The course will be taught in-person if the epidemiologic situation in Czech Republic allows in-person teaching. If the government restrictions change and in-person classes will not be allowed, please be aware that the course automatically switches into online mode without a possibility of reimbursement.

Course overview
The course offers an introduction to an exotic language and its related cultures. In addition to teaching basic Chinese, the course aims to train students to use English to understand and to learn a completely new language (Chinese) and its cultures.

Course prerequisites
Creativity and joint work.
No prior knowledge of Chinese is required. Passive understanding of English at CEFR A2.2 level can be useful.

Medium of instruction
Global languages (English, if not Chinese)

Course objectives and learning outcomes
After the course, students will be able to:

• actively engage themselves in basic conversation in Chinese (on the topics covered in the course)
• gain a basic understanding of cultural elements in Chinese-speaking regions of the world;
• envision the role of Chinese and a cultural understanding of that in their future career;
• more actively use English in an intercultural setting.

Students who passed the final exam will receive a certificate.

Tentative Schedule

• Week 1: Overview of the course (useful phrases; Chinese-speaking regions)
• Week 2: Greetings (shì; basic phonetics; food)
• Week 3: Greetings (yě; tones; food)
• Week 4: Greetings (particle ma and ne; Shanghai)
• Week 5: Family (yǒu; religion)
• Week 6: Family (shéi; life and death)
• Week 7: Family (liăng; classifiers; Beijing)
• Week 8: Family (shénme; orientations)
• Week 9: Invitation (numbers; time)
• Week 10: Invitation (places and activities; Taipei)
• Week 11: Invitation (how to offer alternatives)
• Week 12: Wrap up and final exam

Textbook: Lesson 1-3 in Integrated Chinese (Level 1, Part 1) and supplementary materials
Duration: 12 weeks, 2 x 45 minutes per week
Time: Wednesday, 14:00-15:30

Venue:
The course will be taught in a hybrid way, which consists of in-person meetings on an MU premise and online teaching in MS Teams (or Zoom).