Designed as a spoken supplement to post-third-year Chinese courses, this course further develops students’ proficiency in listening and speaking. Its content revolves around social and cultural topics relevant to China and America today. Students develop skills needed to effectively participate in colloquial conversation and seminar-style discussion. Students will receive extensive practice using introduced vocabulary/patterns and communicative skills in a variety of activities, including student-led discussions, group discussions, presentations, debates, and impromptu speeches. At the end of the semester, students will master more advanced level Chinese vocabulary words in social topics and increase familiarity with grammar points at advanced level in Chinese language. Students will understand some complicated conversations, analyze a range of circumstances, give a number of strategies appropriate to the topic, and better handle academic discussions on some social or cultural topics in Chinese.

Course Requirements:

Reading assignments 30%, short essays 30%, final reading test 15%, final paper 15%, attendance 5%, participation 5%

Intended Audience:

Not intended for native speakers of Chinese.