GMU Chinese 480 Spring 2004 Syllabus

George Mason University
Department of Modern & Classical Languages

Spring 2004: CHINESE 480 – Fourth Year Chinese I

Class Meeting Time: M W 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Class Meeting Place: Thompson Hall 106
Instructor: Xi Chen
Office Location: Thompson Hall 234
Office Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. or by appointment
E-mail: xchen8@gmu.edu

Prerequisites, Course Description & Objectives
This course is designed for advanced students of Chinese. Completion of the Elementary and Intermediate Chinese courses or equivalent is required. The course is open to students who have fulfilled this prerequisite at other institutions.
With a focus on oral proficiency, this course also strongly emphasizes the further development of reading, writing, and listening skills. Specifically, students are expected
· to develop a solid grasp of more complex Chinese syntax through the intense study and practice of grammar and common idiomatic expressions
· to broaden their vocabulary and active character knowledge
· to learn and appreciate various unique aspects of written and spoken Chinese
· to employ effectively all four skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing) in classroom activities and homework assignments
· to appreciate Chinese culture as an integral part of the Chinese language

Textbook (available in the GMU Bookstore)
Beyond the Basics: Communicative Chinese for Intermediate/Advanced Learners Textbook by Jianhua Bai, Juyu Sung, and Janet Zhiqun Xing; Cheng & Tsui, 1995.

Recommended Dictionary:
The Oxford Chinese Dictionary. New International Edition. Chinese-English/ English-Chinese. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Course Requirements & Rules
1. Attendance. Attendance at class sessions is crucial. Students should keep in mind that part of their grade is based on attendance and that absences count against them regardless of the reasons. There will be no penalty for the first three missed classes. After that, however, each absence will reduce the final grade by one percentage point. (That is, thirteen absence over the course of the semester will result in a ten-percentage point subtraction from the final grade, so even perfect scores on all tests and homeworks will result in a "B").
2. Preparation & in-class performance. Thorough preparation of the materials to be covered in each session as well as in-class performance will be graded on a four-point scale. Students who come in well prepared and perform well will get four points each day. Those who are not well prepared, do not participate, do not pay attention, or disrupt the class, will receive lower scores accordingly. Absence, of course, scores a zero. Students are expected to prepare beforehand the material to be covered in class, such as new vocabulary, grammar, and sentence patterns. A detailed session-by-session schedule is provided for this purpose. Short vocabulary quizzes may be given from time to time at the beginning of class to test the level of preparation. Pagers and cell phones should be turned off before the beginning of class.
3. Quizzes. There will be a quiz after each lesson. The lowest score on a quiz (including zero for a missed quiz) will be dropped when calculating the final grade. There will be no make-up quizzes or quizzes taken in advance, unless the student has a legitimate reason and informs the instructor in a timely fashion.
4. Homework. Homeworks will be due no later than the day of the quiz. Late homeworks will be corrected, but no credit will be given for it.
5. 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.

Quizzes & Final Exam
We will study Lessons 1 through 7 in the textbook. There will be six quizzes that cover Lessons 1 to 6 respectively. Material of Lesson 7 will be incorporated in the final exam. All quizzes will test listening, reading, and writing skills, as well as knowledge of grammar and cultural aspects.

Oral Exam
There will be a final oral in-class presentation at the end of the semester. Each student is required to give a presentation of approximately 5 to 10 minutes in front of the class on a topic of his or her choice but based on the material we studied in class. 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. Students are required to submit a draft of the proposed presentation to the instructor in advance. More details will be given in class.

Grades
Final grades are composed as follows:

In-Class Performance   20 %
Homework                   20 %
Quizzes                        30 %
Oral                             10 %
Final                             20 %

Grading Scale

A         100-93
A-         92-90
B+         89-87
B           86-83
B-          82-80
C+         79-77
C           76-73
C-          72-70
D           69-60
F            59- 0

Session Schedule

Date	Class	Homework
Week 1 Wed, January 21	Happy Chinese New Year! L 1 Vocabulary & Text
Week 2 Mo, January 26	L 1 Vocabulary, Text & Discussion
Wed, January 28	L 1 Text, Sentence Patterns & Grammar, (Supplementary Vocabulary)
Week 3 Mo, February 2	L 1 Quiz L 2 Vocabulary	L 1 Homework Due
Wed, February 4	L 2 Vocabulary, Text & Discussion
Week 4 Mo, February 9	L 2 Text, Sentence Patterns & Grammar, (Supplementary Vocabulary)
Wed, February 11	L 2 Quiz L 3 Vocabulary	L 2 Homework Due
Week 5 Mo, February 16	L 3 Vocabulary, Text & Discussion
Wed, February 18	L 3 Text, Sentence Patterns & Grammar
Week 6 Mo, February 23	L 3 Text, Sentence Patterns & Grammar, (Supplementary Vocabulary)
Wed, February 25	L 3 Quiz L 4 Vocabulary	L 3 Homework Due
Week 7 Mo, March 1	L 4 Vocabulary, Text & Discussion
Wed, March 3	L 4 Text, Sentence Patterns & Grammar
Week 8 March 7 – March 14	SPRING BREAK
Week 9 Mo, March 15	L 4 Text, Sentence Patterns & Grammar, (Supplementary Vocabulary)
Wed, March 17	L 4 Quiz L 5 Vocabulary	L 4 Homework Due
Week 10 Mo, March 22	L 5 Vocabulary, Text & Discussion
Wed, March 24	L 5 Text, Sentence Patterns & Grammar
Week 11 Mo, March 29	L 5 Text, Sentence Patterns & Grammar, (Supplementary Vocabulary)
Wed, March 31	L 5 Quiz L 6 Vocabulary	L 5 Homework Due
Week 12 Mo, April 5	L 6 Vocabulary, Text & Discussion
Wed, April 7	L 6 Text, Sentence Patterns & Grammar, (Supplementary Vocabulary)
Week 13 Mo, April 12	L 6 Quiz L 7 Vocabulary	L 6 Homework Due
Wed, April 14	L 7 Vocabulary, Text & Discussion
Week 14 Mo, April 19	L 7 Text, Sentence Patterns & Grammar, (Supplementary Vocabulary)
Wed, April 21	Review	L 7 Homework & Oral Presentation Drafts Due
Week 15 Mo, April 26	Review & Preparation for Oral Presentations
Wed, April 28	Oral Presentations & Course Evaluations
Week 16 Mo, May 3	Last Day of Classes --- Review for Written Final (or Snow Day Make up)
Wednesday, May 5 1:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.	FINAL EXAM (in our classroom) Have a great summer, and see you next year!