CHINESE LANGUAGE 1 MOD.2

This course is one of the core educational activities of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in Language, Culture and Society of Asia and Mediterranean Africa. It aims at providing students with the basic tools and skills in language and translation. At the end of the course students will get to know the basic grammatical structures, and will be able to interact in simple communicative situations, as well as to read and understand short elementary level texts.

Through the attendance of the course and individual study students will achieve a level of language proficiency equivalent to level A2- of the CEFR (Common European framework of reference for language proficiency). In particular, students will:

1. Knowledge and understanding
• Get to know the pronunciation of modern standard Chinese.
• Get to know the rules for writing characters and understand their structures, as well as recognize their main components.
• Get to know and understand about 650 characters and 750 words (active competence).
• Get to know basic grammatical structures.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
• Articulate the sounds of modern standard Chinese
• Write correctly Chinese characters.
• Interact in simple communicative situations.
• Be able to read and understand short elementary level texts.

3. Communication skills
• Be able to communicate the specificities of linguistic analysis using appropriate terminology.

• A good knowledge of grammatical and logical analysis.
• To have attended Chinese language 1.1.

The course provides students with an overall knowledge, at an elementary level, of written and spoken modern Chinese. The course is structured as follows:

• Grammar and lexicon (30 hours): study of basic grammatical structures and vocabulary.
• Language practice A – conversation (60 hours): conversation practice to provide training for linguistic interaction in simple communicative situations.
• Language practice B – writing (60 hours): writing practice to develop writing skills.
• Language practice C: conversation in small groups.
• Language practice D: writing practice in small groups.

Compulsory readings:

• Abbiati M., Grammatica di cinese moderno, Cafoscarina, Venezia 1998.
• Abbiati M., Materiali ed esercizi per l'apprendimento della grammatica cinese moderna, Cafoscarina, Venezia 2010, part I, also available on the Moodle learning platform (https://moodle.unive.it/ ), in the section “Lingua cinese 1 mod. 2 Cognomi A-C [LT006I] - prof. F. Gatti”. Further grammar exercises are also available on the Centro Multimediale website (http://www.unive.it/cmm ).
• Abbiati M. and Zhang Ruoying, Dialogare in cinese: corso di lingua colloquiale, vol. 1, Cafoscarina, Venezia 2011.
• Abbiati M., La lingua cinese, Cafoscarina, Venezia, 1992.
• One of the following dictionaries:
o Zhao Xiuying, Il dizionario di Cinese. Dizionario Cinese-Italiano, Italiano-Cinese, Zanichelli, Bologna, 2013.
o Dizionario cinese-italiano italiano-cinese, Hoepli, Milano, 2007
o Casacchia G. and Bai Y., Dizionario Cinese-Italiano, Cafoscarina, Venezia, 2013.
o Wenlin Software for Learning Chinese, 4.2.2 (per Windows e Mac): www.wenlin.com;
o Pleco Software (for iPhone/iPad e Android), available for free download at www.pleco.com

The exam is structured as follows:

1) a grammar test to assess grammatical knowledge;
2) a writing test to assess the ability to write Chinese characters;
3) a listening test to assess oral comprehension;
4) a speaking test to assess oral expression skills.

During the tests the use of dictionaries is not allowed.

Grammar, writing and listening test samples are available on the Moodle learning platform (https://moodle.unive.it/ ), in the section “Lingua cinese 1 mod. 2 Cognomi A-C [LT006I] - prof. F. Gatti”.
In order to pass the exam students must obtain at least 6/10 in the grammar test, 6/10 in the writing test and 6/10 in the oral examination (listening + speaking): the final mark will be the sum of the scores obtained in the three parts.

Since Chinese language 1 is divided into 2 modules, i.e. Chinese language 1 mod. 1 (first semester) and Chinese Language 1 mod. 2 (second semester), and each module is assessed through an exam, the final score of Chinese language 1 will be the average of the marks obtained in the two exams. The 18 CFU will be awarded upon passing the two exams and obtaining the final mark.

Students must pass the first module exam (Chinese language 1 mod. 1) within the autumn exam session (August-September) of each academic year at the latest, and the second module exam (Chinese language 1 mod. 2) within the winter exam session (January). If they pass the first module exam within the autumn exam session, but fail to pass the second module exam within the winter session, the exam will be incomplete and, thus, failed. It will be then necessary to take again both exams. If students do not pass the first module exam within the autumn exam session in August-September, they can take it again starting from the next winter session, in January, also together with the second module exam.

The course includes grammar classes, as well as grammar, writing and conversation drills (see section ‘contents’).

written and oral