LN808     
Mandarin Chinese: Level Five (Fast Track)

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Requisites

Assumed prior knowledge:

Language skills and knowledge of Mandarin at C1 level of the Common European Reference Framework for Languages are required.

Additional requisites:

This course is designed for students who have high proficiency in Chinese, typically have studied or/and lived in Chinese-speaking communities. Students are expected to have a very high level of fluency and the ability to do independent research into a chosen topic, i.e. several years of intensive study of Chinese at higher level, and also a keen interest in current issues. Students are expected to demonstrate a high level of commitment to the course: Regular attendance, Completion of homework, and all pieces of continuous assessment. Dedicate at least two hours per week to coursework in addition to classes. Admission into the course after completion of the online test and upon tutor’s approval during the Needs Analysis Interview.

Course Aim:

• To maximise the speed of individual student progression.
• To attain competence in a broad range of complex and non-routine tasks across a wide variety of contexts.
• To practise the ability to use Chinese effectively for purposes of practical communication and reading comprehension dealing with linguistically challenging tasks.
• To establish the skills, language and attitudes required to promote and facilitate further study of Chinese.
• To practice the ability to use Chinese effectively for purposes of oral and written communication.
• To establish specific linguistic skills and strategies required to communicate effectively.
• To understand/analyse fairly complex texts about current issues and Chinese culture.
• To involve students in planning the course contents according to their specific needs and interests.
• To bring students to the level of C2 of CEFR.

Learners will have opportunities to practise:

• Communication in the workplace, at university and in everyday situations.
• Participation in problem solving discussions.
• Exchanging specific information.
• Writing short essays.
• Participating in discussions: expressing an opinion, agreement, disagreement.
• Logical argumentation.Reading and summarising texts from various sources.
• Using language strategies selected from an extensive repertoire in order to meet changing requirements.
• Using language strategies to cope with specialised topics: i.e. business, law, culture, politics, management, current issues.
• Advanced language tasks with reference to Chinese society, contemporary issues, international relations, history and culture.
• Mandarin pronunciation: Pinyin and tones. Simplified and traditional characters. Chinese grammar review. Regular group or individual oral presentations. Reading and summarising complex texts. Specific grammatical aspects of topical texts. Relevant grammatical issues for advanced and specialised communication.
• Students are to undertake independent research in their particular area of interest. Project work. Reading comprehension. Oral presentation.

The course will also introduce 580 words and 220 Chinese characters.

22 hours of classes in the Winter Term.
16 hours of classes in the Autumn Term.

Please refer to the LSE timetable for course teaching arrangements.

16 hours of classes in the AT. 22 hours of classes in the WT. 2 hours of group tutorial time, as arranged by the teacher during the AT, WT, ST.

Suggested course book:

The Routledge Advanced Chinese Multimedia Course: Crossing Cultural Boundaries. Lee, Liang, Jiao & Wheatley (2010)

Newspaper articles, Internet sources and other web-based material dealing with current issues.

Oral examination (30%)

Continuous assessment (70%)