Course overview
This course is intended for native or near-native speakers of Mandarin studying Modern Standard Chinese in Australian context. The course aims to introduce students to the essentials of the Chinese language so as to enhance their proficiency in the practical use of the language in the Australian context. It focuses on important aspects of the language including its writing system, historical development, and its social and regional variances. Topics covered in this course include Chinese among world languages, Chinese in China and overseas, Romanisation schemes, the phonological, lexical and syntactic features of Chinese, the historical development of Chinese, reform of the Chinese language, analysis of traditional & simplified scripts and teaching Chinese as a foreign language in Australia.
Course learning outcomes
- Acquire a sound knowledge of the basics of the Chinese language with regard to its structure, social and geographic profile.
- Understand the historical evolvement of the Chinese language.
- Read in and convert between the simplified and the traditional script of Chinese.
- Work with major Romanization schemes of Chinese, such as pinyin and the Wade-Giles system.
- Use both digital and non-digital resources to address language related issues.
- Understand the current situation of Chinese on the world stage and debate on the topic of reforming the Chinese language.
- Engage in collaborative work and use a variety of resources to solve problems encountered in practice.
- Learn the essentials of teaching Chinese in the Australian context including adapting to the diverse Australian cultures.
- Use technologies to complete assignments.