70312 - Chinese Language and Culture II (Second Language)

Course contents

At the end of the course, students will be qualified to test for the 3rd/4th Level of the National Certificate for the Chinese Language (HSK)
This year's course will enhance the language skills aquired during the Chinese language and culture course of 2010-2011.


We will be using the same textbook (lessons 11 to 20) to complete the grammatical part. 


Reading and translation of short texts on cultural issues.

Grammar:
modal and aspectual particle "le 了";
use of "guo" sentences;
the three "de 的; 地; 得";
temporal clause (in the past, present, future)
use of "jiu 就" and "cai 才" sentences;
 sentences using 让， 叫， 请;
durative form ("zhe 着")
grades of the adjective and comparative sentences;
imperative sentences;
the different forms of main verbal compounds (potential, risultative)
directional suffix;
incoative aspectual form ("qilai 起来")
passive sentences
main topicalization forms of sthe sentences: "ba 把", "bei 被", "shi ....de 是。。。的“.

Readings/Bibliography

Language and Grammar:

Wu Zhongwei, Cinese contemporaneo - Materiale ideale per i principianti assoluti, Sinolingua, 2009.

Language and Culture:


Castorina, M., La cultura cinese - Manuale di mediazione linguistica, Hoepli, 2011.


Parts of the following books:

Giorgio F. Arcodia, La derivazione lessicale in cinese mandarino, Franco Angeli Editore,  2010
Magda Abbiati, Grammatica del cinese moderno, Cafoscarina, 1998
Viviane Alleton, La grammatica del cinese, Astrolabio Ubaldini, 2006  (French edition Grammaire du chinois, PUF Que sais-je?, 1996,
may be used as well).

(Further indications on textbooks will be given in class)

Teaching methods

Students are invited to memorize vocabulary in advance, and complete their assignments every two weeks.

Assessment methods

At the end of the course there will be a written and oral test.
The written test is divided in two parts: Language and Grammar and Language and Culture.

At the end of the First Semester there will be a class test which may be taken into consideration as part of the final written exam.

The oral test consists of a dialogue in Chinese,  a reading of texts which have been studied in class, and a brief discussion on cultural matters. 

The overall assessment will take into consideration also the results of the group-work presented to the class at the end of  second semester.

Teaching tools

- Chinese online learning website;
- Course mailing list and teaching handouts on moodle
- online dictionaries (www.mdbg.org; www.infocina.net/dizionario; www.ramou.net; www.chino-china.com/diccionario; www.chinesisch-lernen.org; www.kitaist.info)
- any Chinese-Italian dictionary
- Chinese xinhua cidian (http://xh.5156edu.com)
- lexical research using chinese corpora online

Office hours

See the website of Sabrina Ardizzoni