LINGUA CINESE ED ESERCITAZIONE DI LINGUA CINESE (II ANNO)/1
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Bibliography
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
Students attending the second year are normally required to have attended the first year course or another course of equal level. The members of the White Tigre Student Association will provide a tutoring and study support program for those students who experience some difficulties and appear to be falling behind.
The second year final exam is both written and oral, and entails:
A written section, evaluated in 1/100s, which has to be passed with a minimum of 60/100 in order to accede to the oral section. Students who do not pass the written section – which will be reviewed on the spot – must take the exam again during the following exam session. This written section is made up of two parts: a dictation (8-10 sentences, which have to be transcribed into simplified characters and annotated with pinyin and tone marks, further adding the correct radical for each character, and finally translated into Italian); a set of grammar exercises (fill-in-the-blanks; word order; correct phrase etc.) and a set of translation exercises (Italian to Chinese), generally five sentences; a few sentences handwritten in cursive script that have to be transcribed in regular script; a short newspaper article that will have to be summarized in Chinese and translated into Italian.
An oral section, based on the reading and translation into Italian of texts that have been learned during the year, and on free conversation in Chinese.
The final grade in 1/30s will be arrived at thanks to a conversion algorithm that translates the evaluation of the written section from 1/100s to 1/30s, while the oral section can add 3/30s at most. Students cannot accede to the oral section if they fail the written section, but they cannot pass the exam if they fail to pass the oral section, their positive grade in the written section notwithstanding.
The final grade will be integrated with supplementary points gained by taking part in dictation exercises and a number of extracurricular activities, but that augmented grade must be defended during the oral section of the final exam, which is key for the formulation of the final grade.
The second year’s main goal is to complete the process of assimilating basic Chinese grammar and to increase the students’ basic lexicon by another 1.000 characters (grand total of 1.800 by the end of the year) and another 1.000 words (grand total of 2.000 by the end of the year, placing vocabulary use in the context of more and more complex sentences and more sophisticated discourse. By the end of the year, students who have applied themselves consistently will be able to pass the HSK IV exam, and the overall objective is to strengthen level A2 while enabling an upgrade to level B1. Students are strongly advised to take part in a second study tour in China during the summer, this time at the Northwest University in Xi’an, an institute which often allows some students to take part in a homestay program, in order to grant them a full immersion experience. The contrast between coastal China (Hangzhou) and inner provinces like Shaanxi is also one of the teaching objectives of this trip. Students will spend one month (80 h) taking Intermediate Chinese classes on campus, but they will then spend the following months travelling through China in small groups, in order to test their abilities to organize and adapt within the context of China’s huge cultural and linguistic diversity.
The course’s aim is to consolidate the students’ approach to Chinese language learning introduced during the previous year, widening rapidly the students’ knowledge base both in terms of spoken and written language. There will be an upgrade in the students’ ability to read and translate complex texts, taken from Chinese old and new media. The students will also be exposed to the specific language of the economy of tourism, as this sector will probably be one of their future employers.
During this year, the students will start learning the conventions and abbreviations that reduce the character regular form into the shorthand form of cursive writing, with the goal of enabling them to read effortlessly handwritten texts and sentences in a variety of real-life situations (post-it notes, memos, letters, menus, hotel registrations, forms filled in by hand, etc.) but also enabling them to “decode” Chinese calligraphy, which is omnipresent in a contemporary Chinese setting (from public spaces, to restaurants, to hotel lobbies, to museums and historical sites, as well as a great number of shop signs and brand names). The practical ability required here is to be able to recognize handwritten characters, not to learn how to write cursive script or even Chinese calligraphy.
This years, students will also learn how to summarize and compose short written texts in Chinese, which will be corrected and evaluated by the Chinese mother tongue teacher. They will continue learning how to express themselves orally in Chinese, preparing short and long discourses, which they will practice and assimilate until a high degree of fluency is achieved. An important part of this year’s learning process will also be a stronger focus on listening comprehension. Consistent components of this year’s learning process will thus be cursive writing comprehension (first twelve lessons of teaching materials supplied by the teacher) and the reading and translation of Chinese news articles taken from contemporary Chinese media. This year we will complete the Chinese basic grammar program, with a special focus on predicative complements and the structure of complex sentences.
