Chinese Language and Culture Level 2

Overview

Learners are exposed to listening and reading items to develop their understanding, and participate in speaking and writing activities designed to develop their fluency and accuracy in both media. The overall desired outcome is for learners to deal comfortably, confidently and competently at a basic level with the language required to cope effectively with a range of circumstances and situations.

The syllabus is liberally supplemented with authentic and original recorded and textual material, designed to enhance the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing against a backdrop of a carefully designed and progressive grammar syllabus.

By the end of the Chinese Language and Culture Level 2 course from Queen Mary University of London, learners will be able to read simple texts in Chinese Mandarin (particularly related to current affairs), they will also be able to understand simple spoken texts and have a basic general discussion about a variety of topics.

Course aims

The overall aims are for learners to develop a sound foundation in Mandarin Chinese alongside an ability to approach communication in the language in a confident and competent manner.

The first aim is for learners move from basic knowledge to greater proficiency, demonstrating an ability to understand and analyse simple written and spoken texts, such as news (newspapers, TV) or brief reports. In brief, the course builds on the learners’ foundations in Mandarin, enabling them to progress to higher levels fairly independently and providing them with the tools to communicate in everyday situations relating to practical matters as well as in professional situations.

The second aim is develop learners’ ability to operate practically and effectively in the target language in each of the four main skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. Learners are exposed to authentic language as well as specifically prepared texts, both audio and written, and have the opportunity to produce language through tasks designed to build confidence and competence at every stage. Both accuracy and fluency are valued, and so grammar and structure are an integral part of the course. These elements are not taught in isolation, but within an overall framework which trains learners to use appropriate grammar and structure for the specific language purpose and function required.