George Mason University

George Mason University
Department of Modern & Classical Languages

Spring 2008 CHINESE 210-001 – Intermediate Chinese

Class Meeting Time:     MW12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Class Meeting Place:      STI122
Instructor:                       Chen, Xi
Office Location:            Thompson Hall 234-A
Office Hours:                 T R 2:00p.m.-3:00p.m. and by appointment
Office Phone:               (703) 993-1631
E-mail:                           xchen8@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 asking directions, seeing a doctor and dating, 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 (L11)& II(L12-16), 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
There will be five quizzes that cover Lessons 11 to 15 respectively. The quizzes will test listening, reading, and writing skills, as well as knowledge of grammar and cultural aspects. Each test is worth 6% of the student’s final grade. Lesson 16 will be tested as part of the written Final Exam at the end of the semester.

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 11 to 15, and 40% of it will cover Lesson 16. 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.
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Grades
Students’ final grades are composed as follows:

Class Participation   20 %
Homework              20 %
Quizzes                   30 %
Oral                        15 % (10%+5%)
Final                       15 %

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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 1/21 M	Martin Luther King Holiday, university closed
1/23 W	Introduction to the Course& Review L1-L10
Week 2 1/28 M	L 11 Dialogue I
1/30 W	L 11 Dialogue II
Week 3 2/4 M	L 11Grammar & Pattern Drills
2/6 W	L 11 Review & Quiz	L 11 Homework Due
Week 4 2/11 M	L 12 Dialogue I
2/13 W	L 12 Dialogue II
Week 5 2/18 M	L 12 Grammar & Pattern Drills
2/20 W	L 12 Review & Quiz	L 12 Homework Due
Week 6 2/25 M	L 13 Dialogue I
2/27 W	L 13 Dialogue II
Week 7 3/3 M	L 13 Grammar & Pattern Drills
3/5 W	L 13 Review & Quiz	L 13 Homework Due
Week 8 3/9-16	SPRING BREAK
Week 9 3/17 M	L 14 Dialogue I
3/19 W	L 14 Dialogue II
Week 10 3/24 M	L 14 Grammar & Pattern Drills
3/26 W	L 14 Review & Quiz	L 14 Homework Due
Week 11 3/31 M	L 15 Dialogue I
4/2 W	L 15 Dialogue II
Week 12 4/7 M	L 15 Grammar & Pattern Drills
4/9 W	L 15 Practice & Review
Week 13 4/14 M	L 15 Review & Quiz	L 15 Homework Due
4/16 W	L 16 Dialogue I
Week 14 4/21 M	L 16 Dialogue II
4/23 W	L16 Grammar & Pattern Drills
Week 15 4/28 M	L16 Review & Preparation for Oral Presentation	L16 Homework Due
4/30 W	Oral Presentation & Course Evaluation
Week 16 5/ 5 M	Review or Snow day make-up
5/12 M	10:30a.m.—1:15p.m. Final Written Exam. (in our classroom) Have a nice summer! J