George Mason University
Department of Modern & Classical Languages

Fall 2008 CHINESE 210-002 – Intermediate Chinese

Class Meeting Time:      TR 5:55 p.m. – 7:10 p.m.
Class Meeting Place:      E 134
Instructor:                      Wu,Mei
Office Location:            Thompson Hall 131 carrel I
Office Hours:                 TR 5:20-5:50 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:

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 two missed classes.  After that, each absence will reduce your final grade by one percentage point.  (That is, twelve 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 Test             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
8/26 T


Introduction to the Course&  Review  L1-L4

 ReviewL5—L8


8/28 R

Review L4-L8


 Preview L9 grammar

L9 character ex.

Week 2
9/2   T

Quiz L9D1
L 9 Dialogue I

 

9/4   R

Quiz L9D2

L 9 Dialogue II

 

Week 3
9/9  T

L9 Grammar & Pattern Drills

 

L 9 Workbook   

9/11  R

L 9 Workbook

 L 9 Workbook   Due tomorrow

Week 4
9/16 T

L 9  Review & Test 

 

 PreviewL10 grammar

L10 character ex.

9/18 R

Quiz L10 D1

L 10 Dialogue I

 

Week 5
9/23 T

Quiz L10 D2

L10Dialogue II

 

9/25 R

L 10  Grammar & Pattern Drills

 

 

Week 6
9/30 T


L 10  Workbook

 L 10 Workbook   Due tomorrow

10/2  R

L 10  Review & Test 

 

Preview L11 grammar

L11 character ex.

Week 7
10/7 T

Quiz L11 D1

L11 Dialogue I

 

10/9 R

Quiz L11D2

L11Dialogue II

 

Week 8
10/14 T


Columbus Day no school

 


10/16 R


L 11  Grammar & Pattern Drills

 

Week 9

10/21 T

L 11 Workbook

L 11 Workbook   Due tomorrow 

 

10/23 R

 

L 11 Review & Test 

 

Preview L12 grammar

L12 character ex.

Week 10

10/28 T

Quiz L12 D1

L 12 Dialogue I

 


10/30 R

Quiz L12 D2
L 12 Dialogue II

 

Week 11

11/4 T

L 12 Grammar & Pattern Drills

 


11/6 R


L 12 Workbook

 L 12 Workbook   Due tomorrow

Week 12

11/11 T

L 12 Review & Test 

 

Preview L13 grammar

L13 character ex.


11/13 R

Quiz L13 D1
L 13 Dialogue I

 

Week 13

11/18 T

Quiz L13 D1

L 13 Dialogue II

 


11/20 R

 

 

L 13 Grammar & Pattern Drills

 L 13 Workbook   Due tomorrow

Week 14

11/25 T

L13 Workbook & Review

Sign up for One-on-One Meeting with Instructor

 

Week 15
12/2  T

Review L9-L12 & Preparation for Oral Presentation

 

12/4  R

Oral Presentation & Course Evaluation

 

 

Week 16

12/11 R

4:30p.m.----7:15p.m.

Final Written Exam.  (in our classroom)

Have a nice winter! J