Beginning Chinese I is designed for Chinese language beginners. Students will: (i) build a solid foundation of methods for learning Chinese, (ii) develop language skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, (iii) focus specifically on pronunciation, colloquial communication, and character recognition, (iv) gain an understanding of Chinese culture through the study of the language. Upon completion of this course, students will reach the Novice level on the American Council on the Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL). This course aims to help students become cross-cultural communicators and meet the SUU’s curriculum goals.

This course consists of four class meetings every week. Class time will mainly be used for lectures and relevant activities to ensure that students produce grammatically correct and socio-culturally appropriate Chinese.

This course is designed for beginners with no previous knowledge of Chinese.

Required: Yuehua Liu and Tao-Chung Yao. 2018. Integrated Chinese 1: Textbook Simplified Characters 2, 4th Edition. Boston: Cheng & Tsui Company.

—. 2018. Integrated Chinese: Workbook Simplified Characters 2, 4th Edition. Boston: Cheng & Tsui Company.

Useful online resources:

• Chinese Program at SUU: https://www.suu.edu/hss/languages/chinese/
• FB:
• Gerald R. Sherratt Library: https://www.suu.edu/library/

Upon successful completion of CHIN2010, students will be able to:

• Pronunciation: Master Hanyu Pinyin, the romanization system used for standard Mandarin Chinese especially mastering the lexical tones (the pitch variations used to distinguish word meanings).
• Conversation: Ability to converse in Mandarin on subject matters covered in course content.
• Listening: Ability to understand classroom Chinese and everyday Chinese on the topics covered in and relevant to the textbook.
• Reading: Ability to understand and read aloud correctly texts in both Pinyin and Mandarin characters covered in the course content.
• Orthography (Chinese characters ): Describe the basics of the Chinese writing system, including the “radical” components in the classification of Chinese characters. Correctly recognize 250 Chinese characters.
• Grammar: Correct use of all grammatical patterns taught in this semester.
• Writing: Use basic grammar and sentence patterns in short written compositions in Chinese characters.
• Cultural proficiency: Demonstrate basic understanding of Chinese culture, including Chinese greetings, family construction and development, Chinese names and kinship terms, Chinese calendar, and some Chinese etiquette.

In addition, students will meet the following SUU learning outcomes:

• Communication: Students develop and express ideas and will be able to do so in a variety of ways, namely in writing, by speaking, visually, kinesthetically, through design or aurally.
• Intercultural Knowledge and Competence: Students demonstrate that they possess a set of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts.

Grades are determined by demonstrated achievement of the Course Learning Outcomes above. Each major assignment maps to at least one CLO, and rubrics (distributed in Canvas) make the connection between assignment criteria and outcomes explicit to students.

Grading Rationale

The CHIN 1010 grading structure emphasizes consistent practice, active communication, cultural understanding, and application of language skills rather than relying primarily on high-stakes examinations. The distribution of grades reflects the developmental nature of beginning language learning: students receive frequent opportunities to practice, receive feedback, and apply new knowledge in increasingly complex contexts. Participation (29%) and the Chinese Language Clinics (10%) provide substantial opportunities for active learning, communication, collaboration, and individualized feedback, while vocabulary quizzes (14%) and chapter tests (24%) assess foundational knowledge and students’ ability to examine and interpret Chinese language. Homework (8%) reinforces reading, writing, pronunciation, and character development, and the final project (15%) requires students to synthesize and apply linguistic and cultural knowledge through collaborative and experiential learning. Attendance supports the course’s emphasis on regular engagement and communicative practice. Overall, the grading system aligns with the Humanities breadth outcomes by balancing examination and analysis with application, intercultural competence, communication, and lifelong learning, while embedding durable skills and high-impact practices throughout the course.

Assignments and Weights

Grading Scale

Homework including workbook, review sheet, and the manuscript for the final project should be turned in immediately upon arrival at the classroom of the due date. Homework turned in more than 24 hours late will receive 75% of the total grade. Homework turned in later than 48 hours will be corrected but receive no grade. Late homework because of medical reasons, only when accompanied by a physician’s note, will be accepted as homework finished on time. Computer problems will not be accepted as a reason for late homework. Homework missed due to an excused absence must be made up within one week of the absence.

