This course, the first part of the fourth-year Chinese language core course, is intended to help students with three years of Chinese studies to further develop their language ability in modern Chinese. All aspects of the language — listening, speaking, reading and writing — are emphasized. Through study of various forms of authentic texts (narrative, persuasive, descriptive, expository, etc.), students are expected not only to read original materials with less reliance on a dictionary and at a faster speed, but also to improve their productive skills, oral and written, at the discourse and rhetorical levels. Another objective of the course is to enhance students’ awareness of the distinction between the informal and formal styles of Chinese so that students can use appropriate styles in different settings in a more sophisticated manner. Articles to study are carefully selected from various sources and will be made available to the students by the instructor.

Course Requirements:

Assessment will be based on attendance, participation, homework, tests, and exams.

Intended Audience:

Native speaking Chinese students interested in improving their comprehensive foundation in the language can also benefit from this course. Non-native speaking students in this course are encouraged (but not required) to take ASIANLAN 305, Advanced Spoken Chinese I, simultaneously.

Class Format:

Classes are conducted in Chinese.