NOTE: This page is encoded in Unicode. To view the Chinese characters browsers should be set to view UTF8.
This page is located at: http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~rsimmon/Chi102KFsyl.htm

CHINESE 102: ELEMENTARY CHINESE (2008)
COURSE INFORMATION & SYLLABUS
Course Materials | Course Work | RMCTS | Summer in Nanjing | Ground Rules | Syllabus | Final

Chinese 101-102 is a beginning level course. It is assumed the students have no previous knowledge of spoken or written Chinese. It is university policy that if you can already speak Chinese but want to learn how to read and write, you are NOT allowed in this class. Please take Intensive Reading and Writing (Chinese 222), which is  offered in the Spring semester. That course is designed especially for you.  Your college deans will delete any credit you earn in Chinese 101 and/or 102 if they find out you were overqualified for the class -- even if you have completed the course -- and we cannot do anything about it.  That is not this case if you take Chinese 222.  But note:  Students can only take either Chinese 101 and/or 102 or Chinese 121 and/or 222 credit cannot be given for both Chinese 101 and/or 102 and Chinese 121 and/or 222.

Chinese 101-102 Section 70 is a Distance Learning class taught simultaneously on the Rutgers New Brunswick and Newark campuses via live video.  Students in Newark and New Brunswick are in class together over the Rutgers Distance Learning Network.  The instruction originates from New Brunswick, though the instructors may also make occasional visits to the Newark classroom.  In course content, classroom drills and interaction, and all homework and exam requirements, Section 70 is 100% identical to Sections 1 and 2.



Class times and classrooms Instructors

R. VanNess Simmons

Lihui Zhu

Jia Qiu

Jing Ning
Teaching Assistant

Jie Chen

Drill Assistant

Jing Ning
COURSE MATERIALS
[back to top]
1. REQUIRED: Kung Fu (I): An Elementary Chinese Text.  By John C. Jamieson and Lin Tao.  Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2002.  [referred to in the syllabus as KF]

2.REQUIRED: Kung Fu (I): Student Exercise Manual.  By John C. Jamieson and Lin Tao.  Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2002.  [referred to in the syllabus as EM]
 
IMPORTANT NOTE:  The Student Exercise Manual is the workbook for this class from which most of the homework assignments will be drawn.  However, students   are required to write out the homework assignments by hand on separate sheets of paper. DO NOT turn your homework in on pages torn from this book.  The reasons for this are: (1) The additional copying required will allow you more practice writing Chinese; and (2) leaving the exercise book blank will allow you to use it to test yourself for review and practice.  The Chinese character assignments can be done on the practice sheets supplied in the Course Packet (see below).  It is unacceptable to use plain notebook paper for the writing assignments.

3. OPTIONAL: Audio CD for Kung Fu (I): An Elementary Chinese Text.  By John C. Jamieson and Lin Tao.  Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2002.

4. OPTIONAL: Oxford Starter Chinese Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2000.

All the above materials are available from the University Bookstore at One Penn Plaza, opposite the New Brunswick train station, and probably also from New Jersey Books, 108 Somerset St.

You are ALSO REQUIRED to get a copy of the COURSE PACKET--which can be printed out by following the links in the box below.

While purchase of the CD for the text is optional, you are still ALSO REQUIRED to work with the CD or audio tapes of the lessons.

Course Packet

Character practice must be done on the blank pages supplied in the Course Packet Materials that we have made available for download as .pdf files for you to print yourself.  The course packet materials also include the "Character Reference Sheets"  that provide information for the sets Chinese characters of the writing assignments.  You can print out these materials by following the below links in the web copy of this syllabus at

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~rsimmon/Chi102KFsyl.htm

1. Character Practice Sheets
2. Character Reference Sheets for Kung Fu Lessions 11 to 22
3. Supplementary Worksheet on Complements
4. General Review Sheet

COURSE WORK
[back to top]
Regular classroom work may be occassionally supplemented with video, computer CD ROM, and internet work.  There will be weekly Tests, a Midterm, and a Final.  There may also be spot quizzes given without notice.  All tests and exams are cumulative.  Learning a language, especially one as difficult as Chinese, is a very demanding task.  You are required to attend every class. And you must thoroughly prepare the scheduled lesson material before class.  You must also complete and turn in on time all assigned homework.

Language Lab tape assignments are given italicized inside brackets "[ ]" in the syllabus on the dates you should start listening to the tapes of a lesson.  If you do not purchase the CD, you may work with the CD or tapes in the Language Lab--we receive a record of your attendance there. If you purchase the CD, you must let your section instructor know so that you do not lose credit for not being listed on the Language Lab attendance sheets. 

