Caryn Rossi

Mandarin 1 is taught using an interactive videoconferencing format (IVC). Click on Mandarin 1 for more info.

Mandarin Chinese I is designed to provide students with the fundamentals for learning to understand, speak, and begin to read and write Mandarin Chinese.  The course focuses on developing accurate pronunciation and tones, learning to understand the spoken language in context and developing a foundation of basic sentence patterns, questions and every day vocabulary. The writing system (radicals and stroke order) is introduced and computers are used to help students develop their character recognition skills. Students are also introduced to China’s history and cultural traditions. The course is proficiency-based and the focus is on the development of aural and oral skills.

Mandarin Chinese II is designed for students who are able to carry out simple conversations about every day topics in Mandarin. Students are expected to have mastery of pinyin, knowledge of stroke order, and recognition of a high-frequency radicals and a limited number of characters. The focus of Mandarin Chinese 2 is on the continued development of aural and oral skills, with the specific goals of expanding vocabulary, strengthening listening comprehension and exposing students to more complex sentence patterns. There is an additional focus on word/character analysis and reading strategies. China’s history and cultural traditions are explored further and discussed. The course is proficiency based and class is conducted primarily in Chinese.