbooks of the same author and exercises provided by the teacher.
Complementary materials for oral and written comprehension of each unit will be provided.
Dictionaries
Bilingual:
- Zhou, Minkang, Diccionaris de l’Enciclopèdia. Diccionari Català-Xinès, Xinès-Català. Catalan Encyclopedia, Barcelona, 1999.
- Zhou, Minkang, Diccionario del español y el chino, Herder, Barcelona, 2006.
These are two dictionaries designed for Spanish/Catalan students. The first has several appendices, with proper names of people, abbreviations, geographical names, chemical elements, weights and measures, currencies, etc.
Monolingual:
- Xinhua Zidian, new edition, Shangwu yinshuguan, Beijing, 2020.
- Xiandai Hanyu Cidian, Shangwu yinshuguan, Beijing, 2018.
The first is small, very manageable and practical. It is the popular dictionary par excellence. The definitions are very simple and easy to understand. Despite its size, it contains many characters (1000), even unusual ones. The second, more voluminous, is also one of the most common. There are numerous updated reissues of both up to 2020.
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 very useful manuals throughout the entire career because they cover all types of issues related to grammar and the Chinese language, and its sociocultural and translational environment.
UAB Internet and DDD resources
http://www.zhongwen.com/
Website with a lot of information about the Chinese language.
http://www.language.berkeley.edu/fanjian/toc.html
Website to practice Chinese writing.
http://pinyin.info/readings/index.html
Website with information on phonetics and pinyin
NIU, T. Analysis of the particle "LE"(了) and its application to the teaching-learning of Chinese as a foreign language to Spanish-speaking students
https://ddd.uab.cat/record/250312?ln=ca
The Decline of Chinese Calligraphy and Writing in the Modern Era. Analytical case of Chinese youth with their writing
https://ddd.uab.cat/record/160590?ln=ca
Socio-linguistic resources in Chinese advertising
https://ddd.uab.cat/record/160587?ln=ca
The teaching of standard Chinese in Catalonia
https://ddd.uab.cat/record/147111?ln=ca
The Spanish and Catalan economic presence in China
https://ddd.uab.cat/record/147098?ln=ca
The Communication System of the Chinese Community in Spain
https://ddd.uab.cat/record/245128?ln=ca
Interactive games
http://edu.ocac.gov.tw/lang/chineselearn/
An attractive tool for reviewing and studying Chinese vocabulary.
http://eastasia.hawaii.edu/yao/icfc/index.html
Vocabulary Trainer
https://www.fluentu.com/chinese/
Online game that consolidates acquired knowledge in a fun way.
Audiovisual support:
www.cctv.com
https://livetvcentral.com/country/taiwan
https://www.iqiyi.com/
Software
Not required.
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Chinese | second semester | morning-mixed |