The course’s aim is to consolidate the students’ approach to Chinese language learning introduced during the previous year, widening rapidly the students’ knowledge base both in terms of spoken and written language. There will be an upgrade in the students’ ability to read and translate complex texts, taken from Chinese old and new media. The students will also be exposed to the specific language of the economy of tourism, as this sector will probably be one of their future employers.
During this year, the students will start learning the conventions and abbreviations that reduce the character regular form into the shorthand form of cursive writing, with the goal of enabling them to read effortlessly handwritten texts and sentences in a variety of real-life situations (post-it notes, memos, letters, menus, hotel registrations, forms filled in by hand, etc.) but also enabling them to “decode” Chinese calligraphy, which is omnipresent in a contemporary Chinese setting (from public spaces, to restaurants, to hotel lobbies, to museums and historical sites, as well as a great number of shop signs and brand names). The practical ability required here is to be able to recognize handwritten characters, not to learn how to write cursive script or even Chinese calligraphy.
This years, students will also learn how to summarize and compose short written texts in Chinese, which will be corrected and evaluated by the Chinese mother tongue teacher. They will continue learning how to express themselves orally in Chinese, preparing short and long discourses, which they will practice and assimilate until a high degree of fluency is achieved. An important part of this year’s learning process will also be a stronger focus on listening comprehension. Consistent components of this year’s learning process will thus be cursive writing comprehension (first twelve lessons of teaching materials supplied by the teacher) and the reading and translation of Chinese news articles taken from contemporary Chinese media. This year we will complete the Chinese basic grammar program, with a special focus on predicative complements and the structure of complex sentences.
Mandatory texts:
Masini F. et al., Il cinese per gli italiani – Yidaliren xue Hanyu. Corso Base. Vol. 2, con CD-ROM, Milano, Hoepli (ISBN-10: 8820345285; ISBN-13: 978-8820345280).
Bulfoni C., De Troia P., et al, Il cinese per il turismo. Manuale di lingua e mediazione, Milano, Hoepli (ISBN-10: 8820375117; ISBN-13: 978-8820375119).
Suggested texts and software apps:
We advise using a good compact Chinese-Italian/Italian-Chinese dictionary, and/or a compact Chinese-English/English-Chinese dictionary, like the following:
Zhang Shihua (a cura di), Dizionario di cinese. Cinese-Italiano/Italiano-Cinese, Milano, Hoepli (ISBN-10: 8820337835; ISBN-13: 978-8820337834).
Manser M.H., Concise English-Chinese/Chinese-English Dictionary (4th Edition), The Commercial Press-Oxford University Press, Beijing (ISBN-10: 7100059453; ISBN-13: 978-7100059459).
Students may also find the following grammars of Chinese very useful:
Li D., Cheng M., Jin D., Liu Y., A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners (Revised Edition), Beijing, Beijing Language and Culture Press, 2008 (ISBN-10: 7561921632; ISBN-13: 978-7561921630).
Zhu C., Gao Y., A Chinese Grammar for English Speakers, Beijing, Peking University Press, 2013 (ISBN 13: 978-7-301-21865-5).
Teng W., Yufa! A Practical Guide to Mandarin Chinese Grammar, London, Routledge, 2011 (ASIN: B00MEY5TW4).
C. Ross, J.-H. Sheng Ma, Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar. A Practical Guide, New York, Routledge. (ISBN 10: 0-415-70010-8, ISBN 13: 978-0-415-70010-8)
C. Ross, J.-H. Sheng Ma, B. He, Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar. Workbook, New York, Routledge (ISBN 10: 0-415-70011-6, ISBN 13: 9-78-0-415-70011-5).
Charles N. Li C.N., Thompson S.A., Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar, University of California Press. (ISBN-10: 0520066103; ISBN-13: 978-0520066106).
M. Abbiati, Grammatica di cinese moderno, Venezia, Cafoscarina. (ISBN 88-85613-80-2).
V. Alleton, La grammatica del cinese, Roma, Astrolabio-Ubaldini Editore. (ISBN 10: 88-340-0385-3, ISBN 13: 978-88-340-0385-5)
Some very useful software platforms and apps can be ideal to work with Chinese texts or enhance memorization techniques (flashcards). We will introduce the students to the most common ones, such as: Wenlin, DimSum, Anki and Pleco
Mainly conventional lectures, with occasional workshops on specific topics.
Day, place and hours of teacher-student counselling will be agreed upon with the students.