PRACTICAL MANDARIN CHINESE COURSE – LEVEL 1

SYNOPSIS
The Practical Mandarin Chinese Course (PMCC) - Level 1 is offered at the introductory level.  Individuals will learn the following communicative functions in this course:

• Use greetings and everyday social expressions appropriately
• Introduce oneself and other people
• Describe people, places and items in simple sentences
• Buy food, drinks and other goods
• Find out from others or tell others where something/somebody is or where one is going

All the four macro skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing will be taught through an integrated communicative approach.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This course is suitable for individuals without any prior knowledge of the Mandarin language, and is ideal for professionals who wish to learn Mandarin Chinese for work or for personal interests. 

OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this course are as follows:

• Briefly introduce the history and essential features of the Chinese Language as a whole

• Provide a basic knowledge of the Mandarin pronunciation, tone and Pinyin Romanization systems

• Develop a functional language for basic communicative needs in everyday social contexts

• Develop a basic understanding of the Chinese writing system and the skills in reading and writing Chinese characters

• Learn how to access and type Chinese texts in Microsoft Word.

• Briefly introduce the Chinese culture and society.

PRACTICAL MANDARIN CHINESE COURSE – LEVEL 2

SYNOPSIS
The Practical Mandarin Chinese Course (PMCC) - Level 2 follows on from the level 1 Practical Mandarin Chinese Course.  Individuals will learn to perform the following language functions:

• Meet others and introduce oneself
• Seek information from others (e.g. name, nationality, address, telephone number, email, work or study, etc.)
• Describe people, places and other items
• Talk about one’s family in detail
• Tell and ask others the date and time, and to arrange appointments
• Describe locations or positions of places and items
• Formulate questions to enquire about the cost of items
• Perform buying and selling transactions in Chinese currency

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This course is aimed at individuals who have completed the Practical Mandarin Chinese (PMCC) Level 1 or those who have a basic knowledge of Mandarin pronunciation, tone and Pinyin Romanization systems.   Individuals should be able to write approximately 50 Chinese characters and recognise approximately 150 characters.  This course will suit individuals who wish to further their speaking and writing skills in the Mandarin Chinese language.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this course are as follows:

• Consolidate knowledge of the Mandarin pronunciation, tone and Pinyin Romanization systems

• Expand the functional usage of the Mandarin language in everyday social contexts

• Develop confidence to handle numbers and monetary figures in different contexts

• Consolidate knowledge of the Chinese writing system and further foster skills in writing Chinese characters and in reading character texts

• Further develop the understanding of Chinese culture and society

PRACTICAL MANDARIN CHINESE COURSE – LEVEL 3

SYNOPSIS

The Practical Mandarin Chinese Course (PMCC) - Level 3 is a lower-intermediate Mandarin course where the following language functions will be practised: 

• Negotiate prices and bargain in Chinese
• Order food in restaurant settings and talk about different cuisines

• Ask or talk about current actions or events
• Ask or talk about past actions or events
• Talk about weather and changes

• Inquire about or describe people’s abilities

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This course is suitable for individuals who wish to achieve an intermediate level of proficiency in the language and be able to converse on a wider range of topics with other Chinese Mandarin speakers.  In order to succeed in this course, Individuals should have completed approximately 80 hours of Mandarin Chinese across the four macro skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing); be able to read and write approximately 200 Chinese characters; and have the ability to recognise approximately 500 Chinese characters. 

OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this course are as follows:
 1. Develop the ability to impart or obtain information, ideas, opinions, experiences and plans by using a wide range of basic language structures and vocabulary.

2.  Develop skills in initiating or participating in social interactions for the purpose of handling real-life situations, e.g. obtaining information of interest, conducting business transactions or maintaining social relationships. 

3.   Develop the ability to obtain key information from spoken and written texts.

4.   Develop the ability to present information or experience in short speeches or in short written texts.

5.   Further develop the understanding of the social-cultural aspects of the language.

PRACTICAL MANDARIN CHINESE COURSE – LEVEL 4

SYNOPSIS

The Practical Mandarin Chinese (PMCC) Level 4 continues from the Level 3 course.  This course will focus on the following language functions:

• Ask or talk about past experiences
• Make telephone calls
• Talk about similarities and differences
• Talk about likes, dislikes, possibilities, future actions or plans
• Express or extend good wishes

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This course is suitable for individuals who wish to further develop their basic Mandarin language skills in conversing on a wide range of everyday topics and functioning in everyday communicative situations. Individuals should have completed more than 100 hours of Mandarin Chinese in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.  Individuals should be able to read and write approximately 300 Chinese characters and have the ability to recognise approximately 800 characters.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this course are as follows:
1.  Further expand knowledge of basic Mandarin language forms (vocabulary and structures) for handling everyday situations.

2.   Develop the ability to use basic grammatical structures and vocabulary to express themselves in spoken and written forms on a wide range of topics.

3.   Develop the ability to comprehend Mandarin speech and written texts at a relatively more normal speed.

4.   Acquire a deeper understanding of the socio-cultural aspects of the Chinese language.