CHINESE LANGUAGE 2 MOD.1

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 linguistic and translation skills at the elementary level. The goal is to help them use their language skills and abilities in the most common communicative situations, as well as in reading and understanding texts, so as to make them key tools to start acquiring a solid knowledge of Chinese culture and society.

To achieve a level of language proficiency equivalent to level A2+ of the CEFR (Common European framework of reference for language proficiency). Specifically:
1. Knowledge and understanding
• Knowledge of the key sentences necessary to interact in the most common communicative contexts.
• Knowledge of grammatical and lexical aspects of particular importance concerning the noun phrase, the fundamental structure of the sentence, prepositional phrases, the different types of sentences and the noun phrase.
• Knowledge of about 1000 words and 800 characters (active competence).
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
• Be able to correctly use the key sentences necessary to interact in the most common communicative situations.
• Be able to apply what has been learned in important grammatical and lexical aspects in order to understand written texts.
• Be able to use about 1000 words and 800 characters.
• Be able to translate from Chinese and into Chinese simple sentences applyìng what has been learned about basic grammatical aspects.
3. Judgement capacity
• Know how to use the tools made available online to evaluate one’s level of knowledge and language skills.
4. Communication skills
• Be able to communicate the specificities of linguistic analysis using appropriate terminology.
5. Learning skills
• Know how to relate the different contexts of study and apply your knowledge and skills for personal and professional growth.

• In order to attend the course, students are required to have a very good theoretical and practical knowledge of the Italian language: they must be able to express themselves correctly both in writing and in oral form, and master the tools of grammatical analysis and logical analysis.
• To access the exam tests, students must have passed the Chinese language 1 exam.

The course provides students with an overall knowledge, at an elementary level, of written and spoken modern Chinese. In particular it offers:
• the presentation of important aspects on a grammatical and lexical level, regarding noun phrases, the fundamental structure of the sentence, prepositional phrases, different types of sentences and verb phrases: 30 hours of theory and practice;
• language training for interaction in the most common communicative situations: 60 hours of practice A (conversation);
• conversation tutoring: practice B;

Compulsory texts
• Abbiati M., Grammatica di cinese moderno, Cafoscarina, Venezia 1998 (Part 2, fogli 1-13)
• Abbiati M., Materiali ed esercizi per l'apprendimento della grammatica cinese moderna, Cafoscarina, Venezia 2010 (also available on the website https://moodle.unive.it/ in the section “Lingua cinese 2 mod. 1 Cognomi S-Z [LT007I]”.
• Abbiati M. and Zhang Ruoying, Dialogare in cinese: corso di lingua colloquiale, vol. 2, Cafoscarina, Venezia 2011 (Vol. 2, units 25-36)

- One of the following dictionaries:
Zhao Xiuying, Il dizionario di Cinese. Dizionario Cinese-Italiano, Italiano-Cinese, Zanichelli, Bologna, 2013.
Dizionario cinese-italiano italiano-cinese, Hoepli, Milano, 2007
Casacchia G. and Bai Y., Dizionario Cinese-Italiano, Cafoscarina, Venezia, 2013.
Wenlin Software for Learning Chinese, 4.2.2 (for Windows and Mac): www.wenlin.com;
Pleco Software (for iPhone/iPad e Android), available for free download at www.pleco.com

Supplementary readings
• Abbiati M., La lingua cinese, Cafoscarina, Venezia 1992.

At the end of the course, students will take a grammar test and a listening comprehension test. A sample examination and further information on examination procedures are available at the webpage https://moodle.unive.it/ in the section “Lingua cinese 2 mod. 1 Cognomi S-Z [LT007I]”. Dictionaries are not allowed during the exam. The minimum marks to pass the exam are 12/20 in the grammar test and 6/10 in the listening comprehension test. The final mark for the exam is the sum of the marks of the two tests.

written and oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

The grading scale is based on the following criteria:
18-22 range: Sufficient knowledge of basic grammatical structures and Chinese characters. Sufficient listening skills and ability to interact in simple communicative contexts.
23-26 range: Fair knowledge of basic grammatical structures and Chinese characters. Fair listening skills and ability to interact in simple communicative contexts.
27-30 range: Good or excellent knowledge of basic grammatical structures and Chinese characters. Good or excellent listening skills and interaction in simple communicative contexts.
Honors: Outstanding knowledge of basic grammatical structures and Chinese characters. Outstanding listening and interaction skills in simple communicative contexts.

The course includes:
a) grammar classes;
b) writing and conversation practice aimed at building and consolidating the knowledge, skills and competences necessary to meet the goal of the course;
c) tutoring aimed at discussing and clarifying specific language problems that might emerge during lessons and practice.