RUTGERS MULTIMEDIA CHINESE TEACHING SYSTEM & DIGICLASS
[back to top]
RMCTS:  To supplement your work in the Language Lab and with the textbook the Rutgers Department of Asian Languages and Cultures has developed the Rutgers Multimedia Chinese Teaching System (RMCTS).  It is now on-line and ready for your use at http://chinese.rutgers.edu.   This site contains extensive text and audio practice with challenging and interesting content to supplement our Chinese language courses.

Note:  While you can access the site from any computer connected to the Internet, if the computer is not set up to display Chinese characters, you might only be able to view the English and pinyin on the site and the Chinese will appear as nonsense text.  However you can easliy view the Chinese on the computers in the Rutgers Asian Languages and Cultures Computer Lab in 340 Scott Hall and in the Rutgers New Brunswick Language Labs, all of which are set up to display Chinese.  Some of the more recent versions of MS Internet Explorer might automatically enable Chinese display.  If not, to learn how to set up your own computer to display and type Chinese, you may follow the links under http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~rsimmon/#Learning Chinese.

DIGICLASS:  In addition to RMCTS, the Chinese language program also participates in the Rutgers Digiclass language site at http://fas-digiclass.rutgers.edu/.  The Chinese section of this site currently contains interactive exercises geared to the KungFu lessons -- listed under "KF11-22" -- as well as the RMCTS lessons.  These exercises are a required component of your course homework, though you are allowed to complete them at your own pace.  However, credit will only be granted to students who complete the Digiclass Kung Fu 102 exercises regularly as the semester progresses, in-step with the lessons.  (Credit will NOT be given to students who wait until the last minute and complete the Digiclass exercises all at once or in two or three sessions.)  To receive the homework credit, have the results e-mailed to your section instructor.

Please explore RMCTS and the Chinese Digiclass and visit them often this semester.  We urge you to come to us anytime with questions, comments, and criticism regarding the RMCTS and Digiclass sites.

ANNOUNCEMENT: SUMMER IN NANJING
[back to top]
This coming Summer 2008, the Rutgers University Department of Asian Languages and Cultures will hold its annual summer program in China in the ancient city of Nanjing. The program is designed to provide students with an opportunity to study Chinese in a native environment. Located on the southern banks of the Yangtze River, Nanjing is a major political, commercial, historical, and cultural center of the lower Yangtze Region. Its historical status as a national capital and proximity to the Mandarin speaking North make the city of Nanjing a fine environment for the study of Standard Chinese. Nanjing University is one of the best and oldest universities in the country and is located in the middle of the city, within a 10 minute walk of downtown Nanjing. The famous cities of Shanghai, Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou are also all very near - within a half-day's ride by train or bus. The Summer 2008 Session will be under the direction of a Professor of Chinese at Rutgers.

For more information, visit the program web page at http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/%7Eeasian/lang-culture/announcements/nanjing.html.

Students on this program in the past had a grand time and learned a lot.  We encourage all our students to join us in Nanjing next summer and reinforce all that you will learn this semester in an exciting native environment.

COURSE GROUND RULES
[back to top]
1. Absolutely NO make-ups will be given for tests or quizzes.  If you are ill (and present a note from your doctor) or observing a religious holiday, you will be excused from that test or quiz.

2. You are allowed only one free, unexplained or unexcused absence.  Any further unexcused absences will not be tolerated. We will make daily note of your attendance and your final grade will be reduced by three percentage points for each day you are absent after the first time. Absences can be excused only for religious reasons or by presentation of a note from your doctor stating a valid medical cause.

3. If you are tardy more than three times, the instructor will no longer be responsible for including you in drill or answering your questions regarding missed lesson in class.

4. All assignments should be handed in before the class begins.  Exercises handed in on time will be corrected, graded, and returned to you promptly.  Late assignments will be noted but will NOT receive grades.

5. Your final grade will be calculated as follows:

6. The "effort" grade will be based on regular attendance, preparation, and class participation.  Students will loose points for unexcused absences, tardiness, leaving class early, poor classroom attitude, failure to regularly attend the language lab, and failure to hand in homework on time.  Remember:  You, the student, are the one who is learning the language; we, the instructors, can only provide you with the opportunity to learn.

7. Please feel free to come to our office hours when you have questions that cannot be satisfactorily solved during class time, or simply when you need extra help.  But you should not get in the habit of missing class and then trying to make up what you missed during our office hours.

Finally: Happy New Year & Welcome to class! We hope you continue to enjoy learning Chinese and discovering the world that the language opens up for you.


CHINESE 102: SYLLABUS, SPRING 2008
[back to top]
Week 1


Week 2--Language Lab opens
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
SPRING BREAK: Week of 3/17

Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
FINAL EXAM: KF Lessons 11-22
What to do after 102 in the Summer Session
back to top | to the home page of R. VanNess Simmons (http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~rsimmon)