About this course: Mandarin Chinese 1: Chinese for beginners is a beginner's course of Mandarin Chinese. It uses lectures, short plays, interactive exercises and cultural tips to help learners build a fundamental capability of oral Chinese in real-life situations. At the end of the 5-week course, the learners will reach the following proficiency: ♦ 150 words ♦ 20 language points ♦ handling 5 real-life situations This is a beginners' course, therefore no prerequisite is required.
Who is this class for: The example learner: Anyone who is interested in the Chinese language and/or has the need to learn Chinese for business or academic purposes, especially if he/she focuses on oral proficiency. This is a beginners' course, therefore no prerequisite is required.
Created by: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
| Basic Info | Course 1 of 4 in the Learn Mandarin Chinese Specialization |
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 5 weeks, about 3 hours per week. |
| Language | English, Subtitles: Chinese (Simplified) |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Lesson 1 Nǐ hǎo 你好 Hello! Part 1
Learning how to greet people; Learning how to introduce one's name and nationality
3 videos, 3 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Video: Welcome Video
- Reading: New words 生词
- Video: Nǐ hǎo 你好 Hello!
- Practice Quiz: Practice 练习
- Video: Introduction to phonetics 1 语音入门1
- Discussion Prompt: Introduce yourself
- Reading: Written text of conversation (Optional, Don't read it before watching the video)
- Reading: Complete introduction to Phonetics (optional, read only when you are anxious to know everything about pinyin)
Graded: quiz 测验
Lesson 1 Nǐ hǎo 你好 Hello! Part 2
Learning how to greet people; Learning how to introduce one's name and nationality
2 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: New words 生词
- Video: Nǐ shì nǎ ɡuó rén ？ 你是哪国人？ Where are you from?
- Practice Quiz: Practice 练习
- Video: Cultural tips 文化介绍
- Discussion Prompt: Tell us more about yourself
- Reading: Written text of conversation (optional)
Graded: quiz 测验
WEEK 2
Lesson 2 Xiànzài jǐ diǎn ？ 现在几点？ What's the time? Part 1
Learning how to express numbers; Learning how to express time: the time, years, month and dates
2 videos, 3 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: New words 生词
- Reading: Numbers 数字
- Video: Xiànzài jǐ diǎn ？ 现在几点？ What's the time?
- Practice Quiz: Practice 练习
- Video: Introduction to phonetics 2 语音入门2
- Discussion Prompt: Talk about the time when you have your classes
- Reading: Written text of conversation (optional)
Graded: Quiz 测验
Lesson 2 Xiànzài jǐ diǎn ？ 现在几点？ What's the time? Part 2
Learning how to express numbers; Learning how to express time: the time, years, month and dates
2 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: New words 生词
- Video: Jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào ？ 今天几月几号？What is the date today?
- Practice Quiz: Practice 练习
- Video: Cultural tips 文化介绍
- Discussion Prompt: Talk about your travel schedule
- Reading: Written text of conversation (optional)
Graded: Quiz 测验
WEEK 3
Lesson 3：Nǐ mǎi shénme? 你买什么？ What do you want to buy? Part 1
Learning how to talk about money; Learning the expressions used in shopping
2 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: New words 生词
- Video: Nǐ mǎi shénme ？ 你买什么？ What do you want to buy?
- Practice Quiz: Practice 练习
- Video: Introduction to phonetics 3 语音入门 3
- Discussion Prompt: What should you ask when trying to buy bread (or anything else)?
- Reading: Written text of conversation (optional)
Graded: Quiz 测验
Lesson 3：Nǐ mǎi shénme? 你买什么？ What do you want to buy? Part 2
Learning how to talk about money; Learning the expressions used in shopping
2 videos, 3 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: New words 生词
- Reading: Colors 颜色
- Video: Tài ɡuì le， piányi yìdiánr bɑ 。 太贵了，便宜一点儿吧。It's a little expensive.
- Practice Quiz: Practice 练习
- Video: Cultural tips 文化介绍
- Discussion Prompt: Make requests when doing shopping
- Reading: Written text of conversation (optional)
Graded: Quiz 测验
WEEK 4
Lesson 4 Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén ？ 你家有几口人? How many people are there in your family? Part 1
Learning how to talk about family, occupations and age.
2 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: New words 生词
- Video: Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén? 你家有几口人？ How many people are there in your family?
- Practice Quiz: Practice 练习
- Video: Introduction to phonetics 4 语音入门 4
- Discussion Prompt: Talk about your family
- Reading: Written text of conversation (optional)
Graded: Quiz 测验
Lesson 4 Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén ？ 你家有几口人? How many people are there in your family? Part 2
Learning how to talk about family, occupations and age.
2 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: New words 生词
- Video: Nǐ bàbɑ zài nǎr ɡōnɡzuò? 你爸爸在哪儿工作？ Where does your father work?
- Practice Quiz: Practice 练习
- Video: Cultural tips 文化介绍
- Discussion Prompt: Talk about your job and working place
- Reading: Written text of conversation (optional)
Graded: Quiz 测验
WEEK 5
Lesson 5 Nǐ xiǎnɡ chī shénme? 你想吃什么? What would you like to eat? Part 1
Learning how to order and talk about food.
2 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: New words 生词
- Video: Zhè shì càidān， qǐnɡ diǎn cài. 这是菜单，请点菜。This is the menu, please take your order.
- Practice Quiz: Practice 练习
- Video: Introduction to phonetics 5 语音入门 5
- Discussion Prompt: List the expressions that you may use in a restaurant
- Reading: Written text of conversation (optional)
Graded: Quiz 测验
Lesson 5 Nǐ xiǎnɡ chī shénme? 你想吃什么? What would you like to eat? Part 2
Learning how to order and talk about food.
3 videos, 3 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: New words 生词
- Video: Nǐ xiǎnɡ chī shénme? 你想吃什么？ What would you like to eat?
- Practice Quiz: Practice 练习
- Video: Cultural tips 文化介绍
- Discussion Prompt: Comment on food (or anything) then ask other's opinion
- Reading: Written text of conversation（optional）
- Video: Learn Chinese at SJTU
- Reading: Visit the website of SJTU Chinese program
Graded: Quiz 测验
Graded: Talk about yourself and your family.介绍你自己和你的家人
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
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Creators
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a leading research university located in Shanghai, China, has been regarded as the fastest developing university in the country for the last decade. With special strengths in engineering, science, medicine and business, it now offers a comprehensive range of disciplines in 27 schools with more than 41,000 enrolled students from more than one hundred countries.
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
I've used several resources to try to learn Chinese on my own. This course is incredibly well structured, the audio-video content is clear, and I appreciate the ability to get feedback. I look forward to the other courses in this series.
I had a few technical problems . But in the end it seemed to work out fine once there was finally a peer for me to grade. This course will prepare you for a short trip as a tourist in China.
我很喜欢。I like it very much!
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one of the best teaching on line courses i have done