Chinese Mandarin Year 1 (Beginners)

Term 1

Across the three terms of the Chinese Year 1 short course, you will cover:

Topics covered
Formal and informal greetings; introductions; surname and full name; nationality and birth place; country and language; age and birthday; relationship and marital status;

Grammatical structures
Pinyin pronunciation; basic sentence structures; close question word "ma"; other question words "nǎr" and "shéi"; use past tense particle "le"; common measure words; negate verbs with "méiyǒu/ méi".

Learning objectives
* Greeting each other
* Introducing oneself and others
* Asking about nationality and birthday place
* Talking about countries and people
* Exchanging information on language
* Asking about age and marital status
* Paying compliments
* Responding to comments

Term 2

Topics covered
Numerals; telephone numbers; time expressions; appointment and opening hour; family, friends and occupation; days and dates; plans and duration;

Grammatical structures
Question word “jǐ”; sentence structure “cóng…dào”; the use of “yǒu”; affirmative/negative question structure “ hǎo bu hǎo/xíng bu xíng”; present continuous particle “zài”; use “huì” to indicate future tense;

Learning objectives
* Exchanging telephone number
* Asking and telling the time
* Discussing daily routine
* Making enquiry on opening hour
* Talking about family and asking about someone's family
* Discussing job and work place
* Discussing schooling
* Talking about travelling plans

Term 3

Topics covered
Jobs and occupation; weather and seasons; transportation; locations and public places; directions and positions; currencies and prices; shopping;

Grammatical structures
Using “zài” as preposition; question words "shénme shíhou” and duōjiǔ for time and duration; use “háishì" for alternatives; distinguish the use of "kàn”, “kànjiàn” and “kàn de jiàn"; ordinal numbers; question word "duōshǎo" and its difference with “jǐ”; common measure words;

Learning objectives
* Making enquiry after someone
* Expressing pity or gratitude
* Describing weather
* Discussing favourite seasons
* Making recommendations on travelling
* Talking about means of transportation
* Asking for directions
* Asking and telling prices
* Buying fruits
* Giving suggestions on buying gifts