George Mason University

George Mason University
Department of Modern & Classical Languages

Fall 2008 CHINESE 210-001 – Intermediate Chinese

Class Meeting Time:     MWF10:30 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.
Class Meeting Place:      ENT 275
Instructor: Wu Mei
Office Location:            Thompson Hall 131 carrel I
Office Hours:                Fri 9:30a.m.-10:30a.m. and by appointment
E-mail:                           mwu5@gmu.edu

Course website: http://mason.gmu.edu/~kzhang/index.html

Course Objectives
This course is a sequel to elementary Chinese. It will continue to focus on oral proficiency in daily communication and essential social interactions in Chinese, on expansion of both oral and written vocabulary, and on competent usage of Chinese idiomatic expressions and grammatical structures. By the end of the semester, students are expected to be able to:

communicate fluently in Chinese in social interactions such as talking about weather, ordering food and shopping, etc.
present well-organized information of yourself, your family, friend, work/study, and some aspects of American and Chinese cultures
read and write approximately 350 single and compound Chinese words
obtain the knowledge of Chinese culture which is an inseparable part of Chinese language

Textbooks:
                       Integrated Chinese Book I, Part I (L9-11)& II(L12-13), Simplified Character Edition, 2nd Edition, Cheng & Tsui Company
                      (includes Textbook, Workbook, Character Workbook)

Course Requirements
Students’ own work is the key to the success of this course. You are required to:

1. Preview and review the lessons by listening to the tape before and after classes
2. Participate actively in class with the teacher and your classmates
3. Do the homework in the Workbook, and turn it in on due day
4. Attend class consistently and on time. There will be no penalty for the first three missed classes. After that, each absence will reduce your final grade by one percentage point. (That is, thirteen absences in one semester will result in a 10% point deduction from your final grade. So even if you get perfect scores on all tests and homework, you will get a "B" for the course due to your absence).

Quizzes and Tests
There will be 4 tests that cover Lessons 9 to 12 respectively. The tests will test listening, reading, and writing skills, as well as knowledge of grammar and cultural aspects. Each test is worth 5% of the student’s final grade. Lesson 13 will be tested as part of the written Final Exam at the end of the semester.

There will be 2 quizzes for each lesson. Each quiz will include 5 words and one sentence. There are a total of 10 quizzes for the whole semester, but students are allowed to drop 2 quiz grades. There will be no make-up quizzes and tests.

Oral Exam
There will be a final oral exam at the end of the semester. Each student is required to give a presentation of approximately 5 minutes in front of the class on a topic of his or her choice. Students should try to incorporate as much of the studied material/ grammar/ vocabulary as possible, but they can be creative in devising form and content of the presentation. For example, the presentation can be a role-play, the telling of a story, describing a picture or scene, or a discussion of socio-cultural issues related to the lessons covered during the semester. In addition to the oral presentation you are expected to have an individual meeting with the instructor in her office. More details will be given about the format of the individual meeting in class.

Final Exam
There will be a written final exam at the end of the semester. 60% of the final exam will cover Lessons 9 to 12, and 40% of it will cover Lesson 13. This comprehensive exam will test the student’s listening, reading, and writing skills, knowledge of grammar and cultural aspects. More details will be given in class.

Honor Code
The George Mason University Honor Code is in effect throughout the entire duration of the course and applies to all course work carried out inside and outside the classroom. It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the GMU Honor System and Code as laid out in the Student Handbook. Please refer to http://www.gmu.edu/mlstudents/handbook/honor.html for detailed information.
==============================================================================================================
Grades
Students’ final grades are composed as follows:

Class Participation   20 %
Homework              20 %
Quizzes                   10 %

Lesson tests             20%
Oral                        15 % (10%+5%)
Final                       15 %

________________________________________________________

100% minus attendance penalty (if any)

Grading Scale

A         100-93
A-         92-90
B+         89-87
B           86-83
B-          82-80
C+         79-77
C           76-70
D           69-60
F            59- 0

Session Schedule

Date	Class	Homework
Week 1 8/25 M	Introduction to the Course& Review L1-L4	Review L1-L4
8/27 W	Review L5-L6	Review L5-L8
8/29 F	Review L7-L8	Preview L9 grammar L9 character ex.
Week 2 9/1 M	Labor Day University Closed
9/3 W	L 9 Dialogue I
9/5 F	Quiz L9 D1 L9 Dialogue I
Week 3 9/8 M	Quiz L9 D2 L9 Dialogue II
9/10 W	L 9 Grammar & Pattern Drills	L9 Workbook
9/12 F	L 9 Practice & Listening
Week 4 9/15 M	L9 WB Exercises Translation	L9 Workbook Due tomorrow
9/17 W	L 9 Test	Preview L10 grammar L10 character ex.
9/19 F	L10 Dialogue I
Week 5 9/22 M	Quiz L10 D1 L10 Dialogue I
9/24 W	Quiz L10 D2 L10 Dialogue II
9/26 F	L10 Grammar & Pattern Drills	L10 Workbook
Week 6 9/29 M	L 10 Practice & Listening
10/1 W	L10 WB Translation Exercises	L10 Workbook Due tomorrow
10/3 F	L10 Test	Preview L11 grammar L11 character ex.
Week 7 10/6 M	L 11 Dialogue I
10/8 W	Quiz L11 D1 L 11 Dialogue I
10/10 F	Quiz L11 D2 L 11 Dialogue II
Week 8 10/14 T	Mon. Columbus Day / L11 Grammar & Pattern Drills	L10 Workbook
10/15 W	L 11 Practice & Listening
10/17 F	L11 WB Translation Exercises	L11 Workbook Due tomorrow
Week 9 10/20 M	L 11 Test	Preview L12 grammar L12 character ex.
10/22 W	L 12 Dialogue I
10/24 F	Quiz L12 D1 L 12 Dialogue I
Week10 10/27 M	Quiz L12 D2 L 12 Dialogue II
10/29 W	L 12 Grammar & Pattern Drills	L12 Workbook
10/ 31 F	L 12 Practice & Listening
Week 11 11/3 M	L12 WB Translation Exercises	L13 Workbook Due tomorrow
11/5 W	L12 Test	Preview L13 grammar L13 character ex.
11/7 F	L13 Dialogue I
Week12 11/10 M	Quiz L13 D1 L13 Dialogue I
11/12 W	Quiz L13 D2 L 13 Dialogue II
11/14 F	L 13 Grammar & Pattern Drills	Oral draft
Week 13 11/17 M	L 13 Practice & Listening	L13 Workbook Due tomorrow
11/19 W	L13 WB Translation Exercises
11/21 F	Review L13	Oral draft Due
Week 14 11/24 M	Review L9—L12 Sign up for One-on-One Meeting with Instructor
11/26— 11/30	Thanksgiving recess
Week 15 12/1 M	Review L9—L13
12/3 W	Oral Presentation & Course Evaluation
12/5 F	One-On-One Meeting with Instructor
Week 16 12/10 W	10:30a.m.—1:15p.m. Final Written Exam. (in our classroom) Have a nice winter! J