Students are expected to attend all class sessions and actively participate in all hours of language instruction. For that reason, attendance will be taken on a daily basis. You are allowed FIVE unexcused absences during the entire semester (10% of total class meetings) without affecting your grade. Additional absences (beyond five) are considered excessive and will be penalized by deducting 1% point per additional absence from your final grade. For example, if you finish the course with a 90% but have missed class six times, your final grade will be 89%. If you have a family, medical, or personal emergency that makes completing an assignment by the due date and time impossible, please be sure to reach out to the instructor via email as soon as you are able. While I do not require documentation to excuse the first four absences, I do ask for documentation if, due to your absence, you have missed an assignment deadline (this especially applies to non-Connect assignments). Arriving more than 10 minutes late or leaving early will be defined as being absent. You will receive extra credit if you attend every session during the semester.

Course Information

Prefix / Number: CHIN1010
Title: Beginning Chinese I
Credit Hours: 4
Prerequisites / Co-requisites: No
GE Designation: Humanities

Placement and Prior Experience Disclosure

If you have taken Chinese in high school or at another college (or anywhere else) or if you have other experience speaking or reading Chinese (e.g. family background, etc.), you must inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester so that you can find the class that is most appropriate for you. If you deliberately conceal or fail to inform the instructor of previous experience in Chinese, you will be subject to sanction under SUU’s academic integrity policies, including referral to the Office of Student Conduct.

Durable Skills and High-Impact Practice

CHIN 1010 intentionally develops durable skills that support SUU’s General Education mission of cultivating adaptable, thoughtful, and effective professionals and engaged citizens. As a beginning language course, students build foundational communication skills while developing critical thinking, intercultural competence, collaboration, adaptability, and lifelong learning habits. Through frequent practice, interactive classroom activities, peer communication, and culturally contextualized language tasks, students learn to apply knowledge in meaningful situations rather than relying solely on memorization.

• Communication — Students develop oral, written, listening, and interpersonal communication skills through conversation practice, pronunciation activities, listening exercises, reading, and short written compositions. These activities support SUU’s GE emphasis on effective written and oral communication.
• Critical Thinking — Students interpret pronunciation, tones, characters, grammar, and culturally appropriate expressions to determine meaning and communicate accurately. The Pronunciation, Grammar, Reading, Orthography, and Cultural Proficiency learning outcomes require students to recognize patterns, interpret context, and make informed language choices.
• Intercultural Competence — Students explore Chinese greetings, family structures, names and kinship terms, the Chinese calendar, and etiquette. These topics help students recognize diverse cultural perspectives and develop the ability to communicate respectfully and appropriately across cultures, supporting SUU’s emphasis on global and intercultural knowledge.
• Collaboration and Interpersonal Skills — Frequent class meetings and interactive activities provide opportunities for students to practice conversations with classmates, work through communication challenges, and receive feedback. These experiences develop teamwork, interpersonal communication, and confidence in engaging with others.
• Adaptability and Problem Solving — Learning a new writing system, pronunciation system, grammatical structure, and cultural framework requires students to adapt existing assumptions and develop strategies for understanding unfamiliar information. Students apply these strategies when interpreting new words, characters, sentences, and communicative situations.
• Lifelong Learning — CHIN 1010 introduces students to methods and strategies for independently learning a new language, including vocabulary development, character recognition, pronunciation, listening, and contextual learning. These skills encourage persistence, self-directed learning, and continued language and cultural learning beyond the course.

High-Impact Practice — Collaborative and Experiential Learning — The course incorporates repeated opportunities for students to practice Chinese through conversations, role-based activities, listening exercises, reading, and culturally situated communication tasks. Students receive feedback and refine their performance through repeated practice, allowing them to demonstrate learning through authentic interaction rather than through passive knowledge acquisition alone.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

This language course is designed to enhance your language proficiency. The use of AI, such as ChatGPT, or any form of translation tools for completing homework or projects is prohibited. Using such tools otherwise will violate the policy of academic integrity. The most effective way to find answers to homework questions is to consult your textbook first. You may also seek guidance from tutors, but they will not provide direct answers.

Humanities Breadth Alignment

CHIN 1010 fulfills the Humanities breadth requirement by connecting foundational Chinese language learning with the study of Chinese culture, values, social relationships, and ways of communicating. The course learning outcomes in pronunciation, conversation, listening, reading, Chinese characters, grammar, writing, and cultural proficiency provide students with opportunities to examine and interpret language as a humanities artifact and to develop cross-cultural understanding.

Alignment with USHE Board Policy R470, Social and Behavioral Sciences Essential Learning Outcomes