Mandarin

Basic Mandarin Chinese Courses for Foreign Learners

For people fluent in English wanting to communicate in Standard Mandarin, to get credit by examination for their first two years of study, or to study for the HSK test.

An introduction to Mandarin: Parallel to first-year college courses

Mandarin One - in development
Mandarin Two

Consists of listening, speaking, reading, and writing Mandarin Chinese. The written and spoken languages are presented concurrently throughout both courses.

The 400 characters as defined by Joël Bellassen

An introduction to Mandarin: Parallel to first-year college courses (Traditional characters)

Mandarin One (Traditional) - in development
Mandarin Two (Traditional) - not exist

Parallel to second-year college courses

Mandarin Three
Mandarin Four

Continued work in Mandarin, with an emphasis on mastering all basic grammatical structures, developing conversation skills, and building vocabulary in the written and spoken languages using the correct pronunciation. Recommended prerequisite: Mandarin Two.

Conversational Chinese (Mandarin)

Practical and informative classes for the casual tourist and their families offered in a fun "non-credit" style

Adult Conversational Courses

For native English speakers fluent in written Chinese, and another Chinese dialect (e.g. Cantonese), wanting to also become fluent in Standard Mandarin, and those wanting to focus exclusively on the spoken language

Conversational Mandarin One

This class will teach you the basics of speaking, listening, and surviving in China in a fun and supportive environment as a tourist

Conversational Mandarin Two

Expand your ability to communicate in practical situations. It will give you more grammer, pronunciation, and conversation. This vocabulary boost will enable you to speak basic phrases with confidence. Includes the introduction of basic business phrases for the occasional business traveler.

For Kids Only

To be made for Chinese children adopted by parents with no assumed knowledge of Mandarin Chinese and for other Children who will be traveling to China in the future. Language, culture, and identity will be explained in parallel with a multimedia approach.

Preschool Chinese: Toddler to Kindergarden
Children’s Chinese: Grades 1-6
Teen Chinese Challenge: Grades 7-12

Intermediate Mandarin Chinese Courses for Foreign Learners

For people fluent in English wanting to become fluent in Standard Mandarin or basic Classical Chinese

Year Three

Parallel to third-year college courses

Mandarin Five
Mandarin Six

Includes intermediate conversation, reading, writing, vocabulary building, and grammar. Introduction to literary texts. Recommended prerequisite: Mandarin Four.

Short Stories

A course of manually annotated Chinese short stories is available at http://popupchinese.com/archives/shows/short-stories. The course focus is on extensive reading of contemporary texts. All texts are annotated with mouseover popups to avoid the reader to need to constantly check other reference tools and dictionaries. Recommended corequisite: Newspaper Chinese.

Newspaper Chinese

Practical introduction to the reading and accurate understanding of Chinese newspapers and other related styles of writing. Recommended as a complement to Mandarin Five and Six. Recommended prerequisite: Mandarin Four. Recommended corequisite: Mandarin Five.

Business Chinese

Practice in oral and written Chinese at the upper-intermediate level, with emphasis on business vocabulary. Recommended as a complement to third-year Chinese. Recommended prerequisites: Mandarin Five and Newspaper Chinese. Recommended corequisite: Mandarin Six.

Modern Chinese Literature

Emphasizes the most influential works of the twentieth century, from semi-traditional to the latest genres. Could be conducted in English.

Chinese Vernacular Literature (pre 20th Century)

Emphasizes traditional poetry and fiction from 700 BC to the late nineteenth century. Could be conducted in English.

Introduction to Literary Chinese One, Classical Chinese Wikibook
Introduction to Literary Chinese Two

Readings in the traditional literary language, designed to provide familiarity with the essential grammer, build vocabulary, and introduce works from all genres and periods. Recommended as a complement to third-year Chinese; preparation for advanced work in either modern or classical Chinese. Recommended prerequisite: Mandarin Four. Recommended corequisite: Mandarin Five.

Advanced Chinese Courses for Fluent Speakers

For native English speakers fluent in Mandarin and also wanting to master Classical Chinese or other advanced Chinese topics at the "graduate" course level (links have Wikimedia references)

Year Four/Graduate

Parallel to fourth-year and graduate level college courses

Advanced Chinese One
Advanced Chinese Two

Learn complex patterns in conversation including reading and writing. Topics such as Rural China, The Philosophers, Documentary Chinese, The Structure of Chinese are included. Recommended prerequisites: Mandarin Six, Newspaper Chinese, and Intro. Literary Chinese I & II.

Advanced Classical Chinese

Readings from classical works of various genres and historical periods, designed to solidify the grammer introduced in Intro. to Literary Chinese I & II, build further vocabulary and introduce the fundamentals of classical Chinese literary history. Recommended prerequisites: Mandarin Six and Intro. to Literary Chinese I & II.

Classic Chinese Literature One
Classic Chinese Literature Two

Reading, analysis, and discussion of representative literary texts. Classic Chinese Lit I focuses on pre-modern topics such as "Traditional Chinese Fiction" and "Chinese Classical Masterpieces," while Classic Chinese Lit II addresses primarily twentieth-century topics such as "Chinese Nativist Literature" or "Chinese Urban Literature." Recommended prerequisites: Mandarin Six, Newspaper Chinese, and Intro. Literary Chinese I & II. Could include: Poetry of the Tang Dynasty and The Works of Sima Qian.

History of the Chinese Language

History of the Chinese language and language family, with emphasis on the development of the current standard language. Evolution of of the language in spoken Chinese, development of the Chinese writing system, and current language policy. Could be conducted in English. Recommended prerequisite: One second-year course in lingustics or Mandarin Four.