Course

Basic Chinese I (Mandarin)

Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Department
Modern Languages
Course code
MODL 1191
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
22
Method(s) of instruction
Lab
Seminar
Course designation
Certificate in Global Competency
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
Fall

Overview

Course description
This course is designed for students who have little or no knowledge of Chinese language. In this course, students develop their language skills for purposes of: 1) participating in day-to-day personal, social and professional situations, 2) improving their employment opportunities, 3) participating in intercultural and/or international community activities, 4) preparing for further education or training. Students will acquire basic listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through the study of vocabulary, grammar and culture. Chinese is spoken in class as much as possible.

Course content

Systematic introduction of:

1. Pronunciation system of Chinese language

2. Basic vocabulary

3. Basic Chinese characters

4. Basic sentence structures

5. Cultural aspects of Chinese-speaking countries and regions

Learning activities

The functional and communicative approach is used in the seminar and the lab.

In this course, students engage in a variety of learning activities such as:

  • lecture material presented by the instructor, in-person or online synchronously or asynchronously
  • task-based practice in pairs and small groups, in class and in lab, presented in person, or online synchronously, or asynchronously with instructor facilitation
  • listening comprehension
  • audio-visual activities
  • online computer-assisted learning
  • professional language development
  • intercultural competency acquisition

Instructor feedback and revision of submitted work is provided.

 

Means of assessment

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course. This is a graded course. Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor's Course Outline.

Written Evaluations

(May include but not limited to writing and reading exercises, chapter tests, paragraph writing, written homework, preparation, Final Written Exam)

 totalling 50%

Oral Evaluations
(May include but not limited to oral tests, oral presentations, listening comprehension, conversation lab, attendance, preparation, class participation, Final Oral Exam)

totalling 50%

 

Total: 100%

No single written or oral assessment or evaluation in this course will be worth more than 20%.

Note: This course includes testing worth more than 10% during the last 14 days of classes. A standing variance to the Douglas College Evaluation Policy was granted by Education Council on April 24, 2017.

 

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1.  Demonstrate understanding of simple spoken discourse;

2.  Demonstrate understanding of simple written texts;

3.  Construct simple speech: extend greetings, express needs, ask questions and give replies;

4.  Construct simple written expression: simple sentences and short dialogues;

5.  Demonstrate an understanding of target cultures.

Textbook materials

Textbooks and online workbook are to be purchased by students.

Example texts may include:

Yuehua Liu, Tao-chung Yao, Nyan-Ping Bi, Liangyan Ge, Yaohua Shi. Integrated Chinese 1. SIMP 4E FluencyLink 6 MONTH

(Including virtual textbook, workbook and Chinese character workbook for 6 month online access)

Requisites

Prerequisites

No prerequisite courses.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for MODL 1191
Alexander College (ALEX) ALEX HUMN 1XX (3)
Coquitlam College (COQU) COQU CHIN 100 (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU MAND 1100 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG CHIN 1115 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU CHIN 1XX (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU MLAN 1XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU CHIN 101 (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO CHIN_O 1st (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV CHIN_V 131 (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC INTS 161 (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV MAND 101 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) DOUG MODL 1191 (3) & DOUG MODL 1192 (3) = UVIC PAAS 118 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC PAAS 1XX (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU CHIN 100 (3)

Course Offerings

Summer 2025

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
22
Currently enrolled
21
Remaining seats:
1
On waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - South Bldg.
Room
S1620
Times:
Start Time
10:30
-
End Time
12:20
Section notes

MODL 1191 001 is a condensed course offered May 06 to June 22, 2025. Students must ALSO register in TWO conversation labs: one of MODL 1191 L01, L02 or L03 AND one of MODL 1191 L04, L05 or L06.

Students may also register in MODL 1192 001, Basic Chinese II (offered June 23 to August 10, 2025). MODL 1191 must be successfully completed prior to progression into MODL 1192.

This course can count as a relevant course in an Associate of Arts specialization in Modern Languages or in an Associate of Arts specialization in Intercultural and International Studies.