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Unit outline_

CHNS2001: Chinese 2C (Advanced Beginners)

Semester 1, 2021 [Normal day] - Remote

This is a fast-paced intermediate unit of study intended primarily for medium to high competency speakers of Chinese languages, including Cantonese, who know few (up to about 200) characters or none at all. The objective is rapid development of Chinese-language proficiency to equip students for advanced work in Chinese Studies. Emphases include reading and writing skills and standard Mandarin pronunciation.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Chinese Studies
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
Medium to high competency in a spoken Chinese language (e.g. Mandarin, Cantonese) combined with no or very limited knowledge of characters.
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
CHNS3000
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Xiaowei Zhang, xiaowei.zhang@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Tutorial quiz Vocabulary Quizzes
Students will be assessed on their Chinese character writing. (Online)
15% Multiple weeks 1500wds equivalent
Outcomes assessed: LO2 LO3 LO4 LO6 LO7
Small test Written Comprehensions
In-class Chinese composition writing (online).
20% Multiple weeks 750wds equivalent
Outcomes assessed: LO6 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
Presentation group assignment Oral Presentation
Students will be assessed on their spoken Chinese skills. (Online)
20% Week 12 1000wds equivalent
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO7 LO6 LO2
Small test Reading/Writing Test
Vocabulary, grammar, sentence structures and Chinese writing skills (online
35% Week 13 1250wds equivalent
Outcomes assessed: LO7 LO6 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
Participation Online participation
Preparation and participation, including exercises and homework
10% Weekly Lectures and tutorials
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

  • Vocabulary quizzes: there will be short quizzes on vocabulary learned (usually the previous weeks).
  • Writing compositions: you are expected to download the pre-designed worksheets from the Blackboard and hand-write the compositions based on the given topics. 
  • Written Test: you will be tested on grammar and vocabulary, reading comprehension, and translation into and out of Chinese.
  • Oral presentation: a short spoken Chinese skill test  
  • Participation: Preparation and participation in class activities, including completion of exercises and homework

All components will now be delivered online. Guidelines for each assessment will be published on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction to the Unit; Pinyin Lecture (1 hr) LO1
Practice Pinyin Basics; Practice Pinyin and tones Tutorial (3 hr) LO1
Week 02 Chinese writing system Lecture (1 hr) LO3
Basic strokes, radicals and character structures; Reading and writing practice Tutorial (3 hr) LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 03 L1 Vocab & Text Lecture (1 hr) LO2 LO5 LO7
L1 Text & Dialogue; L1 Grammar and Exercises Tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 04 L2 Vocab & Text Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO5
L2 Text & Dialogue; L2 Grammar and Exercises Tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
Week 05 L3 Vocab & Text Lecture (1 hr) LO2 LO4 LO5
L3 Text & Dialogue; L3 Grammar and Exercises; Composition writing 1 Tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO4 LO5 LO7
Week 06 L4 Vocab & Text Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO5 LO7
L4 Text & Dialogue; L4 Grammar and Exercises Tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO4 LO6 LO7
Week 07 L5 Vocab & Text Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO5 LO7
L5 Text & Dialogue; L5 Grammar and Exercises; Vocab Quiz 1 Tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO4 LO6
Week 08 L6 Vocab & Text Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO5 LO7
L6 Text & Dialogue; L6 Grammar and Exercises Tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 09 L7 Vocab & Text Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO5 LO7
L7 Text & Dialogue; L7 Grammar and Exercises; Composition writing 2 Tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 10 L8 Vocab & Text Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO5 LO7
L8 Text & Dialogue; L8 Grammar and Exercises; Tutorial (3 hr) LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 11 L9 Vocab & Text Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO5 LO7
L9 Text & Dialogue; L9 Grammar and Exercises; Vocab Quiz 2 Tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 12 Revision 1 Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO5 LO7
Group presentation practice; Group presentation Tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO6 LO7
Week 13 Revision 2 Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO5 LO7
Revision 3; Reading/Writing Test Tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO7

Attendance and class requirements

  • Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
  • Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
  • Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Liu, Irene and Hailong Wang, eds. 2004. A Primer for Advanced Beginners of Chinese. New York: Columbia University Press.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. correctly pronounce Putonghua and its spelling in Hànyu pinyin
  • LO2. understand basic and essential grammatical structures of Modern Standard Chinese
  • LO3. understand the basic principles of the Chinese writing system
  • LO4. write about 450 basic Chinese characters in either traditional or simplified form
  • LO5. read simple texts in Chinese characters
  • LO6. discuss issues, present ideas, and debate in both written and spoken Chinese
  • LO7. understand modern and traditional Chinese culture.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.