01:165:301 Advanced Modern Chinese

This advanced level course on Modern Mandarin Chinese is the fifth semester in the Mandarin Chinese ladder language sequence at Rutgers. The course focuses on all four language modalities (speaking, listening, reading and writing) to train students to communicate in Chinese with greater accuracy and structural complexity. Topics include childhood, heroes, careers, cuisine, music, love, crime and the economy (subject to change). The course is conducted in Chinese. Through multimedia course materials, task-based classroom activities, weekly oral and written assignments with real-life applications, students will build up a more extensive vocabulary, learn more advanced sentence patterns, and be able to present their ideas at the paragraph level, in both informal and formal contexts. By the end of the course, students will have acquired the linguistic tools to converse in Chinese on a variety of topics ranging from their personal experiences and school life to social and cultural issues. o Skills trained: Speaking, listening, reading, writing (handwriting and typing Chinese characters in simplified 简体字 or traditional 繁体字) o Proficiency level: Fifth semester of Modern Mandarin Chinese at the college level (Chinese 101, 102, 201, 202, 301, 302, 401, 402); HSK 汉语水平测验 Levels 4~5, ACTFL intermediate high ~ advanced low o New vocabulary: approximately 500 o Prerequisite: This course is designed for students who have completed 01:165:202 Intermediate Chinese II or 01:165:222 Intermediate Chinese Reading and Writing for Mandarin Speakers, or placed into the course via the Rutgers Chinese Placement Test (https://placement.elearning.rutgers.edu)


Course Materials: 乐在沟通 Beyond the Basics: Communicative Chinese for Intermediate and Advanced Learners, 2nd edition, by Bai, Jianhua, Juyu Sung and Janet Zhiqun Xing, Cheng & Tsui Company, 2009 (ISBN 978-0-88727-623-1)


Chinese 301 covers Lessons 1-9 of the textbook. Chinese 302 will cover Lessons 10-14 in the same textbook


For each lesson, there will be mini lecture videos and other course materials on the core vocabulary 主要生词, sentence structures 句型, text 课文 and secondary vocabulary 次 要生词 of the lesson. These materials will be available in the lesson module on Canvas one week in advance. You are strongly recommended to preview these materials. If you miss class, you should study the PowerPoint slides on your own and watch the videos thoroughly, then come to office hours with questions. Handouts and other materials used in class will be made available on Canvas after class.


The Learning Management System (LMS) used for the course is Canvas, and the teleconferencing platform used is Zoom (for office hours and in case class switches to online format). To be able to fully participate in the course, students will need to have access to high-speed internet, web camera, microphone, headphones, and Canvas and Zoom. Students will need internet bandwidth to view the mini lecture videos posted on Canvas, and the equipment and application software for listening to and making video/audio recordings, as well as typing in Chinese. Visit Rutgers Student Tech Guide for resources (https://it.rutgers.edu/technology-guide/students/#new-brunswick). If you do not have the appropriate technology for financial reasons, please email the Dean of Students (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for assistance. If you are facing other financial hardships, please visit the Office of Financial Aid (https://financialaid.rutgers.edu/)


By fully participating in this course, you will be able to perform at advanced-low proficiency level in speaking, listening, reading and writing in Mandarin Chinese by the end of the course. More specifically:

  • Through engaging course materials, in-class activities and homework assignments, you will build up a more extensive vocabulary, learn more advanced sentence patterns, and gain the practical skills to express your ideas both orally and in writing in idiomatic Chinese at the paragraph level.
  • Through authentic multimedia course materials and frequent classroom discussions in the target language, you will be able to participate in conversations about daily life and school life, gain a better understanding of social and cultural issues in China, and engage in basic discussions of these issues
  • By completing weekly oral assignments and two oral presentations, you will demonstrate that you can present your ideas orally on both informal and formal topics with some degree of fluency and clarity.
  • By completing weekly writing assignments and two essays, you will demonstrate that you can present their ideas in the written format with some structural variety and complexity.
  • By working on personalized pathway assignments weekly, you will make progress toward your own individual learning goals, be more motivated to continue with your Chinese language studies and become lifelong learners.
    Grading: Attendance and participation 10% Course surveys (x3) 10%, Proficiency assessments (x2) 10%, Common homework (x9) 10%, Pathway homework (x9) 10%, Quizzes (x9) 10%, Oral presentations (x2) 10%, Essays (x2) 10%, Unit tests (x2) 20%

This course covers nine lessons (课), and each lesson has two class meetings. You are expected to attend every class meeting on time and actively participate in the class activities. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. Three late arrivals to class will count as one absence. You are allowed only two unexcused absences. Your final grade will be reduced by two full points for each unexcused absence after the first two. Absences can be excused only for religious reasons (must be reported in advance) or documented emergencies (official documents must be provided). Absences related to Covid-19 will be excused in accordance with guidelines from the university. If you expect to miss a class, use the university absence reporting website (https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/) to indicate the date and reason for your absence.

Throughout the course you will complete three course surveys: the Entry Survey at the beginning of the course, the Midpoint Survey in the middle of the course, and the Exit Survey at the end of the course. These surveys will allow the instructor to better prepare the course materials to meet your personal learning needs, receive feedback on the effectiveness of various components of the course, and revise the course materials to improve the course for future offerings.


You will complete two proficiency assessments for the course: the Initial Proficiency Assessment at the beginning of the course and the Final Proficiency Assessment at the end of the course. The assessments will assess your proficiency levels in the four modalities (speaking, listening, reading and writing). The initial assessment, together with the Entry Survey, will help the instructor guide you on a pathway to meet your personal learning goals. The final assessment, together with the Exit Survey, will allow the instructor to find out how much you have advanced in the four modalities.


The common homework is a set of short assignments to help you internalize the core materials covered in the course. Each week you are expected to spend at least one hour completing these assignments. The assignments will be posted in the lesson module on Canvas at least one week in advance of the due date. The assignments should be submitted on Canvas by 11:59pm on the date indicated. Late submissions within one week of the due date will be docked by 10% for each day they are late. Assignments submitted one week after the due date will receive half credit.
In consultation with the instructor, you will be setting personal learning goals for the course. Each week you will be expected to spend at least one hour working on these goals and documenting your process in a pathway journal. You will have opportunities to share your pathway journey with your classmates at the midpoint and the end of the course. The assignments should be submitted on Canvas by 11:59pm on the date indicated. Late submissions within one week of the due date will be docked by 10% for each day they are late. Assignments submitted one week after the due date will receive half credit.


Lesson quizzes are short 10-minute quizzes to ensure that you are keeping up with the core materials covered in the course. They typically consist of vocabulary dictation and multiple-choice questions. Lesson quizzes are given at the beginning of the second meeting of the lesson. If you miss the quiz, you may make up the multiple-choice portion of the quiz within 24 hours for half credit, with permission from the instructor. There will be 9 quizzes and the lowest 2 quiz scores will be dropped.


Throughout the course you will give two oral presentations; each presentation is worth 5% of the course grade. For Oral Presentation 1: 中文广告, you will work in pairs to create an advertisement and present it to the class on presentation day (5 minutes per pair). For Oral Presentation 2: 童话故事, you will work in small groups to create a modern adaption of a fairytale, and present your story to the class on presentation day (10 minutes per group). Specific instructions will be announced at least one week in advance.


Throughout the course you will write two 400-character essays; each essay is worth 5% of the course grade. Type up your essay in a Word file and upload it onto Canvas. Topics and specific instructions will be announced one week before the due date. Late submissions within one week of the due date will be docked by 10% for each day they are late. Essays submitted one week after the due date will receive half credit.


There will be two cumulative unit tests, each contributing 10% to the course grade. Unit Test 1 单元测验一 covers Lessons 1~3, and Unit Test 2 单元测验二 covers Lessons 1~7, with focus on the new lessons 4~7. Rescheduling of a unit test is only possible for officially excused absences or conflicts (official documents must be provided). You can only reschedule a unit test if you receive permission from the instructor in